AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: A Tribute To The Extraordinary Journalist Sir David Frost

Al Jazeera English pays its tribute to one of the world’s best journalist, TV presenter, Comedian, Writer and British Icon – Sir David Frost, who passed away on the 31st of August 2013 at the age of 74 on MS Queen Elizabeth.

Sir David worked with Al Jazeera English since its launch seven years ago, first with Frost Over The World and most recently with The Frost Interview.

Al Jazeera English managing director Al Anstey says, “With his characteristic incisive, engaging, and unique interviewing style, his shows hosted some of the most important and interesting names in recent history. His conversations with his guests elicited both news lines and a unique insight into their lives. Sir David’s career spanned 50 years as a television star. He was known for interviews with the leading figures of his time, most famously his extraordinary interview with US president Richard Nixon. Sir David’s own place in history will be marked through his extraordinary work:  his journalism, his questions, and his conversations through the last five decades. His professionalism, his charm, and his great sense of humour will be very missed. Our thoughts are with Sir David’s family at this sad time.”

Charlie Courtauld, who worked as the series editor of Frost Over the World, says, “What was remarkable about Sir David was his ability to put any interviewee at ease – from the most high and mighty to an ordinary person in the street. He found interest in anybody. Whoever he was interviewing would realise that Sir David was genuinely interested in them and their lives. He was very much a people person.”

In 2012 Sir David launched The Frost Interview, a series of intimate, hour-long interviews, going back to his roots of “Nixon-style” interviews of depth with leading personalities, after years of shorter studio-based conversations.

This season of The Frost Interview contained some unique moments, such as with the second man on the moon, Buzz Aldrin; chess champion Gary Kasparov; F1 star Lewis Hamilton; Bollywood icon Aishwarya Rai; and music legend Paul McCartney.

Richard Brock, executive producer of The Frost Interview, says, “David was a wonderful broadcaster, a professional in every way, and also a great friend. He had a great outlook on life, a terrific sense of humour and will be greatly missed.”

Sir David had been awarded all the major television awards for his illustrious career. He was knighted by HM The Queen in the New Year’s Honours List of January 1993 and honoured by the Museum of the  Moving Image in New York in 1998 and by the Museum of Broadcasting in New York in 1999. In 2005, he was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship, their highest honour. And in 2009 in New York he received the International Emmy Founders Award, which is their highest honour.

More information on Sir David’s work with Al Jazeera can be found here: www.aljazeera.com/programmes/frostinterview/.

A picture dated October 15, 2008 shows British former political commentator Sir David Frost attending the world premiere of US director Ron Howard’s film ‘Frost/Nixon’ in London’s Leicester Square. British broadcasting great David Frost has died of a heart attack aged 74, his family said in a statement on September 1, 2013. AFP PHOTO/Shaun Curry