Kenny Everett

"Maurice Cole" redirects here. For the pianist, see Maurice Cole (pianist).

Kenny Everett
Everett in the 1990s.
Birth name	Maurice James Christopher Cole
Born	25 December 1944(1944-12-25) Seaforth, Lancashire, England[1]
Died	4 April 1995(1995-04-04) (aged 50) London, England
Medium	Radio, television
Nationality	British
Years active	1962–95
Genres	Character comedy, surreal comedy, sketch
Influences	Spike Milligan, Joe Meek, Delia Derbyshire, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Peter Cook, Vivian Stanshall, Frank Zappa
Influenced	Chris Moyles, Chris Tarrant, Simon Hirst,
Spouse	Lee "Lady Lee" Middleton (m. 1966–1984) «start: (1966)–end+1: (1985)»"Marriage: Lee "Lady Lee" Middleton to Kenny Everett" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Everett) (divorced)[2]
Notable works and roles	See below
Website	http://www.kennyeverett.co.uk/

Kenny Everett (25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.

Early life

Everett attended the local secondary modern school, St Bede's Secondary Modern, which is now part of Sacred Heart Catholic College.

He attended a junior seminary at Stillington near York with an Italian missionary order, the Verona Fathers.

After schooling he worked in a bakery and in the advertising department of The Journal of Commerce and Shipping Telegraph.

Having revealed a natural comic and broadcasting talent, he began a career in entertainment. He adopted his stage name from film-star Edward Everett Horton, a childhood hero.

Broadcasting career

Radio career

Everett's first break (as Maurice Cole) came when he sent a tape to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1962. The BBC gave him an interview and offered him a job as a presenter on the Light Programme, the forerunner to BBC Radio 2. He declined, however, in favour of the less constrained world of pirate radio, where he began his career as a DJ for Radio London.

He teamed up with Dave Cash for the Kenny & Cash Show, one of the most popular pirate radio programmes. His offbeat style and likable personality quickly gained him attention, but in 1965 he was fired after some outspoken remarks about religion on air. Like most of the pirate stations, Radio London carried sponsored American evangelical shows and Everett's disparaging remarks about The World Tomorrow caused its producers to threaten to withdraw their lucrative contract with the station.

Everett returned six months later, however, before being given his own show by Radio Luxembourg in 1966. Within a year, he had joined the BBC's new pop music station BBC Radio 1 after previewing The Beatles' new album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and interviewing the band. Everett had struck up a friendship with The Beatles and accompanied them on their 1966 tour of the United States, sending back daily reports for Radio London. He also produced their 1968 and 1969 Christmas records.

At Radio 1 Everett continued to develop his own unique presentation style, featuring zany voices, surreal characters, multi-tracked jingles and trailers, all of his own creation and compilation. It was ground-breaking radio material that has since been much copied.

Everett had a great love of sound recording equipment, in particular using reel-to-reel tape recorders, often adding sound-on-sound to his recordings and stereo/multi-track recordings of his pseudo-singing voice. These were broadcast on air regularly and he often created his own radio jingles. This skill was also transferred in some part to TV in his later career.

Everett's shows on BBC Radio 1 included Midday Spin, and in 1968 he took over a Saturday show from 10 am to 12 noon.

In 1970, Everett again found himself fired, this time after suggesting on air that Mary Peyton, the British Transport Minister's wife, had bribed her driving test examiner. The remark was a spontaneous quip, following a news item describing how Peyton had finally passed after many attempts.

Following an interview on the BBC Radio Solent children's show Albert's Gang, Everett submitted weekly shows to the station that he had pre-recorded at home. This afforded the BBC the opportunity to vet the shows before broadcast. Everett was then heard on various BBC local radio stations before being reinstated at Radio 1 in 1972. Here he recorded a weekly show from his home in Wales and it went out on a Sunday afternoon.

