Brian Bury Where is he now?
TV’S original wacky weatherman Brian Bury
It was love at first sight for the TV legend and his wife
He was a TV favourite in the 1980s, and there’s a reason why Brian Bury’s famous smile is still so sunny. It’s his wife, Margaret, the love of his life, who he met on a blind date almost 55 years ago!
“Marg was my first and only real love. We feel so blessed that not only are we still together, but that our love and marriage is stronger than ever,” beams Brian, 79, as he welcomes Woman’s Day into the couple’s cosy Gold Coast retirement villa.
“In my younger years I was overweight, had awful teeth and was anything but catnip to the ladies. I never thought I’d find love. The girls just weren’t interested,” he says candidly.
Illustrious career
The showbiz veteran was one of Nine’s brightest stars for more than 40 years. He spent a decade as the zany weatherman on Today, famous for his colourful
bow ties, funky glasses frames and outrageous hats. But for all the special TV memories, Brian says he’ll never forget the night he met his wife-to-be. “It was a blind date – an office ball – and I was lined up to be her date for the night,’ he recalls. It really was a case of mutual love at first sight, agrees Margaret, 75, as the pair affectionately hold hands. “We were squeezed into the back of a VW Beetle en route to the ball, and I knew then I’d one day marry Brian,” she says. “He was so kind and funny – despite wearing pointy shoes and pants so tight they made him look like a reject from a Robin Hood pantomime!”
Love and marriage
After a whirlwind romance,e, the couple were married in Sydney in 1962.
“The honeymoon was a scream. We had no money, so it was all on the cheap. But what could’ve been a disaster became hysterical and unforgettable, thanks to a great sense of the absurd,” says Brian. “All we could afford was a very ordinary holiday flat in Forster [on the NSW mid north coast]. . It was a hellhole. Rusty water came from the taps, the paint was peeling, the room was musty…
“The shower looked like the setting for the movie Psycho. To top it off, Marg burned the chops under the grill. We both fell about laughing and ended up going out to watch a movie.”
Channel-surfing
Brian started out in showbiz selling newspaper ads, before a stint as a radio announcer turned into his illustrious TV career in 1959.
“In the glory days I’d fill in for Mike Walsh on The Mike Walsh Show and seemed never to be off the telly. I came up with the idea of wearing zany bow ties and colourful glasses while presenting the weather as a way to spice things up, to have a bit of fun,” he says.
When his career with Nine came to an end, resourceful Brian found a new home as a weatherman for Seven and then Ten, before the family relocated to Queensland, where he was host of a weekday radio show on Brisbane’s 4BC.
Proud parents to Ann, 51, and Matthew, 48, the Burys also dote on their five grandchildren Thomas, 23, Nikita, 19, Benjamin, 18, Sarah, 18, and Luke, nine.
Sadly, last year the family was rocked by a tragedy, the death of Matthew’s daughter Natasha – Brian and Margaret’s cherished sixth grandchild.
“She was only 15. So beautiful. She had her whole life ahead of her,” Brian says sadly.
“No parent should ever have to bury one of their kids. Her sister Nikita came home to find Tash had taken her life. There’s never been a reason why.
“The entire heartbreaking ordeal bought the family even closer and made us all realise we need to live life to the fullest, and to enjoy and treasure every moment you’ve got.
“It might sound strange, but we often feel her presence smiling down on us. She was such a beautiful energy and that will never dim.”
As for what the future holds, Brian says he and Margaret are getting prepared to head back to Sydney later this year.
“It’s simply a case of we’ve really missed our old friends,” he says of the big move.
Luckily he and Margaret get on better than ever, and agree that the secret to their long and happy marriage is respect, love, and plenty of laughter.
“It sounds like a cliche, but respect is the key,” shares Brian. “We genuinely love each other, are great friends and laugh every day. Sure we fight – we’ve had some ding-dong rows – but we never go to bed angry.
“Plus, Marg always says if I don’t let her win the arguments, then I won’t get any afternoon tea!” he laughs.
‘We genuinely love each other, are great friends and laugh every day’