Eric Morley
Encyclopedia
Eric Douglas Morley was born in Holborn
, London
, England
. He was the founder of the Miss World
pageant
. He was married to now head of the pageant Julia Morley from 1960.
and spoke nine languages" but he died young, and he was orphaned age 11 when his mother and stepfather died of tuberculosis
. He attended Whitstable Grammar School in Kent
. London County Council
sent him to the Royal Navy
training ship HMS Exmouth, which was moored at Grays
. Here, he broke bars of chocolate to sell to his peers. He joined the Royal Fusiliers at 14 and played french horn in the band. During the war he became a captain in the Royal Army Service Corps
, organising entertainment for the troops and fighting in Dunkirk
.
Morley started his career in the entertainment business in 1945 when he resigned his commission to managing a travelling show in Scotland
, and then, in 1946, joined the Mecca organisation as a publicity manager. In 1949, he was able to introduce ballroom dancing onto BBC television
through the Come Dancing
programme, encouraging viewers to visit Mecca's dance halls.
In 1952, he was Mecca's general manager of dancing, and was made a director in 1953. With Mecca, Morley helped to populise bingo which was played at Mecca venues throughout the United Kingdom
. He changed the company from a small catering and dancing firm into a leading entertainment and catering company in the UK. It employed 15,000 people and covered dance halls, catering, bingo, gambling, ice-skating rinks, bowling alleys, discos and several restaurants. The company also provided catering and entertainment services for several of the biggest football clubs in London; Arsenal
, Chelsea
and Tottenham Hotspur
.
In 1978 he left Mecca after a disagreement with the then parent company, Grand Metropolitan, becoming chairman of the Belhaven Brewery
company in Scotland
.
and also had political ambition. A resident of Herne Hill
, he nearly won in the 1979 general election, slashing the Labour Party
7,500 majority of Sam Silkin to a mere 122 at his local Dulwich
, south London.
Following his defeat, he remarked, "Unlike Sam Silkin, I didn't go to Dulwich College
and to Cambridge. I went to the college of hard knocks, and last week I received my doctorate."
. When an American rival Miss Universe
contest was launched, Morley turned Miss World into an annual event held every November in the Royal Albert Hall
. It was first televised in 1959, and became a popular fixture with Morley's announcement of: "Here are the winners, in reverse order".
The pageant was watched by 27.5 million in Britain at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1970, flour bombs were thrown at the compere, Bob Hope
, by protestors. Morley answered his critics saying, "If it is shameful to women, then the best thing they can do is turn it off". The competition raised more than £30 million pounds for charity. In 1983 he floated
Miss World Group on the Unlisted Securities Market
of the London Stock Exchange
, keeping a 51 per cent stake. To counter feminist
critics of the show, he tried to reduce the emphasis on the bathing-costume round and emphasise the girls' other attributes by drawing attention to their "poise, personality, talent, figure, facial beauty, deportment, ability to be interviewed and so forth". Although the terrestrial TV channels no longer broadcast the show in Britain, it remained popular worldwide, and in 1997 was capable of attracting a TV audience of 2.5 billion across 155 countries.
The competition — and its related events such as Miss England
and Miss Scotland
— could generate great earnings and Morley controversially acted as agent to the winners, keeping them under tight supervision. On several occasions he dethroned girls who he thought had acted improperly.
Morley had married his wife Julia in 1960 after meeting at a dance hall. In 1968, she took over the day to day running of Miss World and, following Morley's death in 2000, became chairman of the pageant.
At the age of 63, Morley completed the London Marathon despite a damaged hamstring, and supported both the Variety Club of Great Britain and Variety Clubs International, the latter as president in 1978.
On 9 November 2000, the day after the contestants first paraded at the Millennium Dome
in preparation for the 2000 Miss World finals, he had a heart attack and died in the Princess Grace Hospital, west London.
A service of thanksgiving was held in the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, with the Prince of Wales
and the Duke of Edinburgh
being represented. He left an estate valued at £2.6 million, and was buried in West Norwood Cemetery
, London.
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was the founder of the Miss World
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
pageant
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
. He was married to now head of the pageant Julia Morley from 1960.
Life and career
Morley claimed that his father "was at OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and spoke nine languages" but he died young, and he was orphaned age 11 when his mother and stepfather died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. He attended Whitstable Grammar School in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
sent him to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
training ship HMS Exmouth, which was moored at Grays
Grays
Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of the Thurrock's traditional parishes...
. Here, he broke bars of chocolate to sell to his peers. He joined the Royal Fusiliers at 14 and played french horn in the band. During the war he became a captain in the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
, organising entertainment for the troops and fighting in Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. A part of the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and allied forces in Europe from 26 May–4 June 1940.After the Phoney War, the Battle of...
.
