Concept

Selwyn Toogood

Summary
Selwyn Featherston Toogood (4 April 1916 – 27 February 2001) was a New Zealand radio and television personality. Born in Wellington on 4 April 1916, Toogood was the son of Henry Featherston Toogood and Ethel Lois Copus "Noonie" Toogood (née Butler). Through his mother, Toogood was the great-grandson of John Howell, who established a whaling station at Riverton, and his second wife, Caroline Brown, whose mother was Māori from the Ngāi Tahu iwi. Toogood did not learn of his Māori ancestry until he was 18 years old. Toogood was educated at Wellesley College and Wellington College, where he had an inauspicious career, apart from excelling in the dramatic arts. On 30 June 1948, Toogood married Cynthia Holden Webb at St Peter's church, in Willis Street, Wellington. Cynthia's brother was Sir Richard Webb, who served as the New Zealand Chief of Defence Staff between 1971 and 1976. The Toogoods went on to have two sons, including Kit Toogood, who was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1999 and a High Court judge in 2011. Toogood joined the army following the outbreak of World War II. As an ammunition officer, he saw active service in Greece, North Africa and Italy, rising to the rank of major. He was mentioned in dispatches in 1944, in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Italy. In 1953, Toogood was awarded the Efficiency Decoration. After leaving school, Toogood became involved in theatre and radio, including a role in New Zealand's first radio soap opera. On a troopship on the way home from World War II, he ran his first quiz show. After the war, Toogood picked up where he had left off as a stage actor, voice-over artist and radio announcer. He began his career as a radio host in 1946 and was the originator of the game show It's in the Bag, in which he popularised the catch-phrases, "By hokey", and "What will it be, customers - the money or the bag?", in New Zealand. It's in the Bag eventually moved on to network television, where it was equally successful. He published his autobiography Out Of The Bag in 1979.
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.