Biography

Patrick Moore

Jump to

Patrick Moore was born on March 4, 1923 in Pinner, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Gamesmaster (1992), The Sky at Night (1957) and Doctor Who (2005). He died on December 9, 2012 in Selsey, West Sussex, England, UK.

He presented one of the longest running TV shows in United Kingdom history, The Sky at Night (1957), which started in 1957 and is still shown every month as of 2019.
In 1957 on the programme, The Sky at Night (1957), he opened his mouth to speak and a fly flew in. Ever the professional, Moore swallowed the fly in front of millions of viewers and carried on with the show. He later told his family of his ordeal, and got no sympathy from his mother, telling him "it was worse for the fly"!
He is the author of the Caldwell catalog, an index concerning star gazing for amateurs.
He said his fiancée Lorna, a nurse, was killed in 1943 during World War II and that was why he never married or had children. However some doubt has arisen over Moore's account, as researchers have been unable to identify Lorna, despite the meticulous records kept of wartime civilian casualties.
He was an Astronomer/TV presenter.

The trouble is the BBC now is run by women and it shows soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn't have had that in the golden days. I would like to see two independent wavelengths - one controlled by women, and one for us, controlled by men. (Speaking in 2007)
I used to watch Doctor Who (1963) and Star Trek (1966), but they went PC - making women commanders, that kind of thing. I stopped watching.
He was ahead of his time in so many ways. Quite apart from artificial satellites there were other things too. A great science fiction writer, a very good scientist, a great prophet and a very dear friend, I'm very, very sad that he's gone. (On Arthur C. Clarke)
I was in hospital once and I watched a whole episode of EastEnders (1985). I suppose it's true to life. But so is diarrhoea - and I don't want to see that on television.

Suggest an edit or add missing content