Kenny Everett, English radio and television host (b. 1944)
Maurice James Christopher Cole (25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995), better known as Kenny Everett, was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the first DJs to join BBC radio's newly-created BBC Radio 1 in 1967. It was here he developed his trademark voices and surreal characters which he later adapted for television.
Everett was dismissed from the BBC in 1970 after making remarks about a government minister's wife. He joined commercial radio when it became licensed in the UK, and joined Capital Radio. Starting in the late 1970s, he transitioned to television where he made numerous comedy series on ITV and BBC, often appearing with Cleo Rocos, whose glamorous and curvaceous figure was often used to comic effect. Rocos would be his assistant in the 1987 BBC gameshow Brainstorm, often demonstrating electronic gadgets with the contestants then having to guess what each is used for. He was a highly versatile performer, able to write his own scripts, compose jingles and operate advanced recording and mixing equipment. His personality also made him a regular guest on chat shows and on such comedy game shows as Blankety Blank.
Everett openly supported the UK's Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher and made publicity appearances at conferences and rallies. As a closeted gay man, however, he later faced criticism for supporting the Conservative government after it had enacted Section 28, a clause of the Local Government Act which made it illegal for councils to promote gay rights and issues. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1989 and died in 1995.