During this time, legislation had been passed allowing the licensing of commercial radio stations in the UK. One of the first, Capital Radio, began broadcasting to London and the Home Counties in 1973. Everett joined the station and was given his own show, where he further developed his distinctive ideas. From 1973 to 1974 he presented the station's breakfast show, initially alongside Dave Cash, a friend and colleague from Radio London days, and later as the sole presenter.

Using reel-to-reel tape recorders and mixing equipment, Everett created many comedy characters on The Breakfast Show with Dave Cash on Capital, one of which was called 'Yasher the Smasher' referring to a character who smashed pianos. This was indicative of how many people went through a destructive period smashing traditional wooden pianos. The idea was first started with Pete Townshend from The Who encouraging the group to destroy their equipment on stage.

In 1974 he moved to a less high-pressure timeslot at Capital. Here he further developed his style and his cult following, and featured both what he thought the best in music (Queen, Chris Rainbow) and the worst, which led to the popular Kenny Everett's World's Worst Record Show programmes, later released as an album, with slightly different tracks. Several shows featured the "Bottom 30": compilations (from listeners' votes) of the world's worst records during this period, including some tracks by well-known personalities not known for their singing, notably William Shatner (Captain Kirk of Star Trek) with his version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "The Shifting Whispering Sands" by Eamonn Andrews.

In 1975 Everett played a pivotal role in getting Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" released as a single. He also presented a pre-recorded programme on Saturday lunch-time for Radio Victory in Portsmouth, later providing Captain Kremmen to the station for transmission in the Dave Christian's late show.

BBC Radio and back to Capital

In October 1981, Everett returned to BBC Radio, this time on Radio 2, on Saturday from 11am–1pm. This lasted until 1983, when he was once again dismissed after making a rude joke about Margaret Thatcher: "When England was a kingdom, we had a king. When we were an empire, we had an emperor. Now we're a country ... and we have Margaret Thatcher".^{[citation needed]} This remark reportedly led to the non-renewal of his contract with BBC Radio 2.

In May 1985, he was called in to replace Graeme Garden (who was ill) for one episode of the Radio 4 game show, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

He returned to Capital Radio, presenting the same slot as he had on Radio 2. After Capital split its frequencies in 1988 he was heard on Capital Gold, with a line-up that included people like Tony Blackburn and David Hamilton. Everett presented the afternoon show and then moved to the mid-morning show. He left in 1994 when his health deteriorated to the point that he was unable to continue.

TV career

Early television work

Besides the radio programmes, his first screen appearance was in the 1965 film Dateline Diamonds which had a plot based around the pirate ship MV Galaxy. He also appeared in several television series, beginning in 1968 with a production for Granada Television called Nice Time which was co-presented by Germaine Greer and Jonathan Routh. In 1970 he made three series for London Weekend Television (LWT): The Kenny Everett Explosion, Making Whoopee and Ev; and he also took part (along with such talents as Willie Rushton and John Wells) in the 1972 BBC TV series Up Sunday.

In 1973, Everett provided the voice of the cat 'Charley' in the Charley Says animated series of public information films.

(It is not currently clear to which of these efforts Everett was referring when, years later, he spoke dismissively of some early TV work: "We just used to turn up at the studio and try to be wacky". In interviews, co-presenter Greer spoke of him as "a televisual genius".)^{[citation needed]}

Everett was the announcer on the original version of ATV's "big box game" Celebrity Squares which ran on ITV from 1975 to 1979. Also in 1975, Everett featured in an uncredited cameo in an episode of The Goodies, entitled The Goodies Rule – O.K.?, in which he appeared as a political candidate in a (fictional) General Election.

The Kenny Everett Video Show and The Kenny Everett Video Cassette

In 1978, London's Thames Television offered him a new venture, which became the very successful and ground-breaking Kenny Everett Video Show. This was a vehicle for Everett's characters and sketches (his fellow writers were Ray Cameron, Barry Cryer and Dick Vosburgh), interspersed with the latest pop hits, either performed by the artists themselves, or as backing tracks to dance routines by Arlene Phillips' contemporaneously risqué dance troupe Hot Gossip (which featured Sarah Brightman).

