Bill Tidy MBE | Author | Cartoonist | Expert | Presenter
Bill Tidy is the phenomenally talented cartoonist, author, writer, TV and radio presenter, renowned for his memorable and hilarious cartoons. His unique wit and indomitable style has been noted for over 60 years and he has many fans. Many will remember his truly memorable cartoon strips such as The Fosdyke Saga and The Cloggies. He has an exceptional and innate ability to tailor highly amusing cartoons to any theme irrespective of the occasion and however sensitive or diverse the subject matter may be.
Expertise
Humour, Media & Journalism, TV Presenter.
Talents
More about Bill Tidy MBE
Born in Tranmere, Cheshire, 9 October 1933, moved to Liverpool for the Blitz, Bill Tidy survived and left school to work in a shipping office. Bill joined the Royal Engineers, and was stationed in Germany, Korea and Japan. He sold his first cartoon to an English speaking Japanese newspaper in 1955, left the army in 1956, returned to Liverpool and found work in an advertising agency. Bill took to cartooning professionally in 1957 after plans to emigrate to Canada fell through. Instead Bill flew to London for a job interview and sat next to a young Italian lady who became his wife in 1960. Bill and Rosa have 3 children: Sylvia, Nick (died 2004) and Rob.
Famed for cartoon strips; ‘THE FOSDYKE SAGA’ (Daily Mirror) and ‘THE CLOGGIES’ (Private Eye), ‘DR. WHITTLE’ (General Practitioner), which ran for over 25 years and ‘KEGBUSTER’ still appearing in CAMRA’s monthly magazine, ‘What’s Brewing?’ He also regularly contributed to Classic FM magazine, The Oldie and Punch. He still contributes to to Private Eye. His love of archaeology also reflects in his professional life, as he has been a contributing cartoonist to three archaeological magazines; BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY, ANTIQUITY and the ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA.
Bill has appeared on many shows; ‘COUNTDOWN’, ‘WATERCOLOUR CHALLENGE’ & ‘COLLECTOR’S LOT’ (C4), ‘THROUGH THE KEYHOLE’ (twice!) & ALPHABET GAME (BBC) ‘OPEN HOUSE’ (C5) & ‘SORRY I HAVEN’T A CLUE’ (R4). He wrote and presented ‘TIDY UP WALSALL’, TIDY UP NAPLES’ ‘THREE DAYS LAST SUMMER and ‘DRAW ME’, a 13 part children’s TV series. Has guest presented; ‘FOOD FILE’ (C4), ‘COUNTRYFILE’ (BBC) and ‘SKY SPORTS’ Saturday morning show. He has also been a recipient of ‘THIS IS YOUR LIFE’.
Bill has the totally amazing ability to turn his hand to any subject and until recently was offering unique visual communication during his thrilling after dinner, training or product presentations. This put along side his phenomenally ‘quick on the draw’ humour, enthralled audiences again and again and many leading companies such as STENA LINES, PAGE & MOY, LLOYDSTSB, JCB, ICI called for his services. He still works with advertising & PR groups who seek his help in their campaigns; sales conference speaking, product launches, open days etc. Clients include EASYJET, YAKULT, BATCHELORS, BT, EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT & MARKS AND SPENCER. Bill also offers exclusive personalised cartoon publicity in the form of original limited editions, Christmas cards and calendars specifically aimed at companies, tailoring each drawing to their corporate identity. Clients include VIRGIN HOLIDAYS, HALIFAX PROPERTY SERVICES, BOOTS, BASS BREWERS, HOLIDAY INN and AUTOGLASS.
Writer of more than 20 books and illustrator of over 70; ‘THE WORLD’S WORST GOLF CLUB’, his autobiography ‘IS THERE ANY NEWS OF THE ICEBERG?’, ‘BILL TIDY’S BOOK OF QUOTATIONS’, DISGRACEFUL ARCHAEOLOGY’ with Dr. Paul Bahn and most recently, ‘THE GREATEST CRICKETER OF THEM ALL’, volume one of a series of Sporting Legends. Bill also writes and illustrates children’s books. He designed board games, ventriloquist dummies, stage sets and the ‘IT’S A KNOCKOUT’ trophy; receiving Granada TV’s ‘CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR’ award in 1974 and ‘SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS’ award in 1980.
He was awarded a MBE in 2000 and was the President of The Lord’s Taverners in 2008 where he has been a member for over 30 years. Hobbies include supporting Everton FC and cultivating peas and beans in his garden.
Images
Videos
Media
TV & Radio
Bill Tidy has appeared on countless TV shows and series over the years and they include many episodes of ‘Countdown’ (C4), ‘Watercolour Challenge’ (C4), , ‘Celebrity Squares’ (ITV), ‘Quick On The Draw’ (ITV), ‘Blankety Blank’ (BBC), ‘Collector’s Lot’ (C4), ‘Through The Keyhole’ (ITV), ‘Alphabet Game’ (BBC), ‘Open House’ (C5. He also presented Tidy Up Naples (BBC) and Draw Me’ (BBC), and was the subject of’ This Is Your Life’ (BBC).
Books
Writer of more than 20 books and illustrator of over 70, here is but a small selection of Bill’s recent works:
‘The World’s Worst Golf Club'(Queen Anne Press 1987)
‘Is The Any News of The Iceberg?'(Smith Gryphon 1995)
‘Bill Tidy’s Book of Quotations’ (Harper Collins 1998)
‘Disgraceful Archaeology’ (NPI Media Group 1999)
‘Ancient Obscenities: Or Things You Shouldn’t Know About The History of Mankind'(The Chalford Press 2006)
‘How Safe Is Your Home’ (Spring Hill 2006)