Roy Castle OBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
(31 August 1932 in Scholes, near
HolmfirthHolmfirth is a small town located on the A6024 Woodhead Road in the Holme Valley, within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Centred upon the confluence of the Holme and Ribble rivers, Holmfirth is 6 miles south of Huddersfield and broadly consists of stone-built...
,
YorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the British Isles. Because of its great size, functions were increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as...
– 2 September 1994 in
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
dancer, singer,
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
,
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, television presenter and
musicianA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name. He was a talented
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
player.
Early career
The son of a railwayman, he was a tap dancer from an early age and after leaving Holme Valley Grammar School, he started his career as an entertainer in an amateur concert party. As a young performer in the 1950s, he lived in
CleveleysCleveleys is a village on the Fylde Coast of Lancashire, England, about 4 miles north of Blackpool and 2 miles south of Fleetwood. It is part of the Borough of Wyre....
near Blackpool and appeared there at the local Queen's Theatre, turning professional in 1953 as a stooge for
Jimmy ClitheroeJames Robinson Clitheroe , aka The Clitheroe Kid, was a British comic entertainer, whose career spanned five decades. He never grew any taller than 4 foot 3 inches all his life, and could easily pass for an 11-year-old boy....
and
Jimmy JamesJimmy James was a music hall, film, radio and television comedian and comedy actor. Jimmy had limited use for jokes as such, preferring to say things in a humorous manner, sometimes in surreal situations and as such was seen by some as well ahead of his time...
. By 1958 he was appearing at the Royal Variety Show.
Television career
In the mid-1960s he starred in the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
show
The Roy Castle Show. In 1965, he appeared in the film
Dr. Who and the DaleksDr. Who and the Daleks was the first of two Doctor Who films made in the 1960s. It was followed by Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D..The film features Peter Cushing as Dr...
, playing the role of
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveller known as "the Doctor" who travels in his space and time-ship, the TARDIS, which normally appears from the exterior to be a blue 1950s police box...
's first male assistant,
Ian ChestertonIan Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell, and was one of the members of the programme's very first regular cast, appearing in the bulk of the first two...
, quite differently from the way it had been played in the original television series by
William RussellWilliam Russell is a British actor, mainly known for his television work.-Doctor Who:...
. He also appeared in
Dr. Terror's House of HorrorsDr. Terror's House of Horrors is a 1965 British horror film from Amicus Productions, directed by veteran horror director Freddie Francis, written by Milton Subotsky, and starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee....
as a jazz musician suffering a curse after copying voodoo tunes. He also appeared in
Carry On up the KhyberCarry On Up the Khyber is the sixteenth Carry On film, released in 1968. The film starred Sid James as Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, and Kenneth Williams as Randy Lal, the Khasi of Kalabar...
in 1968. In 1973 Castle teamed up with actor & comedian
Ronnie BarkerRonald William George Barker, OBE was an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Norman Stanley Fletcher in the British comedy television series Porridge, as various characters in the British comedy television series The Two Ronnies and as Albert Arkwright in the British comedy...
in the original one-off called
Another Fine MessFor the comedy short starring Laurel and Hardy, see Another Fine Mess Another Fine Mess is the first major live release by British folk metal band Skyclad...
(an episode from a series called
Seven of OneSeven of One was a British comedy series that aired on BBC1 in 1973. Starring Ronnie Barker, Seven of One is a series of seven separate comedies that would serve as possible pilots for sitcoms...
). Barker was one of Castle's best friends, and paid tribute to their work together shortly after Castle's death.
Between 1967 and 1968 Castle co-starred with
Jimmy EdwardsJimmy Edwards DFC was an English comedic script writer and comedy actor on both radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in Take It From Here and as the headmaster 'Professor' James Edwards in Whack-O!....
in the London West End run of the comedy farce show
Big Bad MouseBig Bad Mouse is a frequently revived 1960s British stage play and theatrical comedic farce that, although not specifically written for them, became famous as a loose vehicle for the many talents of the British comedy actors Jimmy Edwards and Eric Sykes and has constantly seen various revivals with...
when
Eric SykesEric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years...
had to withdraw due to illness. The show was resident at the
Shaftesbury TheatreThe Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The theatre was designed for the brothers Walter and Frederick Melville by Bertie Crewe and opened on 26 December 1911 with a production of The Three Musketeers, as the New...
and, while being loosely scripted, it offered both Edwards and Castle the chance to freely ad-lib and generally break the '
fourth wallThe fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. The term also applies to the boundary between any fictional setting and its audience...
