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{{Short description|English cartoonist and comedian (1937–1996)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Willie Rushton.jpg
| caption = Rushton
| name = Willie Rushton
| birth_name = William George Rushton
| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|08|18|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], [[London]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1996|12|11|1937|08|18|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Kensington]], London, England
| yearsactive = 1961–1996
| occupation = {{hlist|[[
| spouse = {{marriage|Arlene Dorgan
}}
'''William George Rushton''' (18 August 1937
==Early life==
Rushton was born 18 August 1937
After school, Rushton had to perform two years of [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|national service]] in the [[British Army|army]], where he failed officer selection.<ref name=Sherrin/> He later commented, "The Army is, God bless it, one of the funniest institutions on earth and also a sort of microcosm of the world. It's split almost perfectly into our class system. Through serving in the ranks I discovered the basic wit of my fellow man – whom basically, to tell the truth, I'd never met before."<ref name=Massingberd>Hugh Massingberd (2012) ''Daydream Believer'' Pan Books {{ISBN|1447210220}}</ref> On leaving the army, he worked in a solicitor's office for a short period.<ref name=Sherrin/>
==''Private Eye'' and the satire boom==
Rushton remained in contact with his Shrewsbury friends, who had added [[John Wells (satirist)|John Wells]] to their number and were now running their own humour magazines at Oxford, ''Parsons Pleasure'' and ''Mesopotamia'', to which Rushton made many contributions during his frequent visits. A cartoon of a giraffe in a bar saying "The high balls are on me" was not met with approval by everyone in the university administrative quarters. Rushton suggested that ''Mesopotamia'' could continue after they left university. During his time as a clerk he had been sending his cartoons out to ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' but none had been accepted. After being knocked over by a bus, he gave up his job as a clerk, determined not to waste another day.<ref name=Sherrin />
After almost but not quite being accepted by ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'' (a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]-supporting <!-- then -->newspaper edited by [[Michael Foot]], Paul's uncle), Rushton found a place at the ''Liberal News'', which was also employing [[Christopher Booker]] as a journalist. From June 1960 until March 1961, he contributed a weekly strip, "Brimstone Belcher", following the exploits of the titular journalist (a fore-runner of ''[[Private Eye]]''{{'}}s Lunchtime O'Booze), from bizarre skulduggery in the British colonies (where the soldiers holding back the politicised rabble bear a strong resemblance to privates Rushton and Ingrams), travelogues through the US, and the hazards of by-electioneering as the independent candidate for the constituency of Gumboot North. After the strip folded, Rushton still contributed a weekly political cartoon to the ''Liberal News'' until mid-1962.
The Salopians finally found a financier for their magazine and the first issue of ''[[Private Eye]]'' was published on 25 October 1961. Rushton put it together in his bedroom in [[Scarsdale Villas]] using [[Letraset]] and [[Rubber cement|cow-gumming]] illustrations onto cards which were taken away to be photo-lithographed. He also contributed all the illustrations and the mast-head figure of Little Gnitty (who still appears on the cover, a blended caricature of John Wells and the ''[[Daily Express]]'' standard-head). One critic described the original lay-out of the magazine as owing much to "Neo-Brechtian Nihilism", although Rushton thought it resembled a betting shop floor. One feature in the early issues was the "Aesop Revisited", a full-page comic strip which let him work in a wealth of puns and background jokes. With ''[[Private Eye]]'' riding the satire boom, [[Peter Cook]] soon took an interest and contributed two serials recounting the bizarre adventures of Sir Basil Nardly-Stoads and the Rhandi Phurr, both of which were illustrated by Rushton, as was "[[Mrs Wilson's Diary]]". In the early days the team also worked on two books, ''Private Eye on London'' and ''Private Eye's Romantic England'' that make heavy use of his cartooning talents. One of the first ''[[Private Eye]]''-published books was Rushton's first collection of cartoons, ''Willie Rushton's Dirty Weekend Book'' (banned in Ireland).
