#entertainer.

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Happy 56th  Birthday Scottish entertainer John Barrowman.

Born on 11th March 1967 in Glasgow, where he spent his early years, John moved with his family to Illinois in the United States and later studied Musical Theatre at the US International University in San Diego, California.

In 1989, while in the UK to study Shakespeare as part of his university course, he landed his first professional role starring as Billy Crocker opposite Elaine Paige in the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes. Since then, John’s career as a leading man in musical theatre has seen him star in many West End shows, including Matador, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera and many others.  

I myself first came across him in Dr Who and the spin off series Torchwood, where he played Captain Jack Harkness, Barrowman has also appeared in Reign, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, more recently he is playing Malcolm Merlyn, Dark Archer in the US Superhero series Arrow. He also appeared in the TV movie Glamorous last year with Brooke Shields. John was also one of the judging panel on ITV’s Dancing on Ice.

Barrowman has worked with gay rights charity Stonewall, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, New Forest Nightstop, which provides free short-term emergency accommodation for homeless young people aged 16-24 in the homes of trained and approved volunteers around the New Forest and Down’s Syndrome Scotland.

In 2011 John was given a Doctor of Drama honorary degree from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama  

Barrowman has been embroiled in a scandal in the past year with stories coming out that he was a serial flasher in the past, on the set of the likes of Doctor Who, the star is trying to put it all behind him saying, ¬It was tom foolery and it was silly, we had a great time on set it wasn’t sexual harassment, bawdy behaviour could be fun – but these are different times'.

In last years post about John I said he was about to embark on a tour with his show  “I Am What I Am”, well poor ticket sales forced him to cancel this, it has been a tough couple of years for the Scots entertainer.

In December Barrowman deleted his Twitter account after a brief row with Eve Myles, his co-star on Torchwood from 2006 to 2011. 

The singer, responding to a video of themselves talking about their friendship many years ago, suggested Myles was 'spewing rhetoric'. 

The comment was criticised by fans, who told Barrowman that if there was an issue between himself and the actress it should be resolved in private rather than publicly on social media.  He has since reactivated his account.

I don't know what the future holds for John Barrowman, there is no doubting his talent, and amid the controversy he has never been charged with any criminal offence, he comes across as a genuine guy and I wish him well for what ever it holds.

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The comedy legend that was Rikki Fulton, passed away on January 27th 2004.

“Ask any comic and they will tell you what the guy did was of the highest calibre. You could go all over the world, nobody could do what he did better.” The heartfelt words of writer/actor Tony Roper sums up how the general population of Scotland feel about Rikki Fulton, a man who brought decades of laughter to the nation.

Born as Robert Kerr Fulton was in Dennistoun, Glasgow in 1924, the youngest of three brothers, the family moved to Riddrie, when Rikki was three. His mother did not keep well and Rikki grew up as a bit of a loaner but with a veracious reading habit. His father had been a master locksmith but bought a newsagent and stationery shop. 

Rikki started his career performing on stage and radio in non-comic roles, but quickly found his comic timing in the pantomimes of the Alhambra Theatre. Television broadcasting was only a few years old in Scotland, but Fulton was already an unmissable presence. His early comedy programmes include; The Rikki Fulton Show The Five Past Eight Show at Glasgow’s Alhambra Theatre and alongside double act partner Jack Milroy in The Adventures of Francie and Josie.

In 1977 Gordon Menzies produced The Scotched Earth Show with Fulton for the BBC. The final sketch featured Fulton in the guise of a Glasgow councillor addressing the nation as the Prime Minister of Scotland. Menzies later recalled “even in rehearsal the whole production team had tears of laughter running down their cheeks and we all realised that we had found the master of television monologue.” Menzies went on to produce Fulton’s most popular sketch series, Scotch and Wry, which included now iconic comedy characters Super Cop, Dirty Dickie Dandruff and of course, the Reverend I.M. Jolly.

Suffering from Alzheimer's disease in his later years, Fulton died on this day in 2004. His wife Kate, who was with him when he died, told the Glasgow Herald: "It was an incredibly peaceful end. Rikki had not been able to talk for the last couple of days but he was always a great kisser and had not lost that talent when he kissed me goodbye."

I'll finish how I started, with Rikki's friend  Tony Roper who said: "Rikki's death will leave a massive hole in people's hearts. It is a huge loss and a great sadness. He cheered so many people into a new year with his television programmes. He brought such joy and for fleeting moments lifted our burdens."

