{{Short description|New Zealand television personality and radio host (1938–2001)}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} thumb|right|200px|Sinclair pictured during production of ''University Challenge'' in 1989
'''Peter Charles Sinclair''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|ONZM|size=85%}} (15 November 1938 – 8 August 2001) was an Australian-born New Zealand television personality and radio host.
==Biography== Born on 15 November 1938, in Sydney, Sinclair rose to fame in the 1960s and early 1970s firstly on New Zealand radio and then as host of ''Let's Go'', ''Happen Inn'' and ''C'mon'', New Zealand's primary pop music television shows of the time.
In 1976, he reinvented his place in New Zealand television as presenter and quizmaster on ''University Challenge''<ref>{{cite news |title=Sinclair returns |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/press/1976/07/08/19 |work=The Press |page=19 |access-date=5 March 2026 |date=8 July 1976 |location=Christchurch, New Zealand |via=Papers Past}}</ref> and ''Mastermind''<ref>{{cite news |title=‘Television Theatre’ is established |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/press/1976/10/25/11 |work=The Press |page=11 |access-date=5 March 2026 |date=25 October 1976 |location=Christchurch, New Zealand |via=Papers Past}}</ref>, two popular television quiz shows that ran until the late 1980s. Sinclair's measured on-screen personality was suited to these kinds of interactive game shows. As a quizmaster he made the phrase "I've started, so I'll finish ..." (originally coined by Magnus Magnusson on the British version of ''Mastermind'') a New Zealand cultural cliché. Sinclair also hosted the 1982 ''Mastermind International'' contest in New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7419db0b |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917105318/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7419db0b |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 September 2017 |title=Mastermind International (1982) |publisher=British Film Institute |language=en |access-date=2017-09-17}}</ref>
Sinclair was a noted writer, penning a novel called ''The Frontman'' and writing regular columns for the ''New Zealand Herald'' newspaper. He was a radio announcer from 1986 for Radio Avon in Christchurch, the city he grew up in, which became C93FM, before moving on to Easy Listening i98FM and finally Classic Hits FM, hosting the popular ''Lovesongs till Midnight'' programme. While in Christchurch he helped raise money to build a police kiosk in Cathedral Square, for people who needed a safe place to go at all times of the day in case of emergencies. In his later years, he developed a passion for computers and was one of the first New Zealanders to become actively involved with the Internet.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} He wrote a regular column for the ''New Zealand Herald'' on internet issues, software developments and content.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/man-of-many-gifts-who-found-his-home-on-web/UML4NCIHXRF7SXT7TZVP7JUMSE/?c_id=5&objectid=207463 |title=Man of many gifts who found his home on web |first=Chris |last=Barton |date=13 August 2001 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=7 February 2026}}</ref>
In the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, Sinclair was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to broadcasting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2001 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2001 |date=4 June 2001 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |accessdate=2 July 2020 |archive-date=4 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504040452/https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2001 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Sinclair died in Auckland on 8 August 2001, from leukaemia, aged 62.<ref name=spinoff>{{cite web|last=Braunias |first=Steve |author-link1=Steve Braunias|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/columns/29-07-2015/stevie-tv-suit-of-silver-and-hair-of-gold-remembering-masterminds-peter-sinclair-in-the-1990-finale |title=Stevie TV: Suit of Silver and Hair of Gold – Mastermind’s Peter Sinclair in the 1990 Finale |date=29 July 2015 |publisher=The Spinoff |accessdate=19 January 2026 |archive-date=26 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526015845/http://thespinoff.co.nz/columns/29-07-2015/stevie-tv-suit-of-silver-and-hair-of-gold-remembering-masterminds-peter-sinclair-in-the-1990-finale/|url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also== *List of New Zealand television personalities
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/peter-sinclair-the-face-and-voice-to-a-generation/XT7RWKIDU4PHV5PJERQCQRMGYY/ ''NZ Herald'' obituary] *[http://mintmedia.co.nz/research/index.php/Image:Peter-Sinclair-Rhinesdale-page.jpg Magazine ad from the 80s featuring Peter Sinclair] *[http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collection/object/am_library-photography-90767 Photograph of Peter Sinclair] standing outside Alicat, Jervois Road, Auckland. Auckland Museum
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Peter}} Category:New Zealand television presenters Category:Australian emigrants to New Zealand Category:1938 births Category:2001 deaths Category:New Zealand game show hosts Category:Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Category:New Zealand writers Category:New Zealand radio presenters Category:Radio personalities from Sydney Category:Television personalities from Sydney