Eamonn Andrews
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Eamonn Andrews (19 December, 1922 – 5 November, 1987) was a Irish born television presenter in the United Kingdom.
Andrews was born in Synge Street, Dublin, Ireland, the same street in which playwright George Bernard Shaw was born. He began his career as an amateur boxer and went on to be a sports commentator on Radio Éireann. In 1950, he began presenting programmes for the BBC and soon moved on to become one of television's most popular presenters. Series with which he was associated included:
- What's My Line? (1951-1963 and 1984-87)
- This is your Life (1955-1987)
- Crackerjack (children's series)
He was famous for coming up with off-the-cuff linkings which didn't work — such as 'speaking of cheese sandwiches, have you come far?' and so on. This was parodied by Seamus Android in the BBC radio programme Round the Horne in the 1960s.
Eamonn Andrews is also the name of a linking composition by the 1970s British avant-rock band Soft Machine. It was named after Eamonn because it was an off-the-cuff link between unrelated pieces in their live sets. Over time, it came into its own as a major part of the live Soft Machine repetoire.
Cornish producer and recording artist Luke Vibert paid tribute to Andrews by releasing a series of hardcore & jungle EPs on Rephlex Records under the pseudonym of "Amen Andrews", featuring a picture of the real Andrews on the second side of all 5 EPs.