Don Estelle

2023-01-09T22:23:38Z

2A00:23C8:3B02:4E01:19E3:D562:D889:CFD0: /* Career */

{{Short description|English actor}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Don Estelle.jpg
| name = Don Estelle
| imagesize = 190px
| caption = Estelle as Lofty in ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]''
| birth_name = Ronald Edwards
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1933|5|22}}
| birth_place = [[Crumpsall]], [[Manchester]], [[Lancashire]], England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2003|8|2|1933|5|22}}
| death_place = [[Rochdale]], [[Greater Manchester]] England
| other_names = Rolly
| occupation = Actor, singer
| years_active = 1954–2001
| spouse = {{marriage|Mary Heywood<br />|1955|1972|reason=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Elizabeth Amy Brent<br />|1974}}
| nationality = English
| resting_place = Rochdale Cemetery, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
| education =
| alma_mater =
| television = ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]''<br />
''[[Dad's Army]]''
}}
'''Don Estelle''' (22 May 1933 – 2 August 2003) was an English actor and singer, best known as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]''.

==Early life==
Born '''Ronald Edwards'''<ref name="Sing Lofty: Thoughts of a Gemini">{{cite book
| first= Don
| last= Estelle
| year= 1999
| title= Sing Lofty: Thoughts of a Gemini
| publisher= Don Estelle Music Publishing
| isbn= 978-0-9537377-1-0
| page= 98}}</ref> in [[Crumpsall]], [[Manchester]] (historically part of [[Lancashire]]), he was brought up in a house on Russell Street in the area.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://menmedia.co.uk/rochdaleobserver/news/s/333428_farewell_to_screen_star_lofty_don.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421041606/http://menmedia.co.uk/rochdaleobserver/news/s/333428_farewell_to_screen_star_lofty_don.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |title=Farewell to screen star 'Lofty' Don |work=Rochdale Observer |date=5 August 2003 |last=Byrne |first=Michael |publisher=M.E.N. Media }}</ref> During the [[World War II|Second World War]], at the age of eight, he was evacuated to [[Darwen]], Lancashire to escape the [[Manchester Blitz]].<ref name="Teleg2021">{{cite news|last=Chilton|first=Martin|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/life-lofty-did-go-wrong-don-estelle/|title=Life after Lofty: where did it all go wrong for Don Estelle?|work=The Telegraph|date=2 September 2021|access-date=2 September 2021}}</ref> It was there he found his voice as a [[Boy soprano]] at the local [[St Peter's Church, Darwen|Holy Trinity Parish Church]], and on returning home after the war, he continued singing at St Mary's Church, Crumpsall.<ref name="Indy2003">{{cite news|last=Hayward|first=Anthony|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/don-estelle-36873.html|title=Don Estelle|work=The Independent|date=3 August 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424083030/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/don-estelle-36873.html|archive-date=24 April 2017}}</ref> He later joined a charity group, the Manchester Kentucky Minstrels, and with them, performed "[[Granada (song)|Granada]]" in the 1954 talent show ''What Makes a Star?'' at [[BBC Radio]]'s northern studios in Manchester.

==Career==
Estelle gained experience by singing one song 12 times a week in the show ''The Backyard Kids'' at the [[Hulme]] Hippodrome in Manchester. He met the actor [[Windsor Davies]] in 1962 at the Garrick Theatre in London and the two men formed an act which toured theatres and clubs for four years.<ref name="Teleg2021" /> Estelle had small roles in ''[[Dad's Army]]'' (playing a [[Pickfords]] removals man in one 1969, episode and an [[Air Raid Precautions|ARP warden]] called Gerald in three more in 1970). He eventually gained the role of Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in the [[British sitcom|sitcom]], ''[[It Ain't Half Hot Mum]]'', which was first broadcast in January 1974 and ran until September 1981 reuniting him with Davies<ref name="Teleg2021" /> whose [[Sergeant Major]] character often mocked Lofty in the storylines. The character was given the ironic nickname of Lofty because of Estelle's {{convert|4|ft|9|in|cm|0|abbr=on}} stature.