Various pop and TV stars made cameo appearances on the show, including Rod Stewart, Billy Connolly, Kate Bush, Cliff Richard, Freddie Mercury, Terry Wogan and Suzi Quatro (see also "Friends" section below) and classical musicians such as Julian Lloyd Webber.

Everett would often ad lib and deviate from the script; his bloopers were sometimes left in the final cut and on several occasions he pulled the camera around the studio revealing the crew not quite sure what was going to happen next. Quite often the crew were victims of his humour – on one occasion Everett encouraged the crew to sing "Happy Birthday" to a cameraman, presenting to him a cake which he duly pushed in the cameraman's face.^{[citation needed]}

There were also the stories of Captain Kremmen, a science fiction hero voiced by Everett and originally developed for his Capital Radio shows, who travelled the galaxy battling fictional alien menaces, along with his assistant Dr Gitfinger and his voluptuous sidekick Carla. In the first three series these segments were animations created by the Cosgrove-Hall partnership (responsible for the successful children's cartoon series Dangermouse, among many others). In the fourth series (Video Cassette) Kremmen was featured as live action, with Anna Dawson playing Carla; the segments were comedy shorts, rather than the earlier stories.

Other characters included: aging rock-and-roller Sid Snot, unsuccessfully flipping cigarettes into his mouth – at one point Everett managed to catch one in his mouth, to the amusement of the studio crew; Marcel Wave, a lecherous Frenchman played by Everett wearing an absurdly false latex chin; and Angry of Mayfair, an upper middle-class City gent complaining of the risqué content of the show, banging the camera's lens hood with his umbrella, and then storming off, turning his back to us, only then to be revealed as wearing women's underwear in lieu of the entire back half of his suit.

He also created the never-seen character of 'Lord Thames', supposedly the owner of Thames Television (the company was actually owned by two conglomerates). The character was often the butt of Everett's rants and was said to symbolise his contempt for senior management at the company, claiming they lived behind an ancient, cobweb-covered door marked as the "Office Of Saying 'No'". Thames never disciplined him for these comments, unlike prior employers such as the BBC.

Everett's interest in (then primitive) video processing technology and electronic effects showed itself in such features as the appearances of a bobbing 'alien' entirely composed of a distorted video image of his own head ("Hello. I'm Spod, from Planet Thfnnnn. And this is all I do... Pathetic, isn't it?").^{[citation needed]}

The series ran for four seasons on ITV, and was a big ratings hit. The last episode ended on a rather sour note (after Everett had locked horns with Thames management over his show and its scheduling) with Everett giving a restrained farewell speech as the set and scenery was being stripped down by the crew. The final shot before the closing credits was Everett himself being picked up and placed inside an oversized garbage can.

In Australia, complaints resulted in ongoing censorship of the program, especially the Hot Gossip segments due to the provocative, skimpy and highly revealing costumes and leotards worn by the dancers.^{[citation needed]}

The Kenny Everett Television Show (BBC 1981–1988)

Everett fell out with Thames regarding the management of his show, including the scheduling against the BBC's top-rated Top of the Pops on Thursday evenings. The BBC offered him a live-audience sketch-format comedy programme, starting with a Christmas special on BBC One in 1981, followed by five primetime series. The writing team was bolstered by the addition of Andrew Marshall, David Renwick and Neil Shand, and the production standards were raised by the heavier investment from the Corporation.

