When thinking about what my Mastermind subject would be, I always feel that choosing Bing would have too much scope! Unless I cut it down to, say, just recordings, thus avoiding radio, film, personal & TV career...

Perhaps the contestant is a member! Perhaps it's Ken himself...

I should know all the answers but can I recall them quickly enough? Spent 10 minutes today trying to remember Bing's co-star in "Emperor Waltz" and another 10 minutes recalling The Musicaladers!

Many congratulations to Malcolm Sumner for his victory in the Mastermind heat on Friday evening - well done!

I would have passed on three - the originator of the name "Bingo", the name of Bing's stand-in and the church where Bing and Kathryn tied the knot.

(It is, of course, easy enough to reel off the answers sitting comfortably at home with your feet up and a beer in your hand! The pressure of the studio environment, the lights and Mr Humphreys' grilling - not to mention the infamous chair - make Malcolm's achievement all the more impressive.)

It's a pity that the programme format no longer allows for the contestants to say a few words about their chosen subject before the general knowledge round. It would have been a great opportunity to quote a few statistics - on prime-time television - about Bing's extraordinary career.

Anyway, well done again, Malcolm, and the very best of luck in the semi-finals.

Thank-you very much to Jeremy and Richard for their kind comments regarding my appearance in the BBC’s ‘Mastermind’ quiz (10 / 2 / 12). The broadcast is still available to watch online on the BBC i-player but only until the next episodes are aired on Friday evening (17th Feb) at 8 o’clock!

As requested, I have posted (in the ‘Members Introductions’ sub-forum) a bit of an intro to my lifetime interest in Bing. Regarding the quiz – I was a reluctant contestant on ‘Mastermind’ but when a friend had a go last series and did quite well, I got nagged by my family to send in an online application. It seemed like one way of using the store of pointless ‘general’ information that some of us tend to accumulate over the years, but which specialist subjects to choose? You have to submit four (in case you make it through all three rounds of the contest) with reasons for your choice and evidence of knowledge in the form of a ‘reading list’. The subjects you choose (not too obscure or too broad) also presumably play a part on whether you get selected to audition.

As a more worthwhile ‘challenge’, I originally intended to choose subjects where I had an interest but only limited knowledge. However, with pressure on for the first round, I had to make a quick choice so opted for a subject where I was semi-confident. Wise decision, as the recording took place last July just days after the end of school term! Had ordered three ‘set texts’ (biographies by Charles Thompson, Michael Freedland and Richard Grudens - no time to tackle the exhaustive and masterful 'early life' by Gary Giddins!) With roughly three days to prepare, I had to start ‘predicting’ likely topics. Bing starred in over 60 full-length films, usually playing interchangeable versions of himself with names like Jeff or Jim, so decided I would (and could!) only memorise his roles in the more famous films or the ‘character’ parts that he played ... which paid off with the question on Bing’s character name in the ‘Stagecoach’ remake. Had watched that film decades before so no way I would have remembered otherwise.

On the day of filming, the questions luckily fell just right. As Richard and Jeremy have mentioned, roughly half of the 17 Crosby questions I got through in my two minutes would have been straightforward for any Bing fan (or for me a week earlier!) For the other half, I relied on my ‘cramming’. Three of the questions (the name of Bing’s boyhood neighbour, the church where he married Kathryn and the Leo Lynn question) I’d filed away under 'they’ll-never-ask-that-but-just-in-case'. ‘Firsts and lasts’ also paid off with a question on Bing’s final album. I’d registered the fact that he made the first ever recordings on Jack Kapp’s new Decca label but had  omitted to remember the names of the recordings in question (basically because I’d never heard of either song!)

Amazing (or unsurprising) how quickly you ‘lose’ a lot of that hastily crammed knowledge when the recording is over – all the hotels / cafes / cinemas in Spokane and California where Bing made his early appearances! But compliments to the question-setter on a really broad and interesting variety of questions, many of which (as Richard says) were quite lengthy and included interesting ‘nuggets’ for the audience. At least the lengthy questions gave me a little bit of thinking time!

On the afternoon of the recording (which now takes place in the BBC’s brand-new Manchester studios – a bit of a trek for us ‘southerners’!) the audience were entertained amidst the checking of camera angles by Ted Robbins, a well-known ‘warm-up man’ on many TV shows. Amidst the to-and-fro with the quizmaster John Humphries, he used the gag about the two of them having a dressing-room next to a troupe of female dancers. Ted recalled telling John about finding a hole in the dressing-room wall, to which John’s apparent reply was ‘Let them look’! I’m sure that I heard Bing and Bob Hope use a similar routine on one of the radio shows – proof that the ‘banter’ as well as the music is timeless. Many of today’s radio presenters with their on-air badinage owe a massive debt to Crosby’s legacy – I know that he mixed the spontaneous with the scripted but even today the good-natured banter between Bing and his fellow-stars is as fresh as the day it was recorded.

Talking of ‘banter’, I was initially relieved that contestants are no longer required to have a brief ‘chat’ with John Humphries before the commencement of the General Knowledge round, but in retrospect it would have been a nice way of putting one’s specialist choice into context. Being as my fellow-contestants chose an eclectic range of subjects (including the official executioner Albert Pierrepoint!) these insights definitely used to add an extra facet to the programme.

The next ‘round’ of Mastermind was recorded last September (transmission date still unknown). One is not allowed to return to earlier subjects (or even similar ones) so my next specialist round was on the Victorian Prime Minister Disraeli! Another hero (and another great ‘showman’) but hard to think of a greater contrast! Suffice it to say that as the competition gets tougher,  nerves and concentration play as great a part as knowledge, so grateful that some of Bing’s relaxed style was with me on the July recording at least!

Last edited by MS(Cheltenham) (15/2/2012 7:19 am)

Thanks very much  – yes, that’s absolutely fine, though I won’t hold you to this in the likely event of more interesting material becoming available! Will send you contact details separately.

Coming from someone whose ‘Day By Day’ guide must be the ultimate in showbiz scholarship, your comments are much appreciated. Once again, the material assembled on this site (and the vigilance / dedication of its contributors) is surely the envy of museum curators and university archivists everywhere ...  ‘a veritable cornucopia of Crosby curiosities’ as the great man himself might have put it!

I had never heard of that program before.  It sounds like part of the entertainment might be when a supposed know-it-all is unmasked as a fraud.  Obviously, our new friend, MS, really knew his subject exceptionally well!  What a delight to learn of another dedicated Crosby fan. As a Yank, once again I am reminded of just how essential the British community of Bing's fans has been in keeping his legacy alive over all these years.