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Andrew (Andy) Stewart, one of Scotland’s best loved entertainers was born on December 30 1933 at Redlands Hospital for Women, Great Western Road, Glasgow.

Andy was born in Glasgow, and had aspirations of becoming a veterinary surgeon, although following a performance in a local pageant he decided to train as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

He became a successful recording artist, with international hits such as Donald Where’s Your Troosers?  A Scottish Soldier, The Road to Dundee and Take Me Back, and found further fame as the compere of BBC Scotland’s The White Heather Club, which ran for several years from the mid-1950s.

From the early 1960s onwards, he frequently and successfully toured Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

In 1959, Andy Stewart signed his first recording contract with the small the label of Top Rank. His first recording, “Donald Where’s Your Troosers?” was a light-hearted, almost throwaway track, during a recording session with his White Heather Group. However Top Rank considered it worth releasing as a single. “Donald Where’s Your Troosers?” is a comic song about a Scotsman who wears a kilt rather than trousers. It plays on the traditional gag about what people might see when a man is wearing a kilt and not any underwear. Especially when it is windy while walking in a kilt. As such he impresses the ladies when he walks by, frightens the other Highlander men and has rolls in the hay with lassies from London. The song also includes an Elvis imitation of several of the verses near the end of the song. Legend has it Elvis said it was one of the best impersonations of himself he had heard.

Stewart wrote the song in 10 minutes while he sat, trouserless, in the loo of a recording studio. Back in 1960’s Andy Stewart and other Scottish comedians were heard to tell a joke at the time reflecting Scots making fun of themselves: What’s the difference between a Scotsman and a Rolling Stone? A Rolling Stone says, “hey you, get off of my cloud!,” while a Scotsman says, “Hey McLeod, get off of my ewe!”

Into the 1980’s Andy Stewart was becoming a symbol of the “Old Scotland” for many Scots who were embarrassed by perpetual images of haggis, Hogmanay and kilts as representing Scotland. He spent much of the decade touring internationally. But in 1989 “Donald Where’s Your Troosers?” was reissued and climbed to 4 on the charts. Stewart was back in fashion, including in Scotland. During his career Andy Stewart released 26 studio albums and one live album. 

Plagued with ill-health most of his adult life, especially due to high cholesterol levels, Stewart died at the age of 60 in 1993. 

Since his death over a have a dozen compilation CD releases have been made available to showcase the work of one of Scotland’s greatest entertainers.

There's a full web page full of stuff about Andy, with plenty links to a dedicated Youtube page at the link below.

Andy Stewart's childhood, his time at Drama College and early stage, television and radio performances

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Happy Birthday Isla St Clair born as Isabella Margaret Dyce in Grangemouth, May 2nd 1952.

Born in Grangemouth and brought up in Aberdeenshire, she first appeared on stage at the age of three with the local Salvation Army. She was 12 when she appeared on her first TV programme, Talk of the North. By the age of 19 she had released her first record and toured Scotland.

Isla became a game-show hostess when the director of The Generation Game spotted her on TV, and she soon became a familiar face every Saturday night to the show’s 18 million viewers.

She won awards for the show, including TV Personality of the Year, and also made guest appearances on Morecambe and Wise, Max Bygraves Show, Parkinson and Blue Peter.

In 1981 she had her own BBC series, The Song and the Story, which told the stories behind folk songs. In the same year she co-presented The Travel Show with Des Lynam for BBC2 and in 1982 co-hosted Central Television’s The Saturday Show with Tommy Boyd

In 1984 she returned to her first love, singing, when she was offered the part of Maria in The Sound of Music. When the show went on tour, she took a career break to bring up her young family.

After raising her two sons, she returned to singing in clubs and making albums.

Isla, now 71, lives in Buckinghamshire with her partner, Patrick King, a journalist and filmmaker.

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April 15th 1924 saw the birth of Rikki Fulton in Glasgow.

Robert Kerr “Rikki” Fulton was a Scottish comedian and actor best remembered for writing and performing in the long-running BBC Scotland sketch show, Scotch and Wry.

