Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris
Harris in 2010
Born(1930-03-30)30 March 1930
Bassendean, Western Australia
Died10 May 2023(2023-05-10) (aged 93)
Bray, Berkshire, England
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Entertainer
  • musician
  • composer
  • television personality
  • painter
  • actor
  • presenter
Years active1953–2014
Criminal chargesIndecent assault
Criminal penalty5 years, 9 months' imprisonment
Criminal statusReleased on licence in 2017
Spouse
Alwen Hughes
​
(m. 1958)​
(died 15 August 2024, aged 92)
Children1

Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor.[1] He often used unusual instruments like the didgeridoo and the Stylophone in his performances, and is credited with the invention of the wobble board.[2] He was convicted in England in 2014 of the sexual assault of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career.[3]

Harris began his entertainment career in 1953, releasing several songs, including "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" (a Top 10 hit in Australia, the UK and the United States), "Sun Arise", "Jake the Peg" and "Two Little Boys", which reached number 1 in the UK. From the 1960s, Harris was a successful television personality in the UK, later presenting shows such as Rolf's Cartoon Club and Animal Hospital. In 1985, he hosted the short educational film Kids Can Say No!, which warned children between ages five and eight how to avoid situations where they might be sexually abused, how to escape such situations and how to get help if they are abused. In 2005, he painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.[4]

After the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal, Harris was arrested as part of the Operation Yewtree police investigation regarding historical allegations of sexual offences in 2013.[5] Harris denied any wrongdoing and was placed on trial in 2014. In July 2014, Harris was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison after being convicted on twelve counts of indecent assault on four female victims, who were between the ages of eight and nineteen at the time that the offences took place between the 1960s and 1980s. He was released on licence in 2017 after serving nearly three years at HM Prison Stafford. Following his conviction, he was stripped of many of his honours and reruns of his television programmes were pulled from syndication.[6][7][8] The conviction involving an eight-year-old girl in Portsmouth was overturned as unsafe in 2017.[9] He applied for permission to appeal against his convictions concerning the three other girls, but this was refused.[10]

  1. ^ Stephenson, Alison (8 November 2012). "Rolf Harris presented with Officer of the Order of Australia medal". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  2. ^ Stylophone (12 January 2013). "Stylophone Sales Center". Stylophone.com. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  3. ^ Walker, Peter (30 June 2014). "Rolf Harris trial shattered image of avuncular entertainer". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  4. ^ "A majestic painting". BBC News. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC q was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Harris stripped of honours as purge begins Archived 14 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine at news.com.au, 1 July 2014; retrieved 21 July 2014
  7. ^ "Rolf Harris stripped of Australian honours by Governor-General". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris stripped of CBE". BBC. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Harris indecent assault verdict overturned". BBC News. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  10. ^ "Rolf Harris has one indecent assault conviction overturned". The Guardian. Press Association. 16 November 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 August 2020.