I know it is a couple of days since his passing but I haven’t yet had time until now to give my Astrological tribute to one of the foremost TV interviewers in British and international broadcasting history, David Frost. David was a wonderfully talented broadcaster with an incisive mind who did create history in his interviews with former disgraced American President Richard Nixon. His career spanned 50 years on both sides of the Atlantic and across the world. He died on a cruise ship before he was due to present a speech.
David was born on 7th April 1939 at 10:30 according to his memory in Tenterden in England. He was an Aries with his Moon in searching Scorpio and he had a Cancerian Ascendant. I find it really interesting that this chart had no planets in Air signs at all despite the fact that his career was all about communicating with people. With this type of case, the rest of the chart has to work overtime to compensate for the lack of air and I wonder if this is why he was so brilliant at what he did. His Mercury, the planet of communication sits retrograde in Aries square to Mars contributing to him a very sharp and critical mind which would have loved a debate yet one where he held his opinions to himself. His Aries Sun was shielded by Saturn so that he could remain rather aloof and unemotional, like placing a brick wall in front of the personality. This position always says about the person that you can come close, but not too close. Interviewers stand back and reveal nothing while the person being interviewed opens themselves out, their comments bounce off the questions you ask. These three planets exactly explain his approach in his work. Of course they were all sitting in his 10th house of career and public image, so you can see the influence of public speaking and communicating (Mercury in 10th), ambition and being in charge of the situation (Saturn in 10th) and making a mark on the world (Sun in Aries in the 10th) as well.
There was much more to David Frost though than these three 10th house planets. His Scorpio Moon was very powerful and influential too. Through his protective Cancerian Ascendant this Moon ruled his chart and in Scorpio it gave him a need to be in control and to know everything going on around him. The emotions are working at a very deep and subliminal level here and although you might think that the emotions were being shown on the surface and in the 5th house David would have been quite an expressive person, beneath the surface he was working on a different level entirely. In his work he would have been incredibly well prepared, that Scorpio Moon would have impelled him to do his homework extremely thoroughly. He would also have know the power of saying nothing; those with Scorpio prominent in their chart know the value of silence and keeping things under wraps. This Moon sitting on the fixed star Toliman made him passionately tied into his work and making trines with Pluto, Jupiter and the Midheaven (point of career) we have a very talented and powerful grand water trine on his chart that guaranteed that he would be publically known and very successful.
He was always going to do well with Jupiter sitting in conjunction with the star Markab (in the constellation of Pegasus) exactly at the top of his chart trine to Pluto which attracts big career opportunities your way. The Markab connection is really interesting as this star is a point of steadiness, representing the saddle on the winged horse. Traditionally it shows someone who could stay cool under the most enormous of pressure, and when the eyes of the world are on you, this influence is crucial in live TV situations. That Jupiter conjunct the Midheaven in Pisces indicated an international (Jupiter) career (Midheaven) in TV and broadcasting (Pisces) and the grand trine indicated a store of individual talent in the entertainments world (Moon in 5th) and a wholehearted and passionate personal focus on being someone special (Pluto in 1st house). People with Pluto in the first house can unite or divide and sometimes they can be rather difficult to deal with, then again you will never be able to ignore them because of the powerful intensity and passion they exude.
With Mars in Capricorn in his 6th house, David was an incredibly hard and focused worker wanting to do his very best all the time, indeed he probably pushed himself too much at times. He was direct (Mars square Sun) yet very compassionate and sensitive too with Venus sitting in gentle and intuitive Pisces allowing to use a more soothing approach when he need to. This would be extremely useful in lulling his interviewees into a false sense of security before landing a killer question on them. Neptune sat in his 3rd house of communication opposite to David’s Midheaven and trine to Uranus in his 11th. The 3rd is a fascinating position for Neptune as it can bring insight into one’s thinking, you can pick up on the nuances being said to you and the meanings behind the words. Neptune in the 3rd house is very open to talking, for studying voraciously (Neptune in the planet of no limits) and for listening to people and hearing all kinds of opinions. Being trine to Uranus, this Neptune is turned up another notch making it very attuned indeed and also spiritual too. David when young trained as a preacher, no doubt influenced by his father who was a priest.
David Frost set the bar for political interviews and he was the only man to interview every British Prime Minister since 1964 to the present day as well as every US President from 1969 until the one but last in George W Bush. He had a sense of fun too, was part of the rise of satire in the early 60’s on UK TV and before he landed a TV role he appeared in London cabaret, no doubt encouraged by his Venus in Pisces and Neptune in the 3rd house and the trine between Mars and Uranus, a triple combination of influences which is active, vivacious, shows great rhythm and loves colour, dance and music.
He leaves his wife Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard, three sons and a lifetime of broadcasting memories.
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