Reuniting with his Salopian chums had also reawakened Rushton's taste for acting. After they had finished university, he had accompanied his friends in a well-received revue at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]]. ([[Richard Burton]] even appeared one night in their parody of ''[[Luther (play)|Luther]]''.) In 1961, Richard Ingrams directed a production of [[Spike Milligan]]'s surreal post-nuclear apocalypse farce ''[[The Bed-Sitting Room (play)|The Bed-Sitting Room]]'', in which Rushton was hailed by [[Kenneth Tynan]] as "brilliant". But it was a cabaret at the Room at the Top, a chicken-in-a-basket nightclub at the top of a department store in Ilford, that really launched his career. Rushton recalled meeting the [[Kray twins]] in the audience one night and that fellow performer [[Barbara Windsor]] "wouldn't come out for a drink that night".<ref>{{cite book |page=49 |first=Patrick |last=Marnham |author-link=Patrick Marnham |title= The Private Eye Story|publisher= Fontana/Collins |year=1982}}</ref> The revue also starred John Wells. Rushton's impersonation of Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]] caught the attention of [[Ned Sherrin]], a young BBC producer searching for talent to appear in a forthcoming TV satire series.
''[[That Was the Week That Was]]'' (aka "TW3") ran from November 1962 until December 1963. It drew audiences of up to 13 million, making stars of its cast, particularly [[David Frost]]. Rushton became known for his impersonation of the Prime Minister, a daring novelty in those respectful days. "It's the only impersonation that people have ever actually recognised – so I'm very grateful to the old bugger ... But then I had voted for him, so he owed me something."{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} Rushton also appeared on the original flexi-discs of skits, squibs and invective that ''[[Private Eye]]'' gave away, having success with two self-penned songs: "Neasden" ("you won't be sorry that you breezed in ... where the rissoles are deep-freezed-en") and the "Bum Song" ("if you’re feeling glum / stick a finger up your bum / and the world is a happier place"). He also wrote songs for ''TW3'', many of which were revisited on later solo albums like ''Now in Bottles'' and ''The Complete Works''.
In the autumn of 1963, a health scare led Macmillan to resign and [[Sir Alec Douglas-Home]] became
Rushton described his political beliefs as being "left of Limbo" stating that he'd always voted for Labour because he felt their attitude to life was "more generous than anyone else's" but would happily take potshots at anyone who said something silly.<ref>"Remembering Willie Rushton BBC Audio CD AISN B0041OAOOS</ref>
==Films, television and radio==
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Rushton had not been involved in ''Private Eye'' since the latter part of the 1960s, other than a brief stint illustrating "[[Mrs Wilson's Diary]]" when the Labour Party came back into power in the mid-1970s. He returned to ''Private Eye'' in 1978 to take over the task of illustrating "Auberon Waugh's Diary", which continued until 1986. The cartoons perfectly complemented [[Auberon Waugh]]'s scabrous and surreal flights of invective, and when Waugh moved his column to ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' as the "Way of the World" in 1990, Rushton followed, drawing at Waugh's instruction such surreal concepts as [[Richard Ingrams]] pretending to be a seven-year-old choirgirl,<ref>"He must start again", ''The Daily Telegraph'' page 23, 4 March 1995</ref> the head of a dead cow coming out of a computer connected to the then-new (in common usage) [[internet]]<ref>"Insult to dead cows", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 8 April 1996, also reprinted in ''Way of the World: The Forgotten Years'', Century 1997 and Arrow Books 1998</ref> and a nude statue of [[Benjamin Britten]] with a [[bird bath]] discreetly covering its private parts.<ref>"Honouring Benjamin", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 5 August 1996, also reprinted in ''Way of the World: The Forgotten Years'' as above</ref> [[The Victoria and Albert Museum]], recognising his accomplishments, commissioned 24 large colour illustrations which were collected as ''Willie Rushton's Great Moments of History''. (Rushton had previous experience with the V&A when he had pulled a prank on the institution by labelling an electric plug socket in one of the galleries: "Plug hole designed by Hans Plug (b. 1908)", which remained for a full year – to the great annoyance of a cleaner who had to use a hefty extension lead for 12 months so as not to damage the exhibit.) This large-scale excursion into the use of colour was good practice for the monthly colour covers he created for the ''[[Literary Review]]'' when Waugh became its editor in 1986. Rushton drew these covers along with the fortnightly caricatures for ''Private Eye''{{'}}s literary review page until he died.
