LONDON, Jan 28 (Reuters) - British broadcaster Nicholas
Parsons, who hosted BBC radio 4's "Just A Minute" game show for
more than 50 years, has died at the age of 96 after a short
illness, his agent said on Tuesday.
He was also an actor, performer and entertainer, appearing
in films and on stage.
"No one deserves to be called a broadcasting legend more
than Nicholas Parsons," BBC Director General Tony Hall said in a
statement.
"His charm, inventive intellect and ability to create laughs
were unsurpassed."
Parsons was best known for Just A Minute, in which panelists
have to talk non-stop for 60 seconds on any given topic without
hesitation, deviation or repetition.
Gyles Brandreth, a friend who worked with Parsons on the
programme said: "It's heartbreakingly sad and it is the end of
an era in many ways.
"He was a consummate professional and a role model to so
many people because he just went on working right up to when he
was 95.
"It's a career truly to celebrate and a man to celebrate,"
he told the BBC.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; editing by Stephen Addison)