Hughie Green
Biography
Green is often misrepresented as being a Canadian by birth. In fact, he was born in London in 1920, but after moving to Canada he became a Canadian citizen. At the age of 14, he was given his own BBC Radio show and by 15 he was the highest-paid child star in Great Britain.
He went on to create and star as host of the popular television game shows Double Your Money and The Sky's the Limit and the talent show Opportunity Knocks. After his death in 1997, it was disclosed that he was the father of TV presenter Paula Yates.
Trivia
During WWII, he was a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force. His job was to ferry aeroplanes across the Atlantic; as a result he got to fly most types of aeroplane in use at the time. He flew the Duke and Duchess of Kent on their honeymoon, and still worked as a charter pilot even when Double Your Money was at its height, partly because of his passion for flying, and partly because he genuinely needed the money, since his legal battle with the BBC over the rights to Opportunity Knocks left him with enormous debts to pay off.
Green once presented a show in the USSR, where a TV set was the top prize (no cash prizes were allowed)
His epitaph in Golders Green crematorium reads: You were the star that made opportunity knock. You will never be forgotten. (see image)