Rushton had always been conscious of his weight, listing his recreations in ''Who's Who'' as "gaining weight, losing weight and parking", and in 1973 he had been the host of a [[Weight loss|slimming]] programme, ''Don't Just Sit There''. His first major health scare had been the onset of [[diabetes]] (the cause of his father's death in 1958). Having to give up beer, Rushton became, according to Ingrams, "quite grumpy as a result, but his grumpiness had an admirable and jaunty quality to it."<ref>"Obituaries: William Rushton", ''The Daily Telegraph'' page 21, 12 December 1996, as above</ref> A sudden loss of three [[Stone (unit)|stone]] had prevented him from playing in Prince Rainier's XI at [[Monte Carlo]], [[Monaco]]. Rushton was always passionate about cricket. His father had sent him for coaching at Lord's before he went to Shrewsbury. His cricket and general knowledge were called upon in his role as a regular team captain on BBC Radio 4's quiz show ''[[Trivia Test Match]]'' with [[Tim Rice]] and [[Brian Johnston]], which ran from 1986 to 1993. Rushton was always an enthusiastic cricketer, playing in the [[Lord's Taverners]], a charity celebrity cricket team.
In 1989 he performed in ''[[The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball]]''. His act consisted of singing "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" and acting out the lyrics, which left him standing in a top hat, white tie, and tails – but no trousers. In his later years his cartoons were part of an exhibition at the [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]].<ref>Lauren Collins, "Tired and Emotional", ''New Yorker'' (21 Nov. 2011); online at https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/11/21/tired-and-emotional - see also Eric Hands' mid-1970s photograph-portrait of Rushton: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw197612/Willie-Rushton</ref>
==Death and memorials==
Rushton died of a heart attack at [[Cromwell Hospital]], [[Kensington]]
Among his last words was the advice, "Tell Bazza he's too old to do pantomime", meant for his long-time friend [[Barry Cryer]].<ref>{{cite web
|title = Uncle Baz just can't help it: Barry Cryer amiably refers to his own banter as a 'stream of unconsciousness' and admits that even his friends tell him to shut up
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Rushton is honoured by a Comic Heritage [[blue plaque]] at [[Mornington Crescent tube station]], a reference to the game [[Mornington Crescent (game)|Mornington Crescent]] on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue''.
[[BBC Radio 4 Extra|BBC7]] showcased his contribution to ''I'm Sorry I Haven't
According to the autobiography of [[Nicholas Parsons]], Rushton's ashes were buried by the boundary at [[The Oval]] Cricket Ground.<ref>Parsons, Nicholas, With Just a Touch of Hesitation, Repetition and Deviation: My Life in Comedy, Random House, 2010</ref>
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|1978|| ''[[Adventures of a Plumber's Mate]]'' || Dodger
|-
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|1996|| ''[[The Treacle People]]'' || Santa
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==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0750775|name=Willie Rushton}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/clue/article/willie.shtml BBC biography]
* [http://ukjarry.livejournal.com/
* [http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/artists/willierushton/biography Rushton biography] at British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent
* {{LCAuth|n82133021|William Rushton|14|ue}}
{{I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue}}
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[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
[[Category:Audiobook narrators]]
[[Category:English cartoonists]]
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[[Category:Independent British political candidates]]
[[Category:People educated at Shrewsbury School]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:People from Chelsea, London]]
[[Category:Private Eye contributors]]
[[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]]
[[Category:Comedians from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea]]
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