Willie Rushton: Difference between revisions

| yearsactive = 1961–1996

| occupation = {{hlist|[[Cartoonist]]|[[comedian]]|[[satirist]]|[[writer]]}}

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'''William George Rushton''' (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-william-rushton-1314313.html|title=OBITUARY : William Rushton|date=13 December 1996|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=19 November 2016}}</ref> was an English actor, cartoonist, comedian and satirist who co-founded the satirical magazine ''[[Private Eye]]''.

 

==Early life==

 

 

==''Private Eye'' and the satire boom==

''[[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&nbsp;– so I'm very grateful to the old bugger&nbsp;... 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&nbsp;... 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''.

 

 

==Films, television and radio==

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.

 

 

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&nbsp;– 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==

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

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''.

 

 

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>

|1986, 1990|| ''[[The Trap Door]]'' || Voices

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[[Category:1996 deaths]]

[[Category:British Army soldiers]]

[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]

[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]

[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]

[[Category:Audiobook narrators]]

[[Category:English cartoonists]]

[[Category:Independent British political candidates]]

[[Category:People educated at Shrewsbury School]]

[[Category:People from Chelsea, London]]

[[Category:Private Eye contributors]]

[[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]]