Willie Rushton

• Name — Willie Rushton • Birth Name — William George Rushton • Born — 18 August 1937 • Birthplace — Chelsea, London, England • Died — 11 December 1996 • Place of death — Kensington, London, England • Years Active — 1961–1996 • Occupation — * Cartoonist • comedian • actor • satirist • writer

Rushton was born 18 August 1937 at 3 Wilbraham Place, Chelsea, London, the only child of publisher John Atherton Rushton (1908–1958) and his Welsh wife Veronica (née James, 1910–1977). He was educated at Shrewsbury School, where he was not particularly successful academically but met his future Private Eye colleagues Richard Ingrams, Paul Foot and Christopher Booker. He also contributed to the satirical magazine The Wallopian (a play on the school magazine name The Salopian), mocking school spirit, traditions and the masters. Later, he said he recalled little of his schooldays, except that "it was Blandings country. The sort of place where you go to die, not to be educated." After school, Rushton had to undertake two years of national service in the Army, where he failed officer selection. He later commented, "The Army is, God bless it, one of the funniest institutions on earth and also a sort of microcosm of the world. It's split almost perfectly into our class system. Through serving in the ranks I discovered the basic wit of my fellow man – whom basically, to tell the truth, I'd never met before." On leaving the army, he worked in a solicitor's office for a short period.

Rushton remained in contact with his friends from Shrewsbury School, who had added John Wells to their number and were now running their own humour magazines at Oxford University, Parsons Pleasure and Mesopotamia, to which Rushton made many contributions during his frequent visits to meet them. A cartoon of a giraffe in a bar saying "The high balls are on me" was not met with approval by everyone in the university administrative quarters. Rushton suggested that Mesopotamia could continue after they left university. During his time as a clerk he had been sending his cartoons out to Punch but none had been accepted. After being knocked over by a bus, he gave up his job as a clerk, determined not to waste another day. After almost but not quite being accepted by Tribune (a Labour-supporting newspaper edited by Michael Foot, Paul Foot's uncle), Rushton found a place at the Liberal News, which was also employing Christopher Booker as a journalist. From June 1960 until March 1961, he contributed a weekly strip, "Brimstone Belcher", following the exploits of the titular journalist (a forerunner of Private Eyes Lunchtime O'Booze), from bizarre skulduggery in the British colonies (where the soldiers holding back the politicised rabble bear a strong resemblance to privates Rushton and Ingrams), travelogues through the US, and the hazards of by-electioneering as the independent candidate for the constituency of Gumboot North. After the strip folded, Rushton still contributed a weekly political cartoon to the Liberal News until mid-1962. The Salopians finally found a financier for their magazine and the first issue of Private Eye was published on 25 October 1961. Rushton created the magazine in his bedroom in Scarsdale Villas using Letraset and cow-gumming illustrations onto cards which were taken away to be photo-lithographed. He also contributed all the illustrations and the mast-head figure of Little Gnitty (who still appears on the cover, a blended caricature of John Wells and the Daily Express standard-head). One critic described the original lay-out of the magazine as owing much to "Neo-Brechtian Nihilism", although Rushton thought it resembled a betting shop floor. One feature in the early issues was the "Aesop Revisited", a full-page comic strip which let him work in a wealth of puns and background jokes. With Private Eye riding the satire boom, Peter Cook soon took an interest and contributed two serials recounting the bizarre adventures of Sir Basil Nardly-Stoads and the Rhandi Phurr, both of which were illustrated by Rushton, as was "Mrs Wilson's Diary". In the early days the team also worked on two books, Private Eye on London and Private Eye's Romantic England that made heavy use of Rushton's cartooning talents. One of the first Private Eye-published books was Rushton's first collection of cartoons, Willie Rushton's Dirty Weekend Book, which was subsequently banned in Ireland on the grounds of its explicitness. Reuniting with his Salopian friends had also reawakened Rushton's taste for acting. After they had finished university, he had accompanied his friends in a well-received revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. (Richard Burton even appeared one night in their parody of Luther.) In 1961, Richard Ingrams directed a production of Spike Milligan's surreal post-nuclear apocalypse farce The Bed-Sitting Room, in which Rushton was hailed by Kenneth Tynan as "brilliant". But it was a cabaret at the Room at the Top, a chicken-in-a-basket nightclub at the top of a department store in Ilford, that really launched his career. Rushton recalled meeting the Kray twins in the audience one night and that fellow performer Barbara Windsor "wouldn't come out for a drink that night". The revue also starred John Wells. Rushton's impersonation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan caught the attention of Ned Sherrin, a young BBC producer searching for talent to appear in a forthcoming TV satire series. 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 – so I'm very grateful to the old bugger... But then I had voted for him, so he owed me something." 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" and the "Bum Song". He also wrote songs for TW3, many of which were revisited on later solo albums like Now in Bottles and The Complete Works. In the autumn of 1963, a health scare led Macmillan to resign and Alec Douglas-Home became prime minister. It was necessary that Douglas-Home resign his peerage to find a safe Parliamentary seat. The Private Eye team were so disgusted by the Conservative Party's machinations that they decided to stand their own protest candidate in the Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election. Since he was the most well-known member of the team, Rushton was the obvious choice to stand. Rushton gained much attention from journalists, since he stood under the slogan "Death to the Tories". He polled only 45 votes, having advised his supporters at the last minute to vote Liberal, the Conservatives' only credible challenger. Douglas-Home won. Rushton described his political beliefs as being "left of Limbo" stating that he had always voted for Labour because he felt their attitude to life was "more generous than anyone else's" but would happily take potshots at anyone who said something silly.

