Brian Johnston was born in 1912. He joined the BBC's Outside Broadcasts Department immediately after the war and worked first on live radio broadcasts from theatres and music-halls all over Great Britain. He was one of the first broadcasters to work for both television and radio and began his long association with cricket commentary in the summer of 1946. Between 1948 and 1952 he also presented the live feature 'Let's Go Somewhere' for the popular Saturday night programmeIn Town Tonight.
He became the BBC's first Cricket Correspondent in 1963 and held this post until his retirement in 1972, after which he continued as a regular member of theTest Match Specialteam. He took over presentingDown Your Wayfrom Franklin Engelmann in 1972 and continued for fifteen years.
He published two autobiographies and fourteen other books, includingNow Here's a Funny Thing,It's Been a Piece of CakeandSomeone Who Was. He died in January 1994.