Alan Whicker is a globe-trotting television commentator without equal. For some 40 years, on behalf of both the BBC and independent British television networks, he has roamed far and wide in search of the eccentric, the ludicrous, and the socially revealing aspects of everyday life as lived by some of the more colorful of the world's inhabitants.

Since the late 1950s, when the long-running Whicker' s World documentary series was first screened, Whicker-a former journalist  and  reporter for television's Tonight program (he was once reported dead while working as a war correspondent in Korea)-has probed and dissected the often secretive and unobserved private worlds of the rich and famous, rooting out the most implausible and sometimes ridiculous characters after gaining admittance to the places where they conduct their leisure hours. These have ranged from fabulously appointed cruise ships and the Orient Express to cocktail parties, world tours, health spas, and gentlemen's clubs. His focus has been truly international, with series from Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and Hong Kong, as well as Britain and the United States.

Whicker's satire is so subtle it is often almost undetectable. The objects of his interest are allowed to condemn or recommend themselves and their way of life almost entirely through their own words and appearances, with often little more than the odd encouraging question or aside from Whicker himself. With long­ practiced ease and studied diffidence, he infiltrates the most select clubs and institutions and moves almost in­ visibly from person to person, seeking out the most promising individuals and generally being more than amply rewarded with the results. Never aggressive in his questioning and carefully  cultivating  the image of the relaxed but politely interested expatriate ready to accept the world as it comes, he has lured countless in­dividuals into allowing him a privileged glimpse of sometimes extraordinary lives.

Over the years Whicker has on occasion concen­trated his attention on a single individual, usually someone of immense influence or prestige who is rarely seen in the public eye. Attracted by the air of mystery surrounding such personages, he has drawn general conclusions about the problems and privileges of living with wealth and power through his detailed portraits of such enigmatic and sometimes deeply dis­turbed (and disturbing) figures as billionaire John Paul Getty, Paraguay's General Stroessner, and Haiti's greatly feared dictator "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Some­times the tone is openly critical, but more often the viewer is allowed to draw her or his own conclusions.

Whicker' s World, over the years, has consistently claimed a place in the top ten ratings, and Whicker himself has been widely recognized for his talents as a social commentator, winning numerous major awards.