' with the audience, Castle breaking into trumpet performances while Edwards walked into a front stall seat to read a newspaper, tap dancing and firing
ping-pongTable tennis is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, players must allow a ball played toward them only one bounce on their side of the table and must...
balls into the stalls. He also once stood in for
Bruce ForsythBruce Joseph Forsyth Johnson CBE is a British showman and entertainer. He became well-known through the series Sunday Night at the London Palladium, and became a household name in the UK, going on to present television series such as The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right, The Price Is Right...
hosting
The Generation GameThe Generation Game was a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two compete to win prizes....
in 1975 while Forsyth was ill.
Record Breakers
In 1972 he first presented
Record BreakersRecord Breakers was a United Kingdom children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC and originally presented by Roy Castle with twin brothers Norris McWhirter and Ross McWhirter. It was broadcast on BBC One from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001...
, a children's show and he remained host for nearly 20 years. He recorded the
theme songTheme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...
for the show himself. While presenting the show he broke several
world recordA world record is usually the best international performance ever recorded in a specific skill or sport. The world famous book, the Guinness World Records, collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and...
s himself, including
- Fastest tap-dancer
- Longest wing walk
Seen in airshows and barnstorming during the 1920s, wing walking is the act of moving on the wings of an airplane during flight.-The beginning of air walkers:...
- Playing the same tune on 43 different instruments in four minutes.
He was a host of the show up until a few months before his death in 1994, hosting alongside
NorrisNorris Dewar McWhirter, CBE was a writer, political activist, co-founder of the Freedom Association, and a television presenter. He and his identical twin brother, Ross, were known internationally for the Guinness Book of Records, a book they wrote and annually updated together between 1955 and 1975...
and
Ross McWhirterAlan Ross McWhirter , known as Ross McWhirter, was, with his identical twin brother, Norris McWhirter, founder of the Guinness Book of Records and presenter of Record Breakers...
, Fiona Kennedy and
Cheryl BakerCheryl Baker is an English television presenter and singer. She is most famous for being a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, and has performed for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, winning it the second time.-Early career:After leaving school and a series of secretarial jobs, Cheryl...
. From then on, hosting was taken over by Baker and former athlete
Kriss AkabusiKriss Kezie Uche Chukwu Duru Akabusi MBE is a former athlete who went on to become a television presenter and motivational speaker....
. It continued until 2001, lasting 29 years. It remains one of Britain's longest running shows.
Singing career
Between 1958 and 1969, Castle recorded numerous
singlesIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
and three
LPsLong-playing record albums are 33⅓ rpm vinyl gramophone records , generally either 10 or 12 inches in diameter. They were first introduced in 1948, and served as a primary release format for recorded music until the compact disc began to significantly displace them by 1988...
. Only one of these LPs has seen a CD release so far:
Songs For A Rainy Day was recorded in 1966 for
ColumbiaColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
(now reissued in the UK on CD by
EMIThe EMI Group is a British music company. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major publishing arm- EMI Music Publishing- based in New York City...
Gold, re-titled
Isn't This A Lovely Day). The record features 12 songs with
rainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface...
as the theme. It is notable that some of the top
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
JazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
players of the day such as
Gordon BeckGordon James Beck is a largely self-taught jazz pianist who left a career in engineering for jazz.Gordon attended Pinner County Grammar School . He studied piano in his youth, but decided to go into a career in technical drawing...
(piano),
Jeff ClyneJeffrey Ovid 'Jeff' Clyne is a British jazz bassist .He has worked with Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Blossom Dearie, Stan Tracey , Ian Carr, Gordon Beck , Zoot Sims, Norma Winstone, John Burch and Marion Montgomery...