• Year — Title — Role • 1964 — It's All Over Town — Fat Friend • 1964 — Nothing but the Best — Gerry • 1965 — Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines — Tremayne Gascoyne • 1968 — The Mini-Affair — Chancellor of the Exchequer • 1968 — The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom — Dylan's assistant • 1969 — Monte Carlo or Bust — John O'Groats Official • 1969 — The Best House in London — Sylvester Wall • 1969 — The Thirteen Chairs — Lionel Bennet • 1971 — Flight of the Doves — Tobias Cromwell • 1972 — The Adventures of Barry McKenzie — Passenger on Plane • 1976 — Keep It Up Downstairs — Snotty Shuttleworth • 1977 — Adventures of a Private Eye — Wilfred • 1978 — Adventures of a Plumber's Mate — Dodger • 1986, 1990 — The Trap Door — Voices • 1996 — The Treacle People — Santa

• The Day of the Grocer William Rushton (Andre Deutsch, 1971) • W. G. Grace's Last Case William Rushton (Methuen, 1984) • Spy Thatcher; The Collected Ravings of a Senior MI5 Officer William Rushton (Pavilion, 1987)

• William Rushton's Dirty Book William Rushton (Private Eye Productions, 1964) • The 'I Didn't Know The Way To Kings Cross When I First Came Here But Look at Me Now' Book By William Rushton, Author, Artist And Beer-Drinker Extraordinary William Rushton (New English Library, 1966) • Sassenach's Scotland William Rushton (Seagram, 1975) • Superpig: A Gentleman's Guide To Everyday Survival William Rushton (Macdonald And Janes, 1976) • The Reluctant Euro – Rushton Versus Europe William Rushton (Queen Anne Press/Macdonald Futura 1980) • The Filth Amendment William Rushton (Queen Anne Press, 1981) • Think of England. An Identikit Preview of the New Heir to the Throne William Rushton (Penguin Books, 1982) • The Naughty French Wine Book William Rushton (G & J Greenall, 1983?) • Great Moments of History William Rushton (V & A, 1985) • The Alternative Gardener A Compost of Quips for the Green-Fingered William Rushton (Grafton Books, 1986) • Every Cat in the Book William Rushton (Pavilion Books, 1993) • The Nine Lives of the Number Ten Cat William Rushton (Pavilion, 1995) • Willie Rushton's Pack of Royals, 18 Caricature Playing Cards William Rushton (1995)

