Slán Magnus

The black chair, the narrow light, the arms on chair, closeup on the face.  I can’t be the only one whose heart raced worrying some individual in the leather chair wouldn’t remember some tiny detail from some literary tome or the name of an obscure river in Panama? Bless, bless (sp?) as they say in his Native Icelandic.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1985125,00.html

  Magnus Magnusson, best known for his 25-year reign as Mastermind’s formidable and cerebral inquisitor, has died, aged 77.

The TV presenter, journalist, historian and author will be remembered for his catchphrase – “I’ve started, so I’ll finish” – heard often during his interrogation of subjects in the black leather chair.

Magnusson hosted Mastermind on the BBC from 1972 until 1997, making him synonymous with a quiz show that gained mass appeal and up to 22 million viewers, and paved the way for today’s more aggressive formats.