Showbiz favourite Brian Bury swears the secret to his 60-year marriage – as well as “making it to 85” despite enduring some horrendous heartbreaks – is laughter, and plenty of it!
“It’s true, [my wife] Marg and I make each other laugh as much as we can each day. It’s a tonic and an antidote to some of the awful things life can toss at you. We really are a wonderful double act,” says a beaming Brian, who celebrates his birthday this week.
The much-loved TV veteran, who spent more than 40 years as one of Nine’s brightest stars, including a decade as Today’s ever-smiling weatherman famous for his colourful bow ties and funky glasses before being fired in 1991, says he’ll never forget the day he met Margaret.
Brian and Marg make each other laugh every day.
(Image: Phillip Castleton)“It was on a blind date in 1961. I’d been lined up to escort Margaret to her office ball. I’d never really been in love with anyone before – Margaret is my one and only – and, as it turned out, it was love at first sight for us both.”
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Margaret, 81, explains that she’d been working with Brian’s sister-in-law Francine, and that’s how he wound up as her date for the ball.
“My grandmother would have needed the smelling salts if she knew I was going to my first ball with a TV star. She thought showbiz people were libertines,” she says. “But Brian was such a gentleman. So thoughtful, kind and funny. He made me feel incredibly special.
“I knew instantly that we’d marry one day, despite him wearing pants so tight he looked like a Robin Hood reject,” she laughs.
After marrying in 1962, Brian recalls that their honeymoon was “like a sitcom”.
(Image: Phillip Castleton)Brian says the lovebirds married in Sydney in 1962, and recalls that their honeymoon was “like a sitcom”.
“We had no money, and what could have been the ‘honeymoon from hell’ was hysterical thanks to our silly sense of the absurd,” he says.
“All we could afford was a very ordinary holiday flat at Forster. Rusty water came from the taps, the paint was peeling, the room was musty… the shower was like something from the movie Psycho.
“To top it off, Marg burned our honeymoon dinner of lamb chops. We fell about laughing.
“Six decades on, and we still laugh about it. I truly feel so blessed to have had Marg in my life. I never thought I’d find love, as I was overweight and had wonky teeth. I was also told I’ve never be on television because of my looks. I was a booth announcer back then – heard, but never seen.”
“So I lost 38 kilos and got my teeth fixed, and that was the start of a wonderful TV career – which had originally kicked off in 1959.”
“In the glory days I’d fill in for Mike Walsh on The Mike Walsh Show... and never seemed to be off the telly. Marg used to fear viewers would get sick of me.
“I remember those early days on Today with Steve Liebmann and Sue Kellaway. Eric Walters was fabulous on news. We all became great mates.
“I decided to have fun doing the weather by wearing colourful bow ties and being outrageous. Viewers loved the crazy antics, but management rarely saw the funny side of anything.”
Brian was left devastated after being dumped by Nine.
“It really hurt. I felt utterly dejected,” he says. “But that’s showbiz, you roll with the punches. After stints doing the weather on channels Seven and Ten, Marg and I moved to Queensland in 2001 where I hosted a weekday radio show on Brisbane’s 4BC. “I miss TV. I’d love to be back and feel I have plenty to offer.”
These days Brian and Margaret are living in Tweed Heads, in the same apartment block as former Seven newsreader Ross Symonds.
“I decided to have fun doing the weather by wearing colourful bow ties and being outrageous.”
(Image: Phillip Castleton)“We’ve endured our heartbreaks, top of the list being the 2015 suicide death of our cherished 15-year-old granddaughter Natasha. You never get over that,” says Brian, a proud father-of-two and grandfather-of-five.
“The whole heartbreaking ordeal brought the family closer, and both Marg and I feel Natasha’s sunny presence smiling down on us.”
Cuddling in close, Brian and Margaret agree the secret to their long and happy marriage is respect, love and laughs.
“Oh sure, we occasionally fight and have some ding-dong rows, but we never go to bed angry. We make a point of cracking a joke and having a good guffaw before turning
in and saying goodnight,” shares Brian.
Right now, the Burys are thinking about how they’ll celebrate both their wedding anniversary and Brian’s birthday.
“We’re thinking of splashing out on a nice bottle of champers and sitting in the park opposite our place with some fabulous fish and chips. That’d be bliss,” says Brian as he gives Marg a loving peck on the cheek.
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