I was too young to appreciate Gay Byrne but he was a mean shot wh a water pistol – The Irish Tim

Contents:

• HOW GAY BYRNE MA THE LATE LATE TOY SHOW AN 'ACCINTAL H'
• LATE LATE TOY SHOW: GAY BYRNE'S BT MOMENTS
• WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF GAY BYRNE'S BT TOY SHOW MOMENTS
• ‘GAY SAID “NO, WE ARE NOT DOG A TOY SLOT”’ – MEET THE WOMAN BEHD LATE LATE TOY SHOW’S CREATN
• DO YOU REMEMBER... GAY BYRNE PRENTG THE LATE LATE TOY SHOW?
• DID YOU SEE THE HEARTWARMG TRIBUTE TO GAY BYRNE THE LATE LATE TOY SHOW TRAILER?
• GAY BYRNE'S FT MOMENTS ON THE LATE LATE SHOW
• I WAS TOO YOUNG TO APPRECIATE GAY BYRNE BUT HE WAS A MEAN SHOT WH A WATER PISTOL
• DETAILS OF GAY BYRNE'S WILL HE MA JT 12 DAYS BEFORE HIS ATH REVEALED
• GAY BYRNE
• THE WOMEN BEHD GAY BYRNE’S SUCCS: WHO THEY WERE AND WHAT THEY DID
• LATE LATE TOY SHOW TO PAY TRIBUTE TO GAY BYRNE
• GAY BYRNE, TV STAR WHO 'CHALLENGED IRISH SOCIETY', DI AGED 85

HOW GAY BYRNE MA THE LATE LATE TOY SHOW AN 'ACCINTAL H'

In 1974, when the ia of a toy segment featurg on the Late Late Show was pched to Gay Bryne by senr rearch Pan Colls, the then host and producer was simply not imprsed.

The followg week, she gathered rmatn and not on her brachild and pched the ia to Gay but to no avail. Gay Byrne and Dt on Late Late Toy Show 1997 Pic: RTÉ. However, knowg ep down the ia was a good one, Pan next went to Gay's right-hand-woman Mra Connolly, who acted as the prenter's special assistant, programme executive and artist liaison officer.

LATE LATE TOY SHOW: GAY BYRNE'S BT MOMENTS

Pan had been hopg Mra, who ed the show's now famo 'aaaand there’s one for everybody the dience' tchphrase, uld help her persua Gay to givg the ia the go-ahead.

I said to Gay, "Look, what do Christmas mean?

WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF GAY BYRNE'S BT TOY SHOW MOMENTS

Thankfully, Gay fally said y! Gay Byrne was reluctant at first to have toys on The Late Late Show, but his team persuad him that would make good seasonal viewg.

‘GAY SAID “NO, WE ARE NOT DOG A TOY SLOT”’ – MEET THE WOMAN BEHD LATE LATE TOY SHOW’S CREATN

One eveng back 1974 as Pan Colls hurried through Stillan village somethg ught her wdows of Nimble Fgers toy shop l up before her, and, as she phed through the ont door, an ia flashed across her followg week, Pan, a senr rearcher and script edor on The Late Late Show, gathered her not, and pched an ia to her boss, producer and prenter Gay Byrne. Gay was not imprsed, and turned Pan knew a good ia, and stead of acceptg feat she cid to rally the she went straight to Mra was Gay’s right-hand woman for 30 years; she acted as special assistant, programme executive, artist liaison officer, and all-round Late Late Show was the person who ed the phrase ‘Aaand There’s One for Everybody the Audience’, and joed Gay the RTÉ nteen before each programme for his rual plate of egg and Pan uld get Mra onsi, then her toy segment uld bee a realy.

“Gay said ‘No, we are not dog a toy slot’, ” Mra Colls pictured 1966. I said to Gay, ‘Look, what do Christmas mean?

Dpe Gay’s ial rervatns, was the hight-ratg sectn of any show across the entire proved so popular that when was brought back the followg year — on December 13, 1975 — beme a special programme today is a juggernt; the fn of entertament event viewg, pullg ratgs of 1. The theme is nsired tantamount to a state secret, and a team of toy tters spend weeks makg sure batteri are fully Connolly, who was Gay Byrne's right-hand woman, pictured last year.

DO YOU REMEMBER... GAY BYRNE PRENTG THE LATE LATE TOY SHOW?