Morley started his career in the entertainment business in 1945 when he resigned his commission to managing a travelling show in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and then, in 1946, joined the Mecca organisation as a publicity manager. In 1949, he was able to introduce ballroom dancing onto BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
through the Come Dancing
Come Dancing
Come Dancing was a BBC TV ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off from 1949 to 1998, becoming one of television's longest-running shows....
programme, encouraging viewers to visit Mecca's dance halls.
In 1952, he was Mecca's general manager of dancing, and was made a director in 1953. With Mecca, Morley helped to populise bingo which was played at Mecca venues throughout the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He changed the company from a small catering and dancing firm into a leading entertainment and catering company in the UK. It employed 15,000 people and covered dance halls, catering, bingo, gambling, ice-skating rinks, bowling alleys, discos and several restaurants. The company also provided catering and entertainment services for several of the biggest football clubs in London; Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
and Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
.
In 1978 he left Mecca after a disagreement with the then parent company, Grand Metropolitan, becoming chairman of the Belhaven Brewery
Belhaven Brewery
Belhaven brewery is a brewery near Dunbar in Scotland owned by Greene King.-History:Belhaven claims to have begun brewing in 1719. In that year the burgh of Dunbar levied a local tax on brewers to fund civic improvements...
company in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Politics
Morley was a confirmed supporter of Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and also had political ambition. A resident of Herne Hill
Herne Hill
Herne Hill is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London. There is a road of the same name which continues the A215 north of Norwood Road and was called Herne Hill Road.-History:...
, he nearly won in the 1979 general election, slashing the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
7,500 majority of Sam Silkin to a mere 122 at his local Dulwich
Dulwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Dulwich was a borough constituency in the Dulwich area of South London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, south London.
Following his defeat, he remarked, "Unlike Sam Silkin, I didn't go to Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
and to Cambridge. I went to the college of hard knocks, and last week I received my doctorate."
Miss World
Morley had adapted the seaside beauty contest into fashion shows at Mecca dance halls; he developed this into a national beauty pageant and a TV concept. Miss World was started in 1951 as a promotional tool for Mecca, initially holding the competitions in Mecca halls. The first competition coincided with the Festival of BritainFestival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
. When an American rival Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
contest was launched, Morley turned Miss World into an annual event held every November in the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
. It was first televised in 1959, and became a popular fixture with Morley's announcement of: "Here are the winners, in reverse order".
The pageant was watched by 27.5 million in Britain at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1970, flour bombs were thrown at the compere, Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, by protestors. Morley answered his critics saying, "If it is shameful to women, then the best thing they can do is turn it off". The competition raised more than £30 million pounds for charity. In 1983 he floated
Public float
The float of a company whose stock is publicly traded has different default meanings depending on the presumed context.Without a qualifier it may refer to the entire market capitalization of the company or only its publicly traded equity....
Miss World Group on the Unlisted Securities Market
Unlisted Securities Market
The Unlisted Securities Market , which ran from 1980 to 1996, was a stock exchange set up by the London Stock Exchange to cater for companies too small to qualify for a full listing....
of the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
, keeping a 51 per cent stake. To counter feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
critics of the show, he tried to reduce the emphasis on the bathing-costume round and emphasise the girls' other attributes by drawing attention to their "poise, personality, talent, figure, facial beauty, deportment, ability to be interviewed and so forth". Although the terrestrial TV channels no longer broadcast the show in Britain, it remained popular worldwide, and in 1997 was capable of attracting a TV audience of 2.5 billion across 155 countries.
The competition — and its related events such as Miss England
Miss England
The Miss England competition is an annual beauty pageant targeted at young females aged 17–24 years living in England. Entrants must hold a British passport to enter....
and Miss Scotland
Miss Scotland
The Miss Scotland competition is an annual beauty pageant targeted at women aged 18–24 living in Scotland. Entrants must hold a British passport to enter...
— could generate great earnings and Morley controversially acted as agent to the winners, keeping them under tight supervision. On several occasions he dethroned girls who he thought had acted improperly.
Morley had married his wife Julia in 1960 after meeting at a dance hall. In 1968, she took over the day to day running of Miss World and, following Morley's death in 2000, became chairman of the pageant.
At the age of 63, Morley completed the London Marathon despite a damaged hamstring, and supported both the Variety Club of Great Britain and Variety Clubs International, the latter as president in 1978.
On 9 November 2000, the day after the contestants first paraded at the Millennium Dome
Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome, colloquially referred to simply as The Dome or even The O2 Arena, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
in preparation for the 2000 Miss World finals, he had a heart attack and died in the Princess Grace Hospital, west London.
A service of thanksgiving was held in the Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, with the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
and the Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...
being represented. He left an estate valued at £2.6 million, and was buried in West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries of London, and is a site of major historical, architectural and...
, London.