Bryan Cowgill (1927-2008)

[Michael Rhodes]

Bryan Cowgill, television executive, born May 27 1927; died July 14
2008.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/18/television

Bryan Cowgill, who has died aged 81, was at various times a pioneering
sports broadcaster, the controller of BBC1, the managing director of
Thames Television and a prime player in satellite TV. A buccaneer,
born out of his time, he was also an unsettling reminder that
occupying media executive hot seats can be both short and brutish.

The quarterdeck of a pirate schooner would have suited both Cowgill's
face and his managerial style, but he was fated to live in an age and
an industry where bureaucratic nicety was bound to grate on his energy
and individuality, leading to a career that embraced great success,
considerable conflict and more than one stormy departure. To those in
TV circles he may be best remembered for his personal Waterloo - the
time in 1985 when, after eight years as managing director of Thames,
he resigned after trying to poach the BBC's hit soap opera Dallas.