'True giant of the BBC' David Jacobs dies aged 87 In more than half a century behind the microphone, he acquired an enviable reputation as a quietly-spoken, always entertaining and informative disc jockey and continued to have a massive following, even when his mix of Gershwin and Cole Porter seemed, to be hopelessly dated. Born on May 19 1926, and educated at Belmont College and the Strand School, his father was a fruit and vegetable importer but went bankrupt around the start of the Second World War. He joined the Royal Navy in 1944 and was posted to Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, where he became an announcer on the forces broadcasting. After leaving the Navy in 1947, he joined the BBC as a newsreader, but was sacked after giggling at a news item. He went freelance before re-joining the BBC and appearing on some of the most popular shows on TV and radio, including royal command performances, the Eurovision Song Contest, Blankety Blank, The Frank Sinatra Show, Come Dancing, Miss World, and many more. His career was recognised with numerous awards, including BBC personality of the year, BBC radio personality of the year and the Sony Gold Award for outstanding contribution to radio. He was awarded the CBE in 1996. He was known as the man who was never at a loss for words, but his life was also tinged with tragedy. His only son, Jeremy, was killed in an accident in Israel at the age of 19. And two years later his second wife, Caroline, was killed in a road accident in Spain, carrying their unborn child, only weeks after their marriage. The self-proclaimed "huge optimist" and he looked upon such calamities and also the occasional setback in his career as presenting him with new challenges for the future. Tony Hall, the BBC Director-General, said: "He was one of the great broadcast personalities, and we shall all miss him tremendously." BBC Radio 2 will be paying tribute with a number of special programmes in due course. Helen Boaden, Controller of BBC Radio, said: "David was a true broadcasting legend as well as one of the industry's best loved personalities, and he will be sorely missed by his devoted listeners. Our deepest sympathy goes to his family. TV and radio personality Zoe Ball tweeted: "Dear David Jacobs has passed away. One of my all time favourite broadcasters. ThankYouForTheMusic RIP dear chap.