The youngest of three brothers, Robert was born into a non-theatrical family at 46 Appin Road, Dennistoun, Glasgow. Fulton completed his education in 1939 and decided to enter the world of acting after a backstage visit at the Glasgow Pavilion Theatre.In 1941, aged 17, Fulton joined the Royal Navy. The following year he was posted to HMS Ibis, but that November the ship was sunk in the Bay of Algiers. Fulton spent five hours in the water before being rescueHe later joined the Coastal Forces for D-Day, travelling back and forth between Gosport and Arromanches with vital supplies. In 1945, four years after signing up, Fulton was invalided out of the Navy due to blackout, leaving with the rank of sub-lieutenant

In the early 1950s, Fulton moved to London and became the compère of The Show Band Show, working alongside the likes of singer Frank Sinatra.

After a short period, Fulton returned to Scotland to perform for Howard & Wyndham Ltd inn pantomime from 1956 at the Alhambra Theatre, Glasgow with Jimmy Logan and Kenneth McKellar followed by the “Five Past Eight” summer revues with Stanley Baxter and Fay Lenore. In 1985, under the pseudonym “Rabaith”, Fulton, along with Denise Coffey, adapted the French playwright Molière’s, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme as A Wee Touch o’ Class.

Alongside his Scotch and Wry co-stars Gregor Fisher and Tony Roper, Fulton made two appearances in Rab C. Nesbitt; once in 1988 and 10 years later in 1998. Although he would reprise his famous Rev I.M Jolly character one last time for a short skit on New Year’s Eve 1999 as part of the “Millennium” celebrations. Rikki’s early shows include,The Rikki Fulton Show The Five past eight, The Adventures of Francie and Josie but he also acted in various shows like Charles Esquire , Square Mile of Murder, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Bergerac, Local Hero, Gorky Park, Comfort and Joy, The Holy City, The Girl in the Picture, Supergran and the aforementioned Rab C. Nesbitt. Notable Characters Scotch and Wry Supercop a frequently dimwitted traffic cop who rides a motorbike, his trademark is how he removes his goggles (pings off and flies off camera), is often getting into more trouble than those he stops.

Rev. I.M Jolly a very downtrodden and pessimistic minister of the Church of Scotland, presents a fictional show “Last Call” where he has a heart to heart with the audience where he tells them what he has been up to that week. his tone is always low-key and down beat.

Dickie Dandruff owner of “The Fourways Café” also goes by the moniker “The Gallowgate Gourmet” and presents a cooking segment called “Dirty Dick’s Delicat'messen” where he prepares food in comedic style from his filthy café kitchen in the Gallowgate area of Glasgow.

Fulton’s death sparked numerous dedications in his memory. The then-BBC Scotland Controller, John McCormick, said “he [Fulton] was a legend for people across the whole country.”

Fulton’s funeral took place six days after his death. In tribute to his Scotch and Wry character Supercop (a police traffic officer), police motorcyclists escorted the funeral cortège as it made its way to Clydebank Crematorium. The Reverend Alastair Symington, who was a close friend of Fulton, led the service, which featured tributes from Fulton’s widow Kate Matheson and Tony Roper.

Symington had previously collaborated with Fulton on the book, For God’s Sake, Ask!. Both Rikki and his Kate were strong supporters of the Scottish SPCA, which received a financial donation following Fulton’s funeral. A Scottish SPCA inspector represented the animal welfare organisation at the service.

Fulton's funeral took place six days after his death. In tribute to his Scotch and Wry character Supercop (a police traffic officer), police motorcyclists escorted the funeral cortège as it made its way to Clydebank Crematorium.

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October 1st 1999 saw the sad death of Lena Zavaroni.

Lena was a Scottish child singer and a television show host. With her album Ma! He’s Making Eyes at Me at ten years of age, she is the youngest person in history to have an album in the top ten of the UK Albums Chart. Later in life she hosted TV shows and appeared on stage. She died at the age of 35 after a long battle with anorexia nervosa.

Born Lena Hilda Zavaroni November 4th 1963...( there is where it hits me, how young she was when she passed away, less than two years younger than myself, seeing it written is such a reminder of our own mortality)...  in Greenock and grew up in the small town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute with musical parents, who owned a fish and chip shop. Father Victor Zavaroni played the guitar, mother Hilda sang, and Lena herself sang from the age of two. Her Grandfather, Alfredo had emigrated from Italy.

She was discovered in the summer of 1973 by record producer Tommy Scott, who was on holiday in Rothesay and heard her singing with her father and uncle in a band. Scott contacted impresario Phil Solomon, which led to his partner Dorothy Solomon’s becoming Zavaroni’s manager.