• The Diaries of Auberon Waugh A Turbulent Decade (Rushton illustrations only) (Private Eye/Andre Deutsch, 1985) • Waugh on Wine (Rushton illustrations only) (Fourth Estate, 1986) • Way of the World (Rushton illustrations only) (Century, 1994) • Way of the World: The Forgotten Years 1995–1996 (Rushton illustrations only) (Century, 1997)

• Brush Up Your Pidgin (Willow Books, 1983) • Collages (Pelham Books, 1984) • The Ffrench Letters By Godwyn Ainsley Ffrench – A Young Englishman's Letters From Abroad Giving His Very Personal And Somewhat Peculiar View of Paris in the Year 1900 (Printfine, 1984.) • Queen's English: High Taw Tawk Prawpah-leah (Pelham Books, 1985)

• How To Play Football William Rushton (Margaret & Jack Hobbs, 1968) • Pigsticking – A Joy For Life William Rushton (Macdonald, 1978) • Marylebone Versus The World William Rushton (Pavilion Books, 1987) • The Thoughts of Trueman Now Fred Trueman, Eric Morecambe, and Fred Rumsey (Rushton illustrations only) (Macdonald & Janes, 1978) • The Lord's Taverners Sticky Wicket Book with Tim Rice (eds.) (Queen Anne Press/Macdonald & Jane's: 1979) • The Compleat Cricketer Jonathan Rice (Rushton illustrations only) (Blandford Press, 1985) • Cricket Balls Rory Bremner (Rushton illustrations only) (Robson Books, 1994)

• Private Eye on London By Private Eye Rushton with Christopher Booker and Richard Ingrams (Weidenfeld And Nicolson 1962) • Private Eye's Romantic England And Other Unlikely Stories: A Miscellany – The Last Days of Macmilian Rushton with Christopher Booker and Richard Ingrams (Weidenfeld And Nicolson 1963) • Mrs. Wilson's Diary Richard Ingrams and John Wells (Rushton illustrations only) (Private Eye, 1965) • Mrs Wilson's 2nd Diary Richard Ingrams and John Wells (Rushton illustrations only) (Private Eye, 1966) • True Stories Christopher Logue (Rushton illustrations only) (Four Square, 1965) • The Penguin Private Eye Rushton with Christopher Booker and Richard Ingrams (Penguin, 1965) • Mrs Wilson's Diaries (omnibus of first two books with a few additional drawings) Richard Ingrams and John Wells (Sphere, 1966) • Mrs. Wilson's Diary Richard Ingrams and John Wells (Rushton illustrations only) (Andre Deutsch, 1975) • Rushton in the Eye (a posthumous "Private Eye Special" magazine sampling Rushton's work)

• Ebbledum E. Elephant Iris Degg (Rushton illustrations only) (George G. Harrap, 1961.) • Sunny Bell and The Shrimp Street Gang Iris Degg (Rushton illustrations only) (George G. Harrap, 1962) • The Geranium of Flüt William Rushton (Andre Deutsch, 1975) • Jubilee Jackanory (Rushton story with illustrations) (BBC, 1977) • The Discontented Dervishes And Other Persian Tales From Sa'di Arthur Scholey (Rushton illustrations only) (Andre Deutsch, 1977) • Elephant on the Line! Talbot Jon (Rushton illustrations only) (Kaye And Ward, 1979) • Wild Wood Jan Needle (Rushton illustrations only) (Andre Deutsch, 1981) • The Stupid Tiger And Other Tales Raychaudhuri, Upendrakishore (Translated By William Radice) (Rushton illustrations only) (Andre Deutsch, 1981) • Ancient George Gets His Wish William Rushton (Golden Acorn Pub, 1981) • The Story of the Incredible Cottage William Rushton (Golden Acorn Pub, 1981) • The Incredible Cottage Goes to the Moon William Rushton (Golden Acorn, 1981) • Waldo Meets The Witch William Rushton (Golden Acorn Pub, 1981) • The Incredible Cottage Annual William Rushton (Grandreams Ltd, 1982) • A Cat And Mouse Story. An Old Tale Michael Rosen (Rushton illustrations only) (Andre Deutsch, 1982) • Losers Weepers Jan Needle (Rushton illustrations only) (Magnet Books, 1983) • How To Keep Dinosaurs Robert Mash (Rushton illustrations only) (Penguin Books, 1983) • The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen Terence Blacker (Rushton illustrations only) (Hodder Stoughton, 1989)

