Sir Bruce’s life changed by secret Scots tragedy
Showbiz giant never forgot his pilot brother
SIR BRUCE FORSYTH’S stellar career was shaped by a secret Scottish heartache he barely spoke of.
As tributes continue to pour in for the man who shaped Saturday night TV, it has been revealed the death of the entertainer’s brother radically altered his view of life.
The veteran TV star’s RAF pilot sibling John died in a mission off Turnberry, Ayrshire, in 1943, when his Wellington bomber collided with another aircraft and plunged into the sea.
The incident greatly affected Sir Bruce, who passed away on Friday, aged 89.
The death taught him to take life as it comes, living every day to the maximum, an outlook which was to propel him to national treasure status.
“He was only 21,” Sir Bruce said, speaking about the loss in an interview.
“It was terrible. Terrible. He was on a training exercise over Turnberry when it happened.
“I was performing shows for the Red Cross at the time. That day I came home and as soon as I walked in the door I knew immediately that something had happened.”
With no body to bury, the family was left in limbo. Later, after Sir Bruce had also joined the RAF, he and his family travelled to Scotland to be close to where John had made his final flight.
“Because he was lost at sea, my mother would think maybe John had been picked up by a ship and could be living in South America somewhere ,” Sir Bruce recalled. “She clung on to that hope for all those years.
“It was very sad to see a family like ours, which had been so united in everything, suddenly torn apart. We never got over it.”
In his 2015 biography Strictly Bruce: Stories Of My Life, the showbiz giant revealed he had foreseen the fatal plane crash in a “horrible vision” the day before it happened.
“We went on to enjoy happy times as a family after his death, but never for a moment forgot about John. I think about him often,” he said.
Sir Bruce’s family connections to Scotland reach further back than that.
His grandfather was a Scot called John Forsyth, who was the son of William Forsyth, one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1804. William was born in Aberdeen in 1737 and became a gardener at Syon Park in west London before gaining a position as superintendent of the gardens of St James’s and Kensington palaces.
His fame was such that an entire genus of plants– Forsythia – was named after him. Last night, friends from the world of showbusiness continued to pay tribute to Sir Bruce.
Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck credited him with changing his life.
Tarbuck, 77, said: “He was unique – he could play the piano with Nat King Cole, he could dance with Sammy Davis Jr, he could take over Have I Got News For You, and most importantly he could annoy Sean Connery on the golf course, which always tickled me.”
Comedian and singer Russ Abbot said “there will never be another Bruce”.
Abbot added: “A great, great loss to the country and personally a great loss to me as a friend.
“Our thoughts are with ( Sir Bruce’s wife) Winnie and the family.”
Sir Elton John also shared his sadness over the TV veteran’s death.
The singer- songwriter took to Twitter to post a picture of the two of them singing together, alongside the message: “It was such an honour to work with him.”