Paul O'Grady, a television legend, died quietly at the age of 67.

Paul O'Grady died at the age of 67, according to his spouse. Andre Portasio, the TV star and comedian best known for his drag queen character Lily Savage, died "unexpectedly but peacefully" on Tuesday evening, according to a statement. "It is with great sadness that I inform you that Paul passed away unexpectedly but peacefully yesterday evening," Portasio, who married O'Grady in 2017, said. "We ask that, while you celebrate his life, you also respect our privacy as we come to terms with this loss." "He will be sorely missed by his loved ones, friends, family, animals, and everyone who appreciated his wit, humour, and compassion." 

"I'm sure he'd want me to thank you for all of the love you've shown him over the years." O'Grady was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside, and his mother's maiden name was Savage, which is thought to have inspired his renowned drag alter ego. He started his career as Lily Savage in the 1970s while working as a peripatetic care officer for Camden Council, and went on to tour northern England with drag duo the Playgirls. He eventually settled into a solo show as Savage, which he performed at London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern for eight years, and established a reputation for himself by speaking out about LGBT issues. Throughout his tenure, he hosted The Paul O'Grady Show, Blind Date, Blankety Blank, and ITV's multi-award-winning For The Love Of Dogs. 


He also hosted Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up, an ITV celebrity game program. O’Grady took over the reins from Blind Date’s long-running presenter and his close friend Cilla Black, who died in 2015, as he hosted the Channel 5 reboot of the show in 2017. 



Last year, he was accompanied by the Queen Consort in a special one-off episode of For The Love Of Dogs to commemorate the 160th anniversary of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, for which he served as an ambassador. O'Grady's passion of animals was well-known, and he and Portasio shared a farmhouse in Kent with a zoo of animals that included four dogs, goats, sheep, chickens, and barn owls. During the coronavirus quarantine, he wrote Eddie Albert And The Amazing Animal Gang, which was released in September 2021. He presented his final BBC Radio 2 show in August 2022, after hosting the Sunday afternoon show for nearly 14 years. O'Grady was scheduled to return to the airwaves next month for a one-time Easter Sunday radio program on Boom Radio. In an online tribute, ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly described O'Grady as "a really special man." "What terrible news. Paul O'Grady is hilarious, fearless, courageous, kind, and wise. He will be greatly mourned. A truly unique individual." In response to another Twitter user, she said, "I always think dogs are the best judge of character, and they ADORED him." In the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours, he received an MBE for contributions to entertainment. He witnessed the ceremony with his daughter Sharyn Mousley. 

By Covenant 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dame Mary Quant, the British legendary fashion designer who popularized the short skirt, has died at the age of 93.

Image
  Mary Quant, the British designer who popularized the miniskirt, has died at the age of 93.  According to a statement released by her family to the PA news agency, she "died peacefully at home in Surrey, UK this morning."  Her family described her as "an internationally recognized fashion designer of the twentieth century and an outstanding innovator of the Swinging Sixties."  Quant became a poster girl for London's Youthquake in the 1960s. Although she is frequently incorrectly attributed as the originator, she unquestionably made the miniskirt the "it" clothing item for a new generation of young women. With her Vidal Sassoon hair and her fame as the face of Swinging London, she was regularly photographed and was virtually always wearing a mini - notably when she received her OBE in 1966. Quant did more than just wear miniskirts; she also designed them.  She was at the forefront of the 1960s fashion change that put kids front and center for the first...
Read more

THINGS YOU WOULD NEVER KNOW IF IT WASN'T FOR THE AMERICAN MOVIE INDUSTRY

Image
Credited: Image from Pexels  • You're very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home. •The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris. •A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds. •It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations. •Even when driving down a perfectly straight road, it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments. •All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off. •A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty. •If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps. •When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other. •Television news bulletins usually contai...
Read more

Ghana's anti-gay bill has been modified, according to the president.

Image
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo announced on Monday that an anti-gay measure now being debated in parliament had been "modified" as a result of his government's intervention. Mr Akufo-Addo stated during a joint news conference with visiting US Vice-President Kamala Harris that the bill was not official government policy but had been proposed by a "handful" of private members. He stated that the attorney general had given opinions to a parliamentary committee on the "constitutionality or otherwise of several of its provisions." "My understanding... is that substantial elements of the bill have already been modified as a result of the attorney general's intervention," he said, without providing further information. President Akufo-Addo refused to say what he would do if the bill passed, but expressed hope that the parliament would take into account the sensitive nature of the human rights issue. "We will see what the final outcome w...
Read more

Prince Harry arrives in London for a hearing against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

Image
  The Duke of Sussex has arrived in London for a High Court hearing against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations of illegal information collecting at its publications. It is reported that Harry is returning to the UK for the first time since the late Queen's burial in September. His sudden homecoming comes nearly three months after he revealed his strained relationship with his father, King George VI, and brother, Prince of Wales, in his divisive autobiography Spare. Prince Harry was one of seven high-profile individuals, including Sir Elton's husband David Furnish and actresses Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, who announced in October that they were filing lawsuits against Associated Newspapers Limited for exploitation of private information. (ANL).  At the time, their attorneys stated that the group had "become aware of compelling and highly distressing evidence that they just have been the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy"...
Read more

Barclays is closing 14 additional branches; see whether yours is one of them.

Image
This year, Barclays will close 14 more branches in England and Wales. Following the announcement of the closures, Barclays aims to launch several "banking pods" as part of its Local program. In response to evolving client needs, the bank intends to extend its "flexible banking formats." The banking pods will be purpose-built, semi-permanent facilities positioned in locations such as shopping malls and retail parks. Following the success of the first pod, which was put in St Austell, Cornwall, the bank said that at least ten of these pods, which can be moved based on demand and provide a dedicated, private location, will be rolled out across the UK by summer 2023. The Barclays Local project involves the bank collaborating with local councils and communities to establish a presence in public areas such as libraries and town halls.  In addition, Barclays will add six electric vehicle (EV) banking vans to its existing fleet of ten, allowing them to reach customers in ru...
Read more

A student successfully appealed a £60 parking penalty using ChatGPT.

Image
  A student was able to revoke a parking citation by using the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT. Millie Houlton, 22, of York, used the site to send an email to the council, which resulted in the revocation of the £60 fine for parking over a yellow line. Millie, a business management student, used the AI chatbot to create a professionally worded email to appeal the charge, believing she wouldn't be able to do so herself. After asking ChatGPT to assist her in writing a letter to the council after they issued her a parking citation and explaining the situation, the AI responded with a polite response for Millie to send. Millie used her £60 and went on a student night out to celebrate after being successful in having the fine revoked.  'I think I wouldn't have been able to word it the way ChatGPT did, and I probably wouldn't have had it taken back if it hadn't been for it,' she explained. 'I was relieved because, as a student, I don't want to spend £6...
Read more

At least 26 people have died after tornadoes ripped through several US states.

Image
Storms and dozens of tornadoes have killed at least 26 people in small villages and major cities across the South and Midwest of the United States. The storms ripped a path through Arkansas's capital, ripped the roof off a crowded concert venue in Illinois, and caused widespread devastation across the area. Tornadoes confirmed or suspected in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, uprooted trees, and wreaked havoc on neighborhoods across the nation. At least nine persons were killed in one Tennessee county, four in the small Arkansas town of Wynne, three in the Indiana town of Sullivan, and four in Illinois. Other fatalities were recorded in Alabama and Mississippi, as well as one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in the path of one tornado. The roof of Wynne High School, a town of about 8,000 people 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, was ripped off overnight and its windows blown out, while huge trees lay on the g...
Read more