Estelle had a powerful [[tenor]] voice, and had a Number 1 hit in the [[UK Singles Chart]] in 1975 with a semi-comic version of "[[Whispering Grass]]",<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= British Hit Singles & Albums
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 978-1-904994-10-7
| page= 187| title-link= British Hit Singles & Albums
}}</ref> followed by a cover of "[[Paper Doll (The Mills Brothers song)|Paper Doll]]" which reached number 41, and a top ten LP, ''Sing Lofty'' (1976), all three recorded with Windsor Davies. Estelle also acted in the films ''[[Not Now, Comrade]]'' (1976) and ''[[A Private Function]]'' (1984), in addition to ''[[Santa Claus: The Movie]]'' (1985) alongside [[Melvyn Hayes]], who also appeared in ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum.''

In the first series of ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]'', he made brief appearances in two episodes as Little Don, the keeper of the Roundabout Zoo, a zoo on a [[roundabout intersection|traffic island]]. In 2001, he appeared in an episode of ''[[Linda Smith's A Brief History of Timewasting]]'' as Little Don of the East End Art Mafia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.comcast.net/~jal2.02/a2e/brief-history-timewasting.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=21 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530080158/http://home.comcast.net/~jal2.02/a2e/brief-history-timewasting.pdf |archivedate=30 May 2008 }}</ref>

In his autobiography, ''Sing Lofty: Thoughts Of A Gemini'' (1999), Estelle was extremely bitter about modern-day entertainment producers describing them as being "tight-crutched, white-trousered morons".<ref name="Teleg2021" /> According to his obituary in ''[[The Independent]]'', "in recent years Estelle cut a slightly sorry figure, dressed in his 'Lofty' outfit, setting out a stall of his tapes and singing to passers-by in shopping centres." He appeared as a "dirty old man" in the promotional video for ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' [[Page Three]] Girl Jo Hicks's single "[[Yakety Sax]]" in 2001 (based on the theme from ''[[The Benny Hill Show]]'').<ref name="Indy2003" /> Estelle produced a duo recording with Sir [[Cyril Smith]], by then the former MP for Rochdale. The six-track CD, which included "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine", was available by mail-order in 1999.<ref name="Teleg2021" />

== Final years ==
Estelle briefly moved to [[Christchurch]], New Zealand, where he spent countless hours working with jazz/blues pianist, Malcolm Bishop. According to Bishop,{{where|date=October 2019}}, "Lofty was clearly looking for someone to pass the figurative baton on to. He was extremely generous with time, his resources, and a shortbread that he loved made for him by a local friend. On the evening before Don returned to the UK I sat with him in his living room until after 4 am as he so passionately encouraged and advised me in my own career. Even though we had discussed business for after his return to New Zealand, part way through the evening I realised this would be the last time I would see my friend."{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

Beyond reuniting with family and friends, the reasons for Estelle's UK visit were twofold. The BBC was filming a documentary on the history of British comedy and had requested interviews. He also needed a liver transplant, but he became too weak for doctors to operate. Estelle returned to the UK weeks before his death. He died in [[Rochdale Infirmary]] on 2 August 2003, and was buried in [[Rochdale]] with the oversized [[pith helmet]] he wore as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3162925.stm|title=Actor Don Estelle buried|publisher=BBC News|date=19 August 2003}}</ref> He was survived by his second wife, Elizabeth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,3604,1011731,00.html|title=Don Estelle|work=The Guardian|date=4 August 2003|last=Barker|first=Dennis|location=London}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1976|| ''[[Not Now, Comrade]]'' || Bobby Hargreaves ||
|-
|1984|| ''[[A Private Function]]'' || Barraclough ||
|-
|1985|| ''[[Santa Claus: The Movie]]'' || Groot ||
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0261584}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estelle, Don}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:British expatriates in New Zealand]]
[[Category:English male singers]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:People from Crumpsall]]
[[Category:Male actors from Manchester]]
[[Category:Actors from Rochdale]]
[[Category:20th-century English singers]]
[[Category:21st-century English singers]]
[[Category:20th-century British male singers]]
[[Category:21st-century British male singers]]

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Don Estelle