(bass), Leon Calvert (flugelhorn), Ike Isaacs (guitar), Ray Swinfield (flute) and
Al NewmanAlbert Dwayne Newman is a former infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos , Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers...
(sax) played on the record. The LP features Jazz arrangements by Victor Graham and covers a variety of styles such as
big bandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. Big bands evolved with the times and continue to today. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and...
rompers ("
Pennies From Heaven"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and words by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1936 film of the same name...
", "
Stormy Weather"Stormy Weather" is a 1933 song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ethel Waters first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem. It has since been covered by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra and Clodagh Rodgers...
"), ballads ("February Brings The Rain", "
Here's That Rainy Day"Here's That Rainy Day" is a popular song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, published in 1953. It was introduced by Dolores Gray in the Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders...
", "Soon It's Gonna Rain"),and bossa novas ("
Everytime It RainsOriginally written for Annie Lennox, "Everytime It Rains" was the fourth single released from Ace of Base's album Flowers in the UK. This song was written by Rick Nowels, Billy Steinberg and Maria Vidal....
", "The Gentle Rain").
Personal life
Throughout his adult life Roy Castle suffered from
AgoraphobiaAgoraphobia is an anxiety disorder, often precipitated by the fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia avoid public and/or unfamiliar places, especially large, open, spaces such as shopping malls or airports...
. For the greater part of his career as an entertainer he was unhindered by the condition - but his role as the main presenter of
Record BreakersRecord Breakers was a United Kingdom children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC and originally presented by Roy Castle with twin brothers Norris McWhirter and Ross McWhirter. It was broadcast on BBC One from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001...
proved challenging at times. Unfortunately for Roy, many of the multi-person record-breaking attempts were recorded in the vast
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
TC1 studio at Television Centre. At 995
square metreThe square metre is the SI derived unit of area, with symbol m2. It is defined as the area of a square whose sides measure exactly one metre...
s (10,250 ft²), TC1 is one of the largest television studios in Europe. The prospect of several hundred hula-hooping schoolgirls or bagpiping soldiers inside a large studio would cause Roy great anxiety. However, he prided himself on being a professional entertainer and he improvised many novel ways of managing his condition. For example, when filming in TC1 he would arrange with the producer to have a large wicker laundry basket placed out of camera shot, into which he would dive to take refuge from his
panic attackPanic attacks are very sudden, discrete periods of intense anxiety, mounting physiological arousal, fear, stomach problems and discomfort that are associated with a variety of somatic and cognitive symptoms. The onset of these episodes is typically abrupt, and may have no obvious triggers...
s. His co-host
Cheryl BakerCheryl Baker is an English television presenter and singer. She is most famous for being a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, and has performed for the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, winning it the second time.-Early career:After leaving school and a series of secretarial jobs, Cheryl...
would often sit on the basket, thus providing Roy with the comforting knowledge that the lid could not be accidentally removed.
He was married to the dancer
Fiona DicksonJoan Fiona Dickson OBE, or Fiona Dickson is a retired British dancer who is most notable for her marriage to the late TV entertainer Roy Castle...
in 1963 after being introduced to each other by
Eric MorecambeJohn Eric Bartholomew OBE , better known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
. They had four children. Their youngest son,
Ben CastleFor the New Zealand rugby union player see Ben Castle Ben Castle is a British jazz musician, the son of entertainer Roy Castle....
(born 1973), is a successful jazz
saxophonistThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
who has played with
Jamie CullumJamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter, pianist, guitarist, and drummer.-Biography:Cullum was born at Romford Hospital in Essex. He was brought up in Hullavington, Wiltshire. Educated at the independent fee-paying Grittleton House School and the sixth form at Sheldon School...
