Bob Nicholls has sadly died

[Barry Attwood]

I only found out this morning that my friend Bob Nichols had died, I talked to him about 4 weeks ago, he told me he had collapsed and was sent to nursing home for a few weeks to help him recover, he was at home when he phoned me, but I could tell he wasn't the same bubbly person he usually was, so although his dying is a very big shock I am not totally surprised as he just did not sound well over the phone,

I've known Bob for over 30 years, and when I was a regular attender at Blackpool we used to hang out together, we had many good times together, with many laughs, recently we would only talk 2 or 3 times a year, but we seemed to fall straight back into our old ways, with gossip and news, he will be sorely missed by myself and a lot of other collectors and friends from the 8mm film world, R.I.P. Bob.

[Dominique De Bast]

So sad. Such a lovely person. I envoyed to talk with him at Blackpool.

[Simon McConway]

Robert was cine. Robert was Blackpool. Robert was a thoroughly respectable and polite human being. The film world has lost someone special. Dominique- what a great photo!

[Brian Fretwell]

A very sad loss. He didn't seem his old self at CHC in august, but we thought that was a stomach upset cause by somethng he had eaten the day before.
RIP Bob, you will be missed.

[John Burgess]

Always the true gentleman, loved chatting with Bob at cine events, he was a real cine enthusiast and a great projectionist. RIP Bob
John

[David Hardy]

That is very sad news . Although i never met or knew Bob in person i did like to read his regular articles News , Views and Reviews With ' Uncle ' Bob Nicholls in PROJECTIONS magazine . He will be missed . My condolences to Bob's family and friends and those on this forum who met and knew him .

[Joe Caruso]

Dear man he was. When I arrived at Blackpool, he was the first one to see. We had many talks and much laughter over coffee and drinks. This gentleman was a storehouse of cinema information and intelligence. Uncle Bob, we will toast and honor your sweet memory...Shorty

[David Watson]

I would just like to add my own tribute to Bob, I have known Bob for many years and considered him a good friend, like Barry I always enjoyed joining Bob for meals or in the bar Etc. Etc. chatting for hours about film collecting or just about anything else, He was friends with every body old or new and made a great contribution to the film collecting world over many years, including his column in the 'Projections ' magazine. his compiling of film shows shown at Blackpool and his running and helping with the infamous Blackpool film auction this and many other things he done for more years than I can count. Bob is going to be a BIG miss for me and many many others, the Blackpool Convention is only a few weeks away, when we are all there lets all remember and salute Bob, also known affectionately as UNCLE BOB..........RIP mate. Dave Watson.

[Eivind Mork]

The first time I went to Blackpool and knew few except the other Scandinavians, Bob was one of the first ones I talked to. He was friendly to a newcomer like me as he was to everyone. I loved to hear him tell stories, often ones that made me smile. I didn't know him as long as many here, but I will certainly miss him a lot. It is difficult to think about a Blackpool convention without him. Here is a picture of him leading the auction in 2022 which he did brilliantly! Rest in peace, Bob!

[Ed Gordon]

In the article, 30 Years of the Blackpool Film Convention Dinners (1984 - 2015) Bob Nicholls is mentioned several times:

1997
Bob Nicholls gave a little talk about the Convention over its 21 years – its highs and lows, the well-known characters and those sadly no longer with us. He concluded with some ‘silver screen awards’ – he presented Derek Simmonds and Ged Jones with two, extra-large hats for their ‘big heads’, Barry Littlechild won Columnist of the Year award and Maurice Andrews won an award for the only collector to ‘have the film or seen the film or doesn’t want the film’. Their prizes were very large Blackpool rock dummies. Enough said…

2000
NOTE: during the Dinner, Bob Nicholls and a friend with a video camera went around all the dinner tables interviewing people about their film interests and film collections. The film was to have been shown at the next year’s Dinner. I wonder what happened to that… because it never appeared?

2002
During the evening, both Bob Nicholls and Barry Littlechild stood up and gave speeches, paying tributes to Derek and recounting their memories of him. Ged’s film quiz bamboozled just about everyone again. The night included some horse racing films for which there was some brisk betting, resulting in a lot of money being raised for cancer charities. Also during the evening there was a round of stand up bingo, the last one standing winning a prize.

2006
At the end of the evening, Bob Nicholls presented his Super 8 film show. New releases included FUTURE GENERATIONS, A CHRISTMAS CAPER, excerpt of STORM OF THE SENTINELS and A GRAND DAY OUT.

2007
Many diners took photographs of them and had their own photos taken with the characters. There was, as always, a raffle and Bob Nicholls put on a film show to conclude the evening… but the night belonged to the celebrity guests.

2008
New film releases were thin on the ground, but Bob Nicholls still had a varied and entertaining film show to conclude the evening.

2009
The raffle was as ever a success, but it must be reported that Barry Attwood didn’t win much in the draw this year, despite his many tickets. Never mind Barry, there’s always next year. Bob Nicholls ended the evening with his film show – this time it went without a hitch.

2010
Bob Nicholls’ film show had no new releases to show but it had an enjoyable selection of cartoons and shorts – everybody seemed to like the Movietone short about Pinewood Studios’ open day.

2012
As always, the evening finished with a film show, compiled by Adrian Winchester and projected by Bob Nicholls. The films included cartoons, trailers, an early Disney MICKEY’S OPERA and a rare film BAMBI MEETS GODZILLA.

[Lee McCaffrey]

Sad news, condolences to his family and friends

[Adrian Winchester]

Extremely sad news. I think I can safely say that no one got around to more events than Bob. His good-natured support for the hobby was exceptional, and we will miss him.

[Melvin England]

A few tears were shed the other day in the Atlantic Ocean as I was cruising back up to Liverpool when I heard the news.

Bob was such a lovely gentleman and always had time to stop and talk. My first encounter with him was at Blackpool years and years ago. He had just seen me purchase a couple of reels.
"What did you get ?" he asked.
"The first two reels of Magical Mystery Tour" I replied.
I told him the price.
" You got a bargain there !"

Bob wasn't a member of this forum but told me a couple of times that he used to monitor it. Probably for this reason a lot of our non-English colleagues may not be familiar with his name. But as mentioned in earlier posts, he was a major MAJOR presence and contributor at Blackpool year in, year out and as already stated, a regular monthly contributor to Projections Magazine. Who is now going to tell us whether a Region A Blu Ray will be locked or not ?

The last time I saw Bob was at Phil Sheard's August event this year in Cleethorpes UK. I quite agree with Brian Fretwell, Bob did NOT look well at that event. Phil's wife Denise confided to me that she was concerned about him. We never expected it would be his Cleethorpes swansong.

Once again, another super 8 stalwart joins our lamented colleagues in that great cinema in the sky. Boy! Knowing the wonderful people who are already up there, they must be having a BALL !

[Robin Moss]

Just got back from holiday and it's so sad to read this news. I always looked out for Bob at the Blackpool Conventions. Always a friendly smile and so personable. Such a genuinely lovely guy, who always had time for a chat and absolutely loved the hobby! As many have already said, we will certainly miss him. R.I.P. Bob