Ted Lowe

Ted Lowe MBE (born November 1, 1920 in Lambourn , Berkshire , † May 1, 2011 ; actually Edwin Charles Ernest Lowe ) was a British sports reporter who was best known as a commentator on snooker tournaments for the BBC . His nickname was Whispering Ted , the whispering Ted.

biography

Ted Lowe began snooker himself as a teenager. He wrote to the legendary Joe Davis about opening a snooker club after World War II and even won a handicap game against him . He then became the manager of Leicester Square Hall in London in 1947 , the then English billiards stronghold.

From there, the BBC regularly broadcast ten-minute posts, and when the usual speaker dropped out, Lowe took over the commentary. He was sitting in the audience and in order not to disturb his idol Joe Davis, who was standing at the table, he whispered his comment into the microphone, which eventually became his trademark.

At that time, snooker was not that popular and TV-friendly, which is why he worked as the manager of the Ind Coope brewery after the closure of Leicester Square Hall . It was only with the introduction of color television and the Pot Black program in 1969 that the British billiards and Ted Lowe began to enjoy success.

"Whispering Ted" took over snooker coverage for the BBC until the 1996 World Snooker Championship . He also commented on the legendary 1985 World Cup final between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor , which was only decided in the very last decision frame with the last black ball. 18.5 million viewers followed this most successful live broadcast in the history of the BBC.

Ted Lowe was promoted to MBE in 1995 . He died in 2011 at the age of 90.

swell

• Obituary in the Telegraph , May 1, 2011
• Obituary of the BBC , May 1, 2011 (English)

Web links

• Ted Lowe in the Internet Movie Database (English)