Thames Television claimed copyright on Everett's characters, and tried to prevent their use by the BBC. Whilst this action failed, it led to the creation of new characters such as Gizzard Puke (intended to replace Sid Snot), and the spooneristically named Cupid Stunt, an American B-movie actress with pneumatic breasts, and played with no attempt to disguise Everett's beard, who told a cardboard cutout of Michael Parkinson lurid tales of life on set with Burt Reynolds and other male stars of the era. Her original name, Mary Hinge, was vetoed by the Corporation as too obvious, and announcers were encouraged to refer to her as Cupid to prevent mispronunciation. Inept TV handyman Reg Prescott became another firm viewers' favourite, as each week he managed graphically and bloodily to injure himself with tools whilst attempting to demonstrate DIY tips.

Brazilian-born Cleo Rocos co-starred in the BBC series. She often appeared in nothing more than frilly underwear and high heels, and her figure was used to great comic effect as a focus for drooling, lascivious men.

Quiz shows

Everett hosted two short-lived quiz shows late in his career, Brainstorm,^[3] and Gibberish.^[4][5] He was also a team captain on That's Showbusiness.

Friends and guests

Everett was very popular with his peers, and many major stars of television, radio, and pop music counted him as a friend. This led to many celebrity guest appearances across all his television work. Cliff Richard was happy to have his clean image lampooned many times, as were Lionel Blair and Justin Hayward. Terry Wogan – a long-time colleague from the early days at Radio 1 – made numerous appearances on both Thames and the BBC shows, as did Billy Connolly and Lennie Bennett. Other stars who parodied themselves included Rod Stewart, Kate Bush, ABBA, The Police, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.

Bloodbath at the House of Death

Everett made one foray into film with 1984's Bloodbath at the House of Death, a spoof of Hammer horror films, which was penned by Everett's usual writing partners Barry Cryer and Ray Cameron (who also directed the film). Vincent Price was featured as the villain, credited only as the "Sinister Man", and a number of other popular comedians and actors also appeared, most notably Pamela Stephenson, Gareth Hunt and Don Warrington. Several regulars from Everett's television series also appeared. The film was not a great success, despite winning "Best Science-Fiction Film" at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film (tied with Videodrome).^{[citation needed]}

Political involvement

During the 1983 general election campaign, the Young Conservatives invited Everett to their conference in an attempt to attract the youth vote. Egged on by film director Michael Winner, Everett bounded onto the stage, wearing the enormously oversized foam rubber hands familiar from his mock-evangelical character Brother Lee Love. He shouted slogans like "Let's bomb Russia!" and "Let's kick Michael Foot's stick away!" to loud applause (Michael Foot was the elderly leader of the Labour Party at the time).^[6][7] Everett later said he regretted the incident and that he had taken the foam hands to the rally because the Tories "asked me first".^[8]

Personal life

Everett married the singer Lee 'Lady Lee' Middleton (Billy Fury's former girlfriend) in 1966. By 1979 they had separated, and Everett came out as gay.^{[citation needed]} He launched himself into the London gay club scene, and could often be seen in the nightclub Heaven in the 1980s on Saturday nights. During his last few years of life while DJing on Capital Gold 194 AM he withdrew to a quieter lifestyle at home.

Everett was told in 1989 that he had HIV, and he went public with his illness in 1993.^[9] He died from an AIDS-related illness, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, on 4 April 1995, aged 50.^[10]

Shows presented

The following is a list of the main shows Everett presented.

Radio

• Kenny & Cash Show Radio London – 1964–1965
• Kenny Everett Show Radio Luxembourg – 1966
• Midday Spin BBC Radio 1 – 1967
• Everett is Here BBC Radio 1 Saturdays 10am–12midday – 1968–1970
• Kenny Everett Show BBC Local Radio – 1971
• Kenny Everett Show BBC Radio 1 Sundays 1–3pm – 1972
• Breakfast Show Capital Radio – 1973–1974
• Kenny Everett Show Capital Radio – 1974–1980
• Kenny Everett Show Radio Victory – 1975–1976
• Captain Kremmen Radio Victory – 1976
• Kenny Everett Show BBC Radio 2 Saturdays 11am–1pm – 1981–1983
• Kenny Everett Show Capital Radio Saturdays 11am–1pm – 1984–1988
• Weekday afternoons Capital Gold 1–4pm – 1988–1991
• Weekday mid-mornings Capital Gold 9am–12midday – 1991–1994

