Leslie Crowther
Leslie Crowther CBE | |
---|---|
Born | Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther 6 February 1933[1] West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England |
Died | 29 September 1996 , England | (aged 63)
Occupations |
|
Years active | Mid-1940s–1992; 1993-94 |
Spouse |
Jean Stone (m. 1954) |
Children | 5, including Liz |
Leslie Douglas Sargent Crowther
Biography
Crowther was born on 6 February 1933 in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire,[3] son of Leslie Frederick Crowther (died 1955), of Twickenham, Middlesex, and Ethel Maraquita (died 1951), née Goulder.[4][5]
At the end of 1944, he moved to London with his parents, but was evacuated for a few months to the
Crowther's stage experience began in the mid-1940s. As a youngster he showed promise as a pianist, and in 1944 won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He attended the respected Cone-Ripman Drama School in London, where he met his future wife, and whilst there competed (in 1947) at the Star Junior Ballroom Championships partnering Pamela Cochran, and then at 16, he appeared as a member of the Ovaltineys Concert Party of the Air on Radio Luxembourg. He also attended Nottingham High School and then Thames Valley Grammar School.[7]
In November 1951 his mother died of a stroke aged 56.[citation needed] His father was also an actor.[citation needed] Leslie senior died in January 1955 at the age of 67, ten days after being hit by a car.[citation needed] Leslie junior had a half-brother, Frank Ronald, from his father's first marriage.[citation needed]
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Crowther worked on the stage and on radio. His radio work included Ovaltine programmes, Variety Playhouse and Crowther's Crowd.
Television career
Crowther made a name for himself in television in the 1950s, with appearances as presenter of such programmes as the
From 1964 to 1967, Crowther presented Meet the Kids, an annual trip to a children's hospital ward that was screened by the BBC on Christmas Morning. He would walk around the ward meeting the patients, and the show would feature a surprise celebrity, and a present hidden under each bed. Typical locations were Great Ormond Street and Hackney Hospitals. In 1969, Crowther switched to ITV, and A Merry Morning was screened annually, following the same format, usually from the Seacroft Hospital in Leeds.[8]
From the 1970s, Crowther was the face of
In the middle of 1977, Crowther made an effort to break into radio with the pilot of a comedy show, It's Leslie, by Crowther, recorded in the Regent Sound Stage (now the Vue Cinema in Lower Regent Street) and produced by John Browell. This however did not come to anything and he returned to TV.
Game shows
Crowther was one of the many hosts of the
In February 1990, he was chosen to be host of the TV show
1992 car crash
The show business career of Leslie Crowther came to a sudden end on the afternoon of Saturday, 3 October 1992, on the
In the months before the crash, Crowther was busy with Lord's Taverners events and functions as well as charity work and public appearances and on the previous evening, 2 October, had been to a dinner in Swansea where he was guest speaker. He then opened Allied Carpets stores in West Bromwich and Brierley Hill on the morning and early afternoon of 3 October. Crowther was returning home when the crash occurred.[9]
At first, Crowther did not appear to be seriously injured. He could not remember what had happened when he crashed,
On the morning of 5 October, a further brain scan revealed that another blood clot, the size of an apple, had formed on the left
Post crash and retirement
Crowther was appointed a
Crowther retired from showbusiness on 4 November 1994, accepting that "I wouldn't be able to do things I've done the way I would want to and the way my fans would expect". He also said that he was considering starting a new career as a writer. As he later acknowledged, his mind was still sharp but his body had slowed down. Five days after retiring, he appeared as the subject on This Is Your Life for the second time when he was surprised by Michael Aspel during a book-signing session in Selfridges on London's Oxford Street.[citation needed] He had previously been honoured by This Is Your Life in March 1973 when Eamonn Andrews surprised him at an antiques fair at Earls Court in London.[citation needed] Crowther's final television appearance was in March 1995, as a guest on June Whitfield's This Is Your Life episode.
Personal life
Like his father, Crowther was an
Crowther married Jean Elizabeth Stone (12 May 1931 – 10 December 2017) on 27 March 1954. They had five children.
Their daughters included Caroline (born 9 December 1954), who married
Death
Crowther died from
The 30 September 1996 episode of
Crowther was cremated a week later, on 7 October. His ashes were later scattered at Lord's and a memorial service was held for him in London on 27 November. Also in October, at that year's
References
- ^ "Leslie Crowther". IMDb.
- ^ Stewart, William G (30 September 1996). "Obituary: Leslie Crowther – Independent, The (London)". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022.
- ^ "Obituary: Leslie Crowther". The Independent. 30 September 1996. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ Debrett's People of Today, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1995, p. 472
- ^ Who's Who In The Theatre, sixteenth edition, ed. Ian Herbert, Pitman, 1977, p. 522
- ^ Bute's War Archived 10 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine bute-gateway.org. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
- ^ Who's Who In The Theatre, sixteenth edition, ed. Ian Herbert, Pitman, 1977, p. 522
- ^ "Prologue : Off the Telly". Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "Police still seek cause of Crowther car crash". The Independent. 5 October 1992. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ Newcastle Journal - Monday 05 October 1992
- ^ Newcastle Journal - Monday 05 October 1992
- ^ "Crowther in fight for life as second clot removed".
- ^ "Leslie Crowther 'critical' after second operation". The Independent. London. 6 October 1992. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022.
- ^ "Obituary: Leslie Crowther". The Independent. 30 September 1996. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ "Thin lizzy-arocklegend-philip lynott bio". Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
External links
- Leslie Crowther at IMDb
- Obituary