{{Infobox person | name = Bob Courtney | image = | birth_name = Christopher Robert Courtney Leaver | birth_date = 31 October 1922 | birth_place = Dorset, England | death_date = 24 October 2010 | death_place = Johannesburg, South Africa | nationality = | citizenship = South Africa | occupation = Actor | years active = }} {{Short description|British-born South African actor and broadcaster (1922–2010)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} '''Christopher Robert Courtney Leaver''' (31 October 1922<ref name=wp/> – 24 October 2010<ref name=wp/>) was a British-born South African actor and broadcaster. He appeared in more than twenty film roles and worked as an on-air presenter and broadcaster on Springbok Radio.<ref name=wp/><ref name=times>{{cite news|title=Bob Courtney: Legend of Springbok Radio's glory days |url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article735935.ece/Bob-Courtney--Legend-of-Springbok-Radios-glory-days|work=The Times (South Africa) |date=30 October 2010 |access-date=14 November 2010}}</ref> Additionally, Courtney co-founded Radio Today in 1996.<ref name=times/>
==Biography== Christopher Robert Courtney Leaver on 31 October 1922, in Dorset, England, UK.<ref name=times/> He trained as an accountant. A self-taught pianist, he was drafted into the Royal Air Force's entertainment corps as an entertainer during World War II.<ref name=wp>{{cite news|title=Actor, radio legend laid to rest today |url=http://www.weekendpost.co.za/article.aspx?id=620420|work=The Weekend Post |date=29 October 2010 |access-date=14 November 2010}}</ref><ref name=times/> Courtney served as an RAF entertainer in North Africa, Greece and Italy.<ref name=times/> He met two South African entertainers, Siegfried Mynhardt and Uys Krige, in Rome, Italy, near the end of World War II. Krige and Mynhardt persuaded Courtney to move to South Africa.<ref name=times/>
Courtney emigrated to South Africa in 1946 and began working at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in 1947, using the shortened name Bob Courtney.<ref name=times/> He hosted many of the SABC's most well-known radio shows during the 1940s.<ref name=times/>
In 1950, Courtney began hosting the ''Welcome Little Stranger'' children's show on the now defunct ''Springbok Radio''.<ref name=times/> His radio name on the show was "Uncle Bob."<ref name=times/> However, his most famous job at ''Springbok Radio'' was hosting the hugely popular quiz show ''Pick a Box'', which aired for fourteen years from 1960 until 1974.<ref name=times/> Courtney toured South Africa with the show throughout its airing, attracting large crowds of fans.<ref name=times/> In one instance, the Mayor of East London sent a limousine to meet Courtney at the East London Airport, where he had arrived to host ''Pick a Box'' in the city.<ref name=times/> Courtney broadcast ''Pick a Box'' from a variety of unusual locations including Antarctica, the Cango Caves, the Union-Castle Line and a mine shaft.<ref name=times/> The popular radio show ended in 1974. ''Pick a Box'' was briefly resurrected as a television quiz show in the 1980s with Courtney once again as its host. However, the TV version was not a hit and was quickly cancelled.<ref name=times/>
Courtney's other shows on Springbok Radio included the ''Eyegene Jackpot'' game show, which aired from the 1950s until the 1970s, and ''Stop the Music'', which aired for ten years.<ref name=times/> He also launched the Springbok show ''Greet the Bride'', which would air for five days per week for twenty years on the radio.<ref name=times/> He attempted to reopen Springbok Radio after the station was closed in 1985.<ref name=times/> However, the South African Broadcasting Corporation decided against the relaunch of Springbok Radio in 1994, citing financial concerns.<ref name=times/>
Courtney also co-founded a radio station, Radio Today, in 1996 with former Springbok Radio broadcaster Peter Lotis.<ref name=wp/> The station's targeted audience were listeners in their 50s and older.<ref name=times/> The station attracted more than 70,000 listeners, but did not attract advertisers.<ref name=times/> Courtney hired a financial adviser, who saved Radio Today, though Courtney disagreed with some of the station's new financial and creative directions.<ref name=times/> He retired from Radio Today in 2008.<ref name=times/>
Courtney's acting career spanned several decades and included more than twenty film credits.<ref name=times/> His film roles included ''Lord Oom Piet'' in 1962, ''Kruger Millions'', ''All the Way to Paris'', ''Dingaka'' and ''Hans en die Rooinek''.<ref name=wp/> He was also a founding member of the South Africa National Theatre. In the 1980s, he ran a steakhouse in Johannesburg.
Bob Courtney died in Johannesburg at the age of 87 on 24 October 2010, just one week before what would have been his eighty-eighth birthday.<ref name=wp/><ref name=times/> His funeral was held at the St. Martin's-in-the-Veld Anglican Church in Dunkeld, Gauteng.<ref name=wp/> Courtney was survived by his wife, Yvonne, and their two children.<ref name=times/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0183886|name=Bob Courtney}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtney, Bob}} Category:1922 births Category:2010 deaths Category:English radio presenters Category:South African radio presenters Category:English game show hosts Category:English male film actors Category:British emigrants to South Africa Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Category:Male actors from Dorset