Thanks, Peter. It was a pleasure

From pop show host to quiz king to columnist who chronicled his last days with grace - WARREN GAMBLE charts the remarkable life of Peter Sinclair.

The lean face, immaculate hair, perfect teeth and that voice - Peter Sinclair, who died yesterday aged 62, had all the attributes of a broadcasting star.

But he had far more. A fierce intelligence, a wicked sense of humour and a capacity for hard work allowed him to bridge, and rebridge, television, radio and print, connecting with generations of New Zealanders.

He took many of them with him through the twists of his career. It was, of course, a smooth ride.

Teenage viewers of the 1960s and '70s television pop shows Let's Go, C'mon and Happen Inn became the thirtysomething watchers of the 1970s and '80s quiz shows Mastermind and University Challenge.

New Zealand music historian John Dix described the Sinclair of C'mon as a familiar, yet unlikely figure.

"Suave and self-assured, despite his enthusiasm, Sinclair came across less as a product of the times than as an older brother, patient and understanding, placating parents with a smile that said, 'It's all right, folks, I'm just trying to keep this rock'n'roll nice and safe for the kiddies'."

On Mastermind, Sinclair was a machinegun firing questions at contestants twitching in the big chair. It drew you in, even if the topic was sulphuric acid production in New Zealand.

The general knowledge round gave viewers the chance to show off, waiting for the final buzzer and Sinclair's famous "I've started [the question] so I'll finish", which could change the whole outcome.

"It's a strange programme to host and it's odd that it should be so compelling," Sinclair told the Listener in 1981.

"I did win quiz prizes during my school days - but sulphuric acid production?"

On University Challenge, Sinclair was more relaxed, tolerating the jolly japes of students and throwing in quickfire jokes of his own.

You even suspect a good number of his earlier pop and quiz audiences followed Sinclair on his journey back to radio in the 1990s at Radio I and 97.4 FM in Auckland.

On the latter he hosted Love Songs 'Til Midnight, where the lovestruck and lovelorn rang in for a chat, usually some good advice and a request.

In 1997, then Herald radio reviewer Steve Braunias wrote that the show was the sweetest in town.

"Sinclair is warm, gentle, completely at ease and able to coax lyrical waxings from his audience of husbands, wives, lovers and the brokenhearted."

Sinclair's ability to change and his hunger for reading took him to the internet with a passion, and brought him to the Herald pages as an award-winning columnist.

When he disclosed his terminal illness in a Weekend Herald column in March, he finished with "Thanks, life. It's been a pleasure."

Many New Zealanders would reply: "Thanks, Peter Sinclair. It's been a pleasure."

* Before he died, Peter Sinclair wrote two final columns for the Weekend Herald. These last Sinclair on Life features will appear on Saturday, along with memorable observations and insights from the columns and a full obituary.