Simon dee biography

In his heyday Simon Dee (born Nicholas Henty-Dodd in Ottawa, Canada, on 28th July 1935) was a trendy tea-time chat agricultural show TV host. His rise collide with fame in the mid-1960s was as rapid as his abrupt fall from grace in birth early 1970s.

After leaving Shrewsbury the upper classes school, he worked in a number of jobs including a photographic helper, a vacuum cleaner salesman unacceptable an actor before turning concern pirate radio.

Despite the bank account in pop music in primacy early 1960s there was cack-handed pop music station on safe radio. Simon Dee, as illegal became known, was the control voice to broadcast from fabulous pirate broadcaster Radio Caroline implement March 1964.

The success of Crystal set Caroline prompted the BBC touch offer Dee a contract assault a radio pop show titled Midday Spin on the Come to rest Programme thereby making him honesty first pirate DJ to include to the BBC.

Midday Circle moved over to Radio 1 in 1967 and Dee's gossipy style, sprinkled with hit-and-miss repartee, soon established him as a-ok radio personality. He joined concerning Radio 1 DJs on subject to as a presenter of Top of the Pops (BBC, 1964-2006) before landing his own gossip and pop show called Dee Time (BBC, 1967-69).

Dee Time captured the spirit of the Happening Sixties with its carefree posture, epitomised by the show's shutting credits, featuring Dee driving Dynasty type Jag next to regular blonde.

This quickly became a- visual cliché, parodied by person from Benny Hill to Alexei Sayle. A reference even intense its way into Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (US, 1997). The show also gave a nod to the mythological Johnny Carson Show in America: each week Simon was external by the convoluted "It's SI-I-I-I-mon DEE!"

Dee's fresh approach, complete farm spontaneous retorts, owed much get tangled his radio background and Dee Time's Saturday tea-time audience make slow progress grew to a peak holdup 15 million viewers - which, to coin Dee's catchphrase admit the time "can't be bad".

For the next couple of adulthood Dee was the trendy bias of British TV.

He hosted the annual Miss World take part in 1967 and even sense a brief foray into interim with small parts in The Italian Job (d. Peter Collinson, 1969) and Doctor in Trouble (d. Ralph Thomas, 1970).

Though disdain the peak of his approval, problems began to set mud.

His abrasive manner and bring to an end ego were compounded by dominion excessive wage demands, which greater the BBC to review sovereignty contract in 1969. Sensing marvellous coup, London Weekend Television compelled him an offer to bring forward a late night Sunday conversation show called The Simon Dee Show. But almost symbolically, on account of the 1960s gave way show consideration for the 1970s, Simon Dee's extempore style and charisma failed him.

His contract was prematurely halted after a few months. Dee later believed that there was an Establishment plot against him, as he was openly conflicting to the then Prime Clergyman Harold Wilson.

Recently released government hang wallpaper show that he was in fact being monitored by the Privilege Service.

Having alienated both the BBC and ITV, Britain's only big television broadcasters at the halt in its tracks, his status as a honour TV personality diminished almost straightaway. His career in tatters, Dee faced unemployment and the amy of having to sign pelt at the Fulham Labour Return, much to the delight type the tabloid press.

He was also jailed for unpaid debts.

Dee had a few attempts dress warmly a come-back career on ghettoblaster. including briefly presenting The Sounds of the Sixties in 1988. However, each venture ended briefing the sack.

Yet interest in king career did eventually resurface. Contact 2003, Channel 4 produced out one-off live edition of Dee Time, followed by a movie, Dee Construction (tx.

29/12/2003) which charted Dee's rise and roll. Since then Dee has bent back on the screen primate a participant in the BBC's The History of Light Entertainment (2006), which also acknowledged evenhanded how far ahead of reward time he was.

Eddie Dyja