Don Estelle

Don Estelle (22 May 1933 – 2 August 2003) was a British actor and singer, best known as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

Don Estelle
Estelle as Lofty in It Ain't Half Hot Mum
Born	Ronald Edwards (1933-05-22)22 May 1933 Crumpsall, Manchester, Lancashire, England
Died	2 August 2003(2003-08-02) (aged 70) Rochdale, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Rolly
Occupation	Actor, singer
Years active	1954–2001
Television	It Ain't Half Hot Mum
Spouse(s)	Mary Birkett ​ ( m. 1955; div. 1972) Elizabeth Amy Brent ​ ( m. 1974; his death 2003)

Early life

Born Ronald Edwards[1] in Crumpsall, Manchester, Lancashire, he was brought up in a house on Russell Street, Crumpsall.[2] During the Second World War, at the age of eight, he was evacuated to Darwen, Lancashire, 20 miles from his home, to escape the German bombing of the city. It was there he found his voice as a treble at the local Holy Trinity Parish Church, and on returning home after the war, he continued singing at St Mary's Church, Crumpsall. He later joined a charity group, the Manchester Kentucky Minstrels, and performed with them "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 later toured the northern club circuit, where he met the comedy actor Windsor Davies with whom he teamed and toured for four years. Estelle had cameo roles in Dad's Army (playing a Pickfords removals man in one 1969 episode and an ARP warden called Gerald in three more in 1970). He eventually landed the role of Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in the sitcom, It Ain't Half Hot Mum which was first broadcast in 1974 and ran until 1981. Davies' Sergeant Major character often made fun of Lofty in the storylines. The character was given the ironic nickname of Lofty because of Estelle's 4 ft 9 in (145 cm) 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",[3] followed by a cover of "Paper Doll" which reached number 41, and a top ten LP, Sing Lofty (1976), all three recorded with It Ain't Half Hot Mum co-star 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 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.[4]

In his autobiography, Sing Lofty: Thoughts Of A Gemini, Estelle was extremely bitter about modern-day entertainment, attacking those who refused to re-run It Ain't Half Hot Mum as "tight-crutched, white-trousered morons". 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 played a dirty old man in the promotional video for The Sun Page Three Girl Jo Hicks's single "Yakety Sax" (2001) (The Benny Hill Show theme)".[5]

Final years

Estelle's last years were in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he spent countless hours working with jazz/blues pianist, Malcolm Bishop. Says Malcolm , "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."

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.[6] He was survived by his second wife Elizabeth.[7]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Not Now, Comrade	Bobby Hargreaves
1984	A Private Function	Barraclough
1985	Santa Claus: The Movie	Groot

References

1. Estelle, Don (1999). Sing Lofty: Thoughts of a Gemini. Don Estelle Music Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-9537377-1-0.
2. Byrne, Michael (5 August 2003). "Farewell to screen star 'Lofty' Don". Rochdale Observer. M.E.N. Media. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.
3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-904994-10-7.
4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. Independent obituary
6. "Actor Don Estelle buried". BBC News. 19 August 2003.
7. Barker, Dennis (4 August 2003). "Don Estelle". The Guardian. London.

External links

• Don Estelle on IMDb