• The Stag Cook Book: Being a Low Guide to the High Art of Nosh Peter Evans (Four Square, 1967) • This England – Selection of Pieces from the New Statesman Michael Bateman (ed). (Penguin, 1969) • Comic Cuts: A Bedside Sampler of Censorship in Action Richard Findlater (ed) (Andre Deutsch, 1970) • Practical Decorating for Practically Everyone (essay and illustrations by Rushton) (Polycell, 1976, 1977?) • Duckworth Vedah Hamon Moody (World's Work. 1977) • Unarmed Gardening Frank Ward (Macdonald & Janes, 1979) • I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue with Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, and Humphrey Lyttelton (Robson Books, London, 1980) • The First Impossible Quiz Book Ian Messiter (Star, 1980) • Bureaucrats. How To Annoy Them! R.T. Fishall (Sidgwick & Jackson. 1981) • Health for Hooligans Sandy Fawkes (John Pascoe, 1982) • I Could Have Kicked Myself David Frost and Michael Deakin (Andre Deutsch, 1982) • Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Frost David And Michael Deakin (Andre Deutsch Hutchinson, 1983) • Molesworth Rites Again Simon Brett (London: Hutchinson, 1983) • 1956 And All That:A Memorable History of England Since The War To End All Wars (Two) Ned Sherrin and Neil Shand (Michael Joseph, 1984) • Animal Quotations G. F. Lamb (ed) (Longman, 1985) • Adam And Eve Willie Rushton; And The Artists of the Portal Gallery (Bell & Hyman, 1985.) • If You'll Believe That... David Frost (ed) (Methuen, 1986) • Nudge Nudge, Wink Wink: A Quotebook of Love And Sex Nigel Rees (Javelin Books, 1986) • Scenes From Hysterical Life: Diary of a Mad Housewife Dorothy Baker Tarrant (Sidgewick And Jackson, 1986) • World's Shortest Books David Frost (Collins/Fontana, 1987) • Please Give Generously Anthony Swainson (David & Charles, 1987) • A Family at Law Douglas Stewart and Gavin Campbell (Fourmat, 1988) • Dear Pup Letters to a Young Dog Diana Pullein-Thompson (Barrie & Jenkins, 1988) • Bad Behaviour Guy Philipps (ed.) (Elm Tree, 1988) • You Might As Well Be Dead Richard Ingrams (Quartet, 1988) • But I Digress: The Collected Monologues of Ramblin' Ronnie Corbett David Renwick (New English Library, 1989.) • Agreeable World of Wallace Arnold Craig Brown (Fourth Estate, 1990) • Soft Targets From The Weekend Guardian: Poems Simon Rae (Bloodaxe Books, 1991) • Thatcher's Inferno Simon Rae (Smith/Doorstop, 1992) • A Burning Candle, The Literary Review Anthology of Poetry Edited By Dariane Pictet, Introduced By Auberon Waugh (Peterborough, Uk: Poetry No, 1993) • Happy Families: An Old Game With New Faces (Mandarin, 1993) • The Mad Officials Christopher Booker and Dr. Richard North (Constable, 1994) • When the Lights Went Out Wanda Anderson (ed) (Friends of St. Helena Hospice, Colchester, 1995) • Gullible's Travails Brian Rix (ed) (André Deutsch, 1996)