Rolf Harris, Australian singer-songwriter
Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He was convicted in 2014 of the sexual assault of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career.Harris is known for his songs "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" (a Top 10 hit in Australia, the UK, and the United States) and "Jake the Peg" and his recording of "Two Little Boys" (which reached number 1 in the UK). He often used unusual instruments in his performances: he played the didgeridoo; is credited with the invention of the wobble board; and is associated with the Stylophone. During the 1960s and 1970s, Harris became a successful television personality in the UK, later presenting shows such as Rolf's Cartoon Club and Animal Hospital. In 2005, he painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. He lived in Bray, Berkshire, England, for more than six decades.In July 2014, at the age of 84, Harris was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison on twelve counts of indecent assault on four female victims during the 1970s and 1980s. He was released on licence in 2017 after serving nearly three years. Following his conviction, he was stripped of many of the honours that he had been awarded during his career, including the AO and CBE. One count, that Harris indecently assaulted an eight-year-old girl in Portsmouth, was overturned as unsafe in 2017. Harris had also applied for permission to appeal against his convictions concerning the three remaining girls, but permission was refused.
1930Mar, 30
Rolf Harris
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Events on 1930
- 12Mar
Salt March
Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile march to the sea to protest the British monopoly on salt in India - 6Apr
Salt Satyagraha
Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire," beginning the Salt Satyagraha. - 7Jul
Hoover Dam
Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam). - 6Sep
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Democratically elected Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen is deposed in a military coup. - 24Oct
Getúlio Vargas
A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ousts Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, the last President of the First Republic. Getúlio Vargas is then installed as "provisional president".