”When Gay cid on the date for the Toy Show, was all systems team would discs the toys — which were gog to be the most popular wh the kids, and which would make for the bt had his favour; Buzz Off — a gadget where players had to try and manovre around a wire whout settg off a buzzer, and super soakers, which he ed to doe the stud dience wh.

”In the early years rearchers had meo rol on air and would monstrate how the toys would be d palpatns if dolls or actn men were glossed over, or if they malfunctned live on air and Gay tossed them asi.

DID YOU SEE THE HEARTWARMG TRIBUTE TO GAY BYRNE THE LATE LATE TOY SHOW TRAILER?

“You see, if Gay gave a good mentn was sold out, ” Colman says. ”Throughout the 26 years that Gay helmed the show, nstantly evolved.

“We brought entertament, and Gay asked any children who were terted performg to send a tape and a bg. Mra remembers tryg to do somethg siar durg the early days but receivg a missive om the Director General tellg them to thks the key to Gay’s skill as a broadster was his abily to let the person he was speakg wh e to the foreground.

GAY BYRNE'S FT MOMENTS ON THE LATE LATE SHOW

“Gay always tried to fa to the background and tried to brg the people forward, ” she says.

I WAS TOO YOUNG TO APPRECIATE GAY BYRNE BUT HE WAS A MEAN SHOT WH A WATER PISTOL

”Gay’s fal Toy Show was 1998, and then was taken over by Pat Kenny — who famoly ripped up a pair of tickets for the Toy Show when a ller was ls than enthiastic about wng was a hard act to follow but the show grew numbers durg Pat’s 10 years (om 1999 to 2008). It also created some extremely memorable moments — like when he ro an elephant onto the set or when Girls Aloud accintally trmatised a child live on though Pat and Gay enjoyed hostg the Toy Show, Ryan Tubridy’s enthiasm for seems on a different level altogether.

“Gay enjoyed the Toy Show, ” Colman says. You’d hear him on the Gay Byrne Hour sayg, ‘The Toy Show is this Friday, Lord help ’. He has jumped feet first, wrapped tsel and nstctg monologu out of disrd Christmas cracker that’s before we get to his wholehearted embrace of ftive the Toy Show jumpers act as a sartorial barometer of each prenter’s enthiasm, Gay was a tradnalist; he got to the spir of and ually went wh a sual and sometim qutnable kn sourced by eher Mra or his dghter Crona.

Gay Byrne turned down the Toy Show.

DETAILS OF GAY BYRNE'S WILL HE MA JT 12 DAYS BEFORE HIS ATH REVEALED

Gay Byrne’s dghter, Crona, was often rponsible for pickg out his special Toy Show year’s Late Late Toy Show airs next Friday, November 26, at 9.

That's after the much-loved broadster Gay Byrne, sadly passed away earlier this month. For that, and many other reasons, Gay Byrne will always hold a place our hearts.

GAY BYRNE

Uncle Gaybo steward the mayhem as hors of children scend on the RTÉ studs each year, always brgg his signature humany to each and every enunter.

THE WOMEN BEHD GAY BYRNE’S SUCCS: WHO THEY WERE AND WHAT THEY DID

Gay Byrne and the 1980 Toy Show #LateLateToyShow @RTEArchiv. We have Gay to thank for the garish jumpers that have bee mandatory uniform for the Toy Show host, as he sported many (qutnable) classics over the years. Then there was that unfettable cint wh Zig and Zag, which saw the gome twosome direct a Super Soaker 50 water gun squarely at Gay.

LATE LATE TOY SHOW TO PAY TRIBUTE TO GAY BYRNE

Not one to ny a treat to everyone the dience, Gay soon turned the full force of the weapon on the assembled Toy Show spectators! Gay's old iends Boyzone gave a memorable meo on the Toy Show.

GAY BYRNE, TV STAR WHO 'CHALLENGED IRISH SOCIETY', DI AGED 85

The lads gave the hopelsly out-of-time thstg and gyratg om their origal Late Late appearance a miss favour of a tryg out a racg set, sternly watched over by Uncle Gaybo himself. Lastly, there were the annual showdowns between Gay Byrne and Dt the Turkey on the Toy Show, which saw treated to some top-tier verbal sparrg. Dt got a choice dig when he prented Gay wh a Pat Kenny clock live on air, but we reckon that after Dt's dismal Eurovisn showg 2008, was Gay who got the last lgh.

So this year, as we settle to watch the toy-town extravaganza, we'll be givg a thought to all those years when Gay Byrne hosted the Late Late Toy Show.