Robin Ray facts for kids

Robin Ray (born September 17, 1934 – died November 29, 1998) was a talented English broadcaster, actor, and musician. He was known for his friendly personality and his amazing knowledge of classical music.

Robin's Early Life

Robin Ray was born Robin Olden in London, England. His father was Charles Olden, who later became a famous comedian known as Ted Ray. Robin went to Highgate School and then studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

A Career in Entertainment

Robin Ray started his career as an actor. His first professional acting job was in a play called The Changeling in London in 1960. He also had small parts in movies like I'm All Right Jack (1959) and A Hard Day's Night (1964). After acting, he taught drama at RADA for a while.

Moving into Broadcasting

In 1966, Robin decided to leave his teaching job to focus on broadcasting. He became very popular on television.

One of his first big roles was as the chairman of a new BBC game show called Call My Bluff, starting in 1965. He was also a regular and much-loved panel member on the BBC classical music show, Face the Music, which began in 1966.

Robin was amazing at recognizing piano music. He could not only name the piece and the composer, but also its special "opus number." For Mozart's music, he often knew the Köchel or "K" number. His cheerful attitude and good looks made him a favorite with viewers. Because of his popularity, he was asked to host other quiz shows, including Movie Quiz and Film Buff of the Year, which ran from 1985 to 1992.

Music for Young Audiences

In 1968, Robin presented a children's TV show called Sounds Exciting. This show taught kids about music. It ended with a musical mystery story called Dead in Tune. Robin Ray wrote the original story, and Herbert Chappell composed the music. A group of musicians from the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra performed it.

Two years later, Argo recorded Dead in Tune with a larger group of musicians. This record also included a new piece called George and the Dragonfly. Herbert Chappell wrote the music for this, and Robin Ray, John Kershaw, and Robin's wife, Susan Stranks, narrated the story.

Other Musical Projects

When he was 45, Robin wrote a musical called Cafe Puccini. It opened in 1986 at the Wyndham's Theatre. In the early 1980s, he also hosted a radio show called Robin Ray's Record Review on Capital Radio.

Classic FM and Copyright

In the early 1990s, Robin Ray helped start a new commercial classical music radio station called Classic FM. He worked with them from 1991 to 1997.

Robin created a huge list of 50,000 classical music pieces. He rated them based on how popular they might be with listeners. This list became the main guide for Classic FM's music choices. Other classical music radio stations around the world found this list very useful. There was a legal disagreement between Robin Ray and Classic FM about who owned the copyright to this special list. Robin won the case in 1998.

Personal Life and Passing

Robin Ray married children's TV presenter Susan Stranks in 1960. They had a son named Rupert. Sadly, Robin passed away in 1998 from lung cancer when he was 64 years old. His brother, Andrew Ray, who was also an actor, died in 2003, also at the age of 64.

Film and TV Appearances