In 1974 Lena appeared on Opportunity Knocks hosted by Hughie Green and won the show for a record-breaking five weeks running. She followed this with the album Ma, a collection of classic and then-recent pop standards which reached number eight in the UK album chart. At 10 years, 146 days old, Zavaroni is still the youngest person to have an album in the Top 10 and was also the youngest person to appear on the BBC’s Top of the Pops.

Zavaroni also sang at a Hollywood charity show with Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball in 1974, at which Ball commented, “You’re special. Very special and very, very good,” although some sources attribute the words to Sinatra. Following this, Zavaroni guest-starred on The Carol Burnett Show. She also appeared in The Morecambe and Wise Show, the 1976 Royal Variety Show and performed at the White House for US President Gerald Ford. Signed to the soul-oriented Stax Records label in the United States, Zavaroni did not make much of a chart impact Stateside despite the praise and television appearances, as her Ma album failed to chart and its title single made it only to number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 during a four-week chart run in the summer of 1974.

While attending London’s Italia Conti Academy stage school, Lena met and became long-term friends with child star Bonnie Langford. The two starred in the TV special Lena and Bonnie.

Between 1979 and 1982, Lena had her own TV series on the BBC, Lena Zavaroni and Music, which featured singing and dancing, and included guests such as Spike Milligan, Elaine Stritch, and Les Dawson.

From the age of 13, Zavaroni suffered from anorexia nervosa. While at stage school, her weight dropped to 56 lb (4 stone or 25 kg). Zavaroni blamed this on the pressure placed upon her to fit into costumes while at the same time she was “developing as a woman.

She continued to suffer from anorexia throughout the 1980s, and in 1989 she married computer consultant Peter Wiltshire. The couple settled in north London but separated 18 months later. Also in 1989, Zavaroni’s mother, Hilda, died of a tranquilliser overdose and a fire destroyed all of her showbiz mementos.

After the breakup of her marriage, Zavaroni moved to Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, to be nearer to her father and his second wife. By this time, she was living on state benefits and in 1999 was accused of stealing a 50p packet of jelly, although the charges were later dropped.

Zavaroni underwent a number of drug treatments and received electroconvulsive therapy in an attempt to beat her anorexia. Her inquest was told that none of these had been successful in the long term. In addition she was suffering from depression and begged doctors to operate on her to relieve her depression. Although the operation would not cure her anorexia, she was desperate for it to proceed and threatened suicide (she also took a drug overdose) if it did not.

In September 1999 Zavaroni was admitted to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff for a psychosurgical operation. After the operation, she appeared to be in a satisfactory condition and after a week she was “making telephone calls, cheerful and engaging in conversation,” even asking her doctor if he thought there was any chance that she would get back on stage. However, three weeks after the operation, she developed a chest infection and died from pneumonia on 1st October 1999.

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On 16th February 1885 Will Fyfe was born.

Will was born  at 36 Ferry Road, Dundee, the eldest child of John Fyffe, ship's carpenter, and Janet Rhynd Cunningham, music teacher.

His father was interested in theatrical entertainment and operated a Penny Geggy. Penny Geggy might not mean anything to most of us, but the older Glaswegians amongst us might recognise it. It means one of the old booth theatres which used to charge 1d admission, that’s a penny in auld money, pre decimalisation! This gave young Will valuable experience as a character actor, as he travelled around the Lowlands of Scotland.

Will Fyfe became a major Scottish entertainer, appearing on stage, radio, television and film. His fame perhaps equalled Harry Lauder's and he was known for his breadth of characterisations. Fyffe wrote and recorded the song 'I Belong to Glasgow' which made him a world wide star. He also developed a successful stage partnership with Harry Gordon, playing opposite him in pantomime for many years.

Fyffe was so popular that a variety theatre in Glasgow ran a 'Will Fyffe' competition. Dozens of hopefuls entered, to sing 'I belong to Glasgow'. Will, a great joker, entered for a bet. Heavily disguised as himself, he won second prize. After an operation on his right ear in December 1947 Fyffe went to recuperate at the hotel he had bought in St Andrews. 

On 14th December he fell from the window of his suite and died in the local cottage hospital from the shock and injuries received. He was buried at the Western Necropolis in Glasgow on Wednesday 17th December 1947.