One of the most successful Australian media and television entrepreneurs of his time, Reg Grundy was the only child of Roy Grundy and Lillian Lees. Although born in Sydney he was raised in Adelaide, where he undertook his education at St. Peter's College. After serving in the Australian army during World War II (he was stationed in Sydney and rose to the rank of Sergeant) Grundy worked briefly for retailer David Jones in 1946. In response to his efforts as an announcer at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, Grundy was offered a position in 1947 with radio station 2SM as a sports announcer. By the end of the 1950s, and then with radio station 2CH, he put together and hosted the popular radio quiz show called Wheel of Fortune (unrelated to the television game show is also associated with).
In 1959 Channel Nine offered Grundy an opportunity to take Wheel of Fortune to television. He soon afterwards founded Reg Grundy Enterprises (RGE), which essentially bought television game shows from US networks and redeveloped them for Australian viewers. In the early 1970s the company branched out in television drama and feature films (notably Barry McKenzie Holds His Own, 1974 and ABBA: The Movie, 1977). RGE produced numerous successful television soap operas and drama series during the 1970s and 1980s including Class of '74, Class of '75, The Restless Years, The Young Doctors, Prisoner, Glenview High, Sons and Daughters and Neighbours. In 1978 Reg Grundy Enterprises became the Reg Grundy Organisation (RGO) and the following year the company opened an office in Los Angeles. Three years later Grundy moved permanently to tax-friendly Bermuda. By that stage his company was producing dramas and game shows in the USA (through a division known as Reg Grundy Productions), Brunei and Hong Kong.
The Reg Grundy Organisation was renamed Grundy World Wide in the late 1980s, as a means of better reflecting the companies international operations. In 1995 Grundy sold the company to the media and publishing company, Pearson PLC (now FremantleMedia). Following the sale he turned his attention towards Australian regional radio, acquiring the SEA FM radio group for a reported $66 million in 1995. Another Grundy company, RG Capital Radio, was floated in 2000. It later took stakes in companies such as AWA (the moribund Australian counterpart of GE) and Photon. In 2004 Macquarie Media (a division of Macquarie Bank) took over the RG Capital chain. At that time RG Capital had been operating 35 radio stations located along Australia's eastern seaboard and in Tasmania. The radio operations were rebadged as Regional Media - and subsequently as Macquarie Media - forming the centrepiece of the bank's new media fund.
Interestingly, very little information about Grundy's personal life has ever been published. He is married to the actress and author, Joy Chambers (q.v.) who appeared in several of his early soaps. They continue to live in Bermuda. Grundy was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1983, and was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2008. In 2004 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the University of Queensland.
He died in Bermuda on 9 May 2016.
