Geoffrey Hayes

Geoffrey Hayes
Born Charles Geoffrey Hayes
(1942-03-13)13 March 1942
Stockport, Cheshire, England
Died 30 September 2018(2018-09-30) (aged 76)
Occupation Television presenter, actor
Years active 1967−2018
Spouse(s)
Sarah Williams
(m. 1987; his death 2018)
Children 1

Charles Geoffrey Hayes[1] (13 March 1942 – 30 September 2018) was an English television presenter and actor. He was best known as the presenter of Thames Television's children's show Rainbow from 1974 to 1992.

Early life and education

Hayes had various jobs such as a British Rail booking clerk before attending drama school in Manchester and training as an actor.[1] Hayes' most prominent role was the presenter of Thames Television's children's show Rainbow from 1974 to 1992, replacing original host David Cook.[2][3] Before this, he worked as an actor, including a recurring role in BBC1's police drama Z-Cars.[4] Hayes also has writing credits for Rainbow[5] and The Great Pony Raid in 1967.[6]

Career

Hayes struggled to find work after Rainbow was cancelled by ITV when the production company, Thames Television, lost its franchise in the early 1990s.[7][1] He took a job stacking shelves for his local Sainsbury's grocery for four months as he had not yet found an acting job and his wife wanted him to earn an income.[2] He spent time as a taxicab driver and then retired some time later.[2] He stated he would like to have done serious acting work after Rainbow but "directors could only think of me as Rainbow's Geoffrey".[2] Hayes starred in a humorous television advert about investing money, making fun of his fall from the top.[8]

Hayes appeared in the video for "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" by Oasis tribute band, No Way Sis.[9] He replicated the role of a taxi driver,[9] just as Patrick Macnee had done in the Oasis video for "Don't Look Back in Anger".[10] Hayes also appeared in the all-star line up for the video of Tony Christie with Peter Kay's single "Is This the Way to Amarillo?"[9] In 2002, he was a guest panellist on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks.[11]

Hayes was part of the Walkers Crisps campaign for Monster Munch in 2008. The stated objective of the campaign was to find the missing monster puppets from the original 1980s television advertisements for the popular snack. In the film clip, he mentions that he has heard from Bungle recently.[12] In September 2015, he was a guest on BBC1's Pointless Celebrities. He got through to the final but did not get a Pointless answer.[13][14]

Personal life

Hayes was a fan of the Scottish football team Dundee United, having lived in the city in the 1960s. Hayes said that he asked the producers of Rainbow to make the Zippy puppet tangerine in colour, to match Dundee United's colours rather than the blue of local rivals Dundee.[15]

He had homes in London and Spain.[1]

Death

Hayes died of pneumonia in hospital on 30 September 2018 aged 76 survived by his wife Sarah who he married in 1987 and his son Tom.[1][4][16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hayward, Anthony (1 October 2018). "Geoffrey Hayes obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Webber, Richard (22 February 2015). "Rainbow presenter Geoffrey Hayes: 'Like most actors, I've had spells of unemployment'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Shepherd, Jack (1 October 2018). "Geoffrey from Rainbow dies, aged 76". The Independent. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Rainbow's Geoffrey Hayes dies at 76". BBC News. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Rainbow (1972-95) Credits". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Great Pony Raid". TV Guide. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Rainbow couple reunited". BBC News. 12 July 2002. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Geoffrey Hayes (13 August 2002). "Hayes returns over the Rainbow". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 "What's happened to Geoffrey Hayes". The Scotsman. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  10. ↑ McAlpine, Fraser (25 June 2015). "RIP Patrick Macnee: The Original Avenger". BBC America. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Rainbow star Geoffrey Hayes dies". Yorkshire Post. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Monster Munch 'Geoffrey Hayes' by Frank PR". Campaign. Campaignlive.co.uk. 3 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "BBC One – Pointless Celebrities, Series 8". BBC One. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  14. ↑ "Geoffrey from Rainbow just showed up on Pointless Celebrities". Metro. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Fun and Games | Zippy named top fan". BBC Sport. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "Rainbow's Geoffrey Hayes remembered fondly as he dies aged 76". The Irish News. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.