,
Carleen AndersonCarleen Anderson is an American soul singer who has had success in the United Kingdom. She is the daughter of the singer Vicki Anderson and stepdaughter of Bobby Byrd, and was most well known as the lead singer in the Young Disciples as well as for her own solo career.-Early career:Anderson was...
and
Beth RowleyBeth Rowley is an English singer-songwriter born in Lima, Peru. She was born to British parents who later returned from Peru in 1982 to live in Bristol, England when Beth was aged two years old.-Early career:...
, among many others. Both Roy and his wife were committed Christians and they regularly attended the
BaptistA Baptist is a Christian who subscribes to a theology and may belong to a church that, among other things, is committed to believer's baptism and, with respect to church polity, favors the congregational model...
church near their home.
Castle was also a keen
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
fan and supported
Liverpool Football ClubLiverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club plays in the Premier League, and has won more trophies than any other English club...
. Less than six months before his death, he attended the
Liverpool-EvertonEverton Football Club are an English professional football club from the city of Liverpool. Having competed in the top division for a record 107 seasons, they have played more top-flight league games than any other English team and have won the League Championship 9 times — the fourth highest...
derby matchIn many countries the term local derby, or simply just derby means a sporting fixture between two rivals, particularly in association football...
at
AnfieldAnfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, in Liverpool, England. Built in 1884, the stadium has been home to Liverpool F.C. since they were formed in 1892 as a result of the original tenants Everton F.C...
on 14 March 1994 and stood on the famous Spion Kop terrace, as it was the last local derby that would be staged before the Kop was demolished to make way for a new all-seater stand. He had also been in the crowd at Liverpool's
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The name "FA Cup" usually refers to the English men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held...
final victory over
SunderlandSunderland Association Football Club are a professional association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, that compete in the Premier League. Since their formation in 1879, they have won six First Division titles—in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936 Sunderland Association...
in May 1992, shortly after he was first diagnosed with cancer. At that time Ronnie Barker paid tribute to him, referring to their portrayal of characters that bore a strong resemblance to
Laurel and HardyLaurel and Hardy were a popular comedy team composed of thin, English-born Stan Laurel and heavy, American-born Oliver Hardy . They became famous during the early half of the 20th century for their work in motion pictures and also appeared on stage throughout America and Europe.The two comedians...
in
Another Fine MessFor the comedy short starring Laurel and Hardy, see Another Fine Mess Another Fine Mess is the first major live release by British folk metal band Skyclad...
.
On 31 December 1992, Castle became an OBE. He was also a recipient of the Carl Alan Award, an honour voted for by members of the professional dance industry.
Illness and death
Castle was diagnosed with
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells...
in January 1992, and underwent
chemotherapyChemotherapy, in its most general sense, is the treatment of disease by chemicals especially by killing micro-organisms or cancerous cells. In popular usage, it refers to antineoplastic drugs used to treat cancer or the combination of these drugs into a cytotoxic standardized treatment regimen...
and radiotherapy before going into remission in the autumn of that year. Castle, a non-smoker, blamed his illness on years of playing the trumpet in smoky jazz clubs. On 26 November 1993, Castle announced that his illness had returned, and once again underwent treatment in hope of overcoming it. Several months later, he carried out the high profile
Tour of Hope to raise funds for the erection of the building that would become the
Roy Castle Lung Cancer FoundationThe Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is a British medical research charity dedicated to the prevention and cure of lung cancer. The Foundation funds research into the early diagnosis of lung cancer and provides support to lung cancer patients and their families. It helps people to quit smoking and...
, which was - and still is - the only British
charityA charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . The term is relatively general and can technically refer to a public charity or a private foundation. It differs from other types of NPOs in that its focus is centered around goals of a general philanthropic nature A charitable...
entirely dedicated to defeating lung cancer.
His final contribution to Record Breakers was aired over the summer of 1994, although the programme continued until 2001.
He died on 2 September 1994, two days after his 62nd birthday.
His widow Fiona worked with the charity for many years after her husband's death, and was a key figure in campaigning for the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
smoking banSmoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
which came into effect during 2007 and has seen smoking banned in virtually all enclosed
public placesA public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. One of the earliest examples of public spaces are commons. For example, no fees or paid tickets are required for entry, nor are the entrants...
.
External links