Selwyn Toogood
Encyclopedia
Selwyn Featherston Toogood QSO (4 April 1916 – 27 February 2001) was a New Zealand
radio
and television
personality. He was born in Wellington
and lived there until 1952 when he moved to Heretaunga in the Hutt Valley. After an inauspicious start at school, he became involved in theatre and radio, including a role in New Zealand's first radio soap opera.
In 1939, he joined the army and, promoted to the rank of Major, spent time in Italy and North Africa as a supply officer. It was on a troopship on the way home that he ran his first quiz show. After the war, Toogood picked up where he'd left off as a stage actor, voice-over artist and radio announcer.
He began his career as a radio host in 1946 and was the originator of the game show It's in the Bag
, in which popularized the catch-phrases, "By hokey", and "What will it be, customers - the money or the bag?", in New Zealand. It's in the Bag
eventually moved on to network television, where it was equally successful.He published his autobiography Out Of The Bag in 1979. Toogood hosted numerous other TV shows for the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand and Television New Zealand
, including the panel show Beauty and the Beast
and the children's quiz show W3. He retired from It's in the Bag
in the 1980s, handing over the mantle to radio and TV host John Hawkesby
.In 1977 Toogood was awarded the QSO for services to broadcasting. Toogood was awarded a special lifetime achievement award by the New Zealand Academy of Film and Television Arts in New Zealand in 1999.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
personality. He was born in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and lived there until 1952 when he moved to Heretaunga in the Hutt Valley. After an inauspicious start at school, he became involved in theatre and radio, including a role in New Zealand's first radio soap opera.
In 1939, he joined the army and, promoted to the rank of Major, spent time in Italy and North Africa as a supply officer. It was on a troopship on the way home that he ran his first quiz show. After the war, Toogood picked up where he'd left off as a stage actor, voice-over artist and radio announcer.
He began his career as a radio host in 1946 and was the originator of the game show It's in the Bag
It's in the Bag (game show)
It's in the Bag was a long-running New Zealand radio and, later, television game show. The show began on radio in the 1950s and was hosted and directed by Selwyn Toogood. In the 1970s a television version of the show was developed which was also hosted by Toogood until his retirement in the 1980s....
, in which popularized the catch-phrases, "By hokey", and "What will it be, customers - the money or the bag?", in New Zealand. It's in the Bag
It's in the Bag
"It's in the Bag" can refer to:* It's in the Bag, a pricing game played on the American television show The Price Is Right* It's in the Bag , the long-running New Zealand game show* L'affaire est dans le sac, a 1932 French film...
eventually moved on to network television, where it was equally successful.He published his autobiography Out Of The Bag in 1979. Toogood hosted numerous other TV shows for the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand and Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
, including the panel show Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (talk show)
Beauty and the Beast is an Australian panel television show that has appeared in numerous versions since the early days of Australian television. The first version began in 1963 on the Seven Network with host Eric Baume as the "Beast". Baume was later replaced by presenters including John Laws,...
and the children's quiz show W3. He retired from It's in the Bag
It's in the Bag (game show)
It's in the Bag was a long-running New Zealand radio and, later, television game show. The show began on radio in the 1950s and was hosted and directed by Selwyn Toogood. In the 1970s a television version of the show was developed which was also hosted by Toogood until his retirement in the 1980s....
in the 1980s, handing over the mantle to radio and TV host John Hawkesby
John Hawkesby
John Langley Hawkesby, MNZM is a former news presenter for ONE News and 3 News in New Zealand.J Hawkesby attended Auckland Grammar School in 1964. His started his broadcasting career in 1972 when he researched and presented Radio New Zealand's "Reflecting On" programme. This programme achieved six...
.In 1977 Toogood was awarded the QSO for services to broadcasting. Toogood was awarded a special lifetime achievement award by the New Zealand Academy of Film and Television Arts in New Zealand in 1999.