Television

• Nice Time Granada Television – 1968
• The Kenny Everett Explosion LWT – 1970
• The Kenny Everett Video Show Thames Television – 1978–1980
• The Kenny Everett Video Cassette Thames Television – 1981
• The Kenny Everett Television Show BBC One – 1981–1988
• Brainstorm BBC – 1988
• Gibberish BBC – 1992

Tributes and portrayals

On 18 November 2007, ITV1 broadcast a tribute show to Everett entitled Licence To Laugh. This celebrated the thirty years since he first appeared on ITV with the ground-breaking Kenny Everett Video Show (Thames Television, 1978 to 1980).

Friends and colleagues revealed what it was like to know and work with the man they affectionately dubbed "Cuddly Ken". Additionally, contemporary celebrities such as Chris Moyles and Chris Tarrant talked about their love for the outrageous entertainer, and discussed the ways in which Everett had influenced them and their work. It also featured archive footage.

In March 2010 the BBC confirmed it was working on a 90-minute TV biopic called Number One in Heaven to be written by Tim Whitnall and focussing on Everett's unhappiness at secondary school.^[11]

References

1. ^ "Obituary:Kenny Everett", The Independent, 5 April 1995. Retrieved 27 July 2010
2. ^ "Obituary:Kenny Everett", The Independent, 5 April 1995. Retrieved 27 July 2010
3. ^ "Brainstorm at". Ukgameshows.com. http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Brainstorm. Retrieved 24 June 2009. 
4. ^ Gibberish at Celador.co.uk^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Gibberish at". Imdb.com. 16 March 1992. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0960374/. Retrieved 24 June 2009. 
6. ^ "Archive". Johann Hari. http://www.johannhari.com/archive/article.php?id=26. Retrieved 24 June 2009. 
7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcSmnBfMhRE
8. ^ "Ugly business for show people?". BBC News. 26 May 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3746865.stm. 
9. ^ Charmaz, Kathy; Howarth, Glennys; Kellehear, Allan (1997). The unknown country: death in Australia, Britain, and the USA. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 162. ISBN 0312165455. http://books.google.com/books?id=44HpMBgEZhgC&pg=PA162. 
10. ^ "Transitions". The Advocate (Here Publishing) (681): 19. 16 May 1995. ISSN 0001-8996. http://books.google.com/books?id=y2MEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19. 
11. ^ Kenny Everett to return to TV as BBC announces plans for biopic 15 March 2010 Retrieved 15 March 2010

Further reading

• "Everett, Kenny". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Anthony Hayward (registration required). http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/59136. 

External links

General links

• Kenny Everett Show episode list break down to the sketches
• Kenny Everett at the Internet Movie Database
• TV.com
• Screenonline – Kenny Everett
• Extract from 'The Custard Stops at Hatfield'
• Kenny Everett at findagrave
• Kenny Everett's World's Worst Wireless Show

Radio

• Radio Rewind – Kenny Everett
• The Radio Academy Hall of Fame – Kenny Everett
• Pirate Radio Hall of Fame E to G
• Aircheck Legends – Kenny Everett
• kennyeverett.co.uk tribute site
• Radio London Kenny Everett Tribute Pages
• Kenny Everett's World's Worst Wireless Show, complete details of these shows
• Kenny Everett's Radio Days on BBC 7 Listen Again

Television

• Television Heaven – The Kenny Everett Video Show
• BBC Everett Cult TV site

Other languages

• Español in Minipedia

Persondata
Name	Everett, Kenny
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	25 December 1944
Place of birth	Seaforth, Merseyside England
Date of death	4 April 1995
Place of death	London, England