" Simon Dee, the disc jockey who became Britain’s first television superstar
and an icon of the radical and licentious culture of the late 1960s, has
died aged 74.
--- By Alastair Jamieson
Published: 7:00AM BST 31 Aug 2009

 Simon Dee was born Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd Photo: REX
The former presenter, who had a short battle with bone cancer, became one of
the country’s first television celebrities but also provided an early lesson
in the pitfalls of fame when his career ended in well-publicised failure.

Less than five years after becoming a major household name with a
twice-weekly BBC evening chat show, he ended up unemployed and on benefits
and even spent a brief time in prison.

He died at a hospital in Winchester, Hampshire on Sunday surrounded by his
family.
A friend, Roger Backhouse QC, said: "Simon sadly passed away after a quick
illness and I understand his family were with him when he died.

"There had been talk of moving him to a hospice but he was heavily sedated
and too frail.
"He was a national treasure and his passing is very sad. I have very fond
memories of him. He was a good friend, great company and a pleasure to be
around.”

He added: “Simon enjoyed his time as a celebrity and had a lot of fun but he
never showed any bitterness about it coming to an end. Like a war veteran,
he only spoke about his past when he was asked. He was very much living for
the moment.”

Born Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd, he enjoyed a rapid ascent from his first
presenting job as a disk jockey on pirate station Radio Caroline.

His show, Dee Time, attracted 18 million viewers during its time on air
between 1967 and 1969 and heralded a glitzier era of light entertainment
with its opening catchphrase “It’s Siiiiimon Deee!” and closing titles
featuring a white E-type Jaguar and a glamorous blonde.

The show earned him £250 an episode and coincided with the arrival of colour
television and an irreverent, sometimes wild, social backdrop.

During his brief period of success Dee cruised London’s King’s Road in his
Aston Martin DB5 and dated a string of women including Joanna Lumley.

Interviewees on his programme included Sammy Davis Jr, Lee Marvin, Bob Hope,
Charlton Heston, and Beatle John Lennon and his wide circle of friends
included the Beatles and Princess Margaret.

However, in an early manifestation of the conflict between high-earning
celebrities such as Jonathan Ross and the publicly-funded BBC, his salary
demands led to his show being axed and, despite a brief period on rival
London Weekend Television, his career nosedived.

Having already blown most of his enormous wages on a fast lifestyle, he was
seen at the end of 1970 signing on at the Fulham Road Labour Exchange, where
a clerk who recognised him remarked “Look how the mighty have fallen”.

He made a number of appearances in court for non-payment of bills and even
spent a morning in prison. Attempts to being a new career as a bus driver
were thwarted when newspapers reported on his training.

His daughter, Domino Henty-Dodd, said on Sunday: “He was huge in his day.
Before celebrity became such an everyday thing, he was a celebrity in the
real sense. He was one of the first to become famous so quickly.”

She added he had been diagnosed with bone cancer only weeks ago and could
not be treated.

“It happened very quickly,” she said. “He was dearly loved by his family.”

He died at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, where he had
moved 15 years and lived in a one bedroom flat.

At the height of his fame he compered Miss World, appeared on Juke Box Jury
and Top of the Pops.

Mark Linsey, BBC Controller of Entertainment Commissioning, said: "We're
sorry to hear of Simon's death. Simon was an iconic figure within the
entertainment industry and shaped the face of entertainment chat shows in
the 1960s and was one of the leading presenters of the time."

Earlier this year, in his first interview for 20 years, Dee reflected on his
brief fame, saying: “I have no regrets. If you change your past, you change
your present. Bitterness destroys, but laughter lifts you.

“It has all been enlightening and as a girlfriend said the other day,
'you've still got your hair.'”

Dee was married three times and is survived by four children and four
grandchildren.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6115003/Simon-Dee-the-first-chat-show-star-who-fell-from-grace-dies-aged-74.html

Borg Master wrote:
> " Simon Dee, the disc jockey who became Britain’s first television
> superstar and an icon of the radical and licentious culture of the
> late 1960s, has died aged 74.
> --- By Alastair Jamieson
> Published: 7:00AM BST 31 Aug 2009
>
> Simon Dee was born Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd Photo: REX
> The former presenter, who had a short battle with bone cancer, became
> one of the country’s first television celebrities but also provided
> an early lesson in the pitfalls of fame when his career ended in
> well-publicised failure.
> Less than five years after becoming a major household name with a
> twice-weekly BBC evening chat show, he ended up unemployed and on
> benefits and even spent a brief time in prison.
>
> He died at a hospital in Winchester, Hampshire on Sunday surrounded
> by his family.
> A friend, Roger Backhouse QC, said: "Simon sadly passed away after a
> quick illness and I understand his family were with him when he died.
>
> "There had been talk of moving him to a hospice but he was heavily
> sedated and too frail.
> "He was a national treasure and his passing is very sad. I have very
> fond memories of him. He was a good friend, great company and a
> pleasure to be around.”
>
> He added: “Simon enjoyed his time as a celebrity and had a lot of fun
> but he never showed any bitterness about it coming to an end. Like a
> war veteran, he only spoke about his past when he was asked. He was
> very much living for the moment.”
>
> Born Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd, he enjoyed a rapid ascent from his
> first presenting job as a disk jockey on pirate station Radio
> Caroline.
> His show, Dee Time, attracted 18 million viewers during its time on
> air between 1967 and 1969 and heralded a glitzier era of light
> entertainment with its opening catchphrase “It’s Siiiiimon Deee!” and
> closing titles featuring a white E-type Jaguar and a glamorous blonde.
>
> The show earned him £250 an episode and coincided with the arrival of
> colour television and an irreverent, sometimes wild, social backdrop.
>
> During his brief period of success Dee cruised London’s King’s Road
> in his Aston Martin DB5 and dated a string of women including Joanna
> Lumley.
> Interviewees on his programme included Sammy Davis Jr, Lee Marvin,
> Bob Hope, Charlton Heston, and Beatle John Lennon and his wide circle
> of friends included the Beatles and Princess Margaret.
>
> However, in an early manifestation of the conflict between
> high-earning celebrities such as Jonathan Ross and the
> publicly-funded BBC, his salary demands led to his show being axed
> and, despite a brief period on rival London Weekend Television, his
> career nosedived.
> Having already blown most of his enormous wages on a fast lifestyle,
> he was seen at the end of 1970 signing on at the Fulham Road Labour
> Exchange, where a clerk who recognised him remarked “Look how the
> mighty have fallen”.
> He made a number of appearances in court for non-payment of bills and
> even spent a morning in prison. Attempts to being a new career as a
> bus driver were thwarted when newspapers reported on his training.
>
> His daughter, Domino Henty-Dodd, said on Sunday: “He was huge in his
> day. Before celebrity became such an everyday thing, he was a
> celebrity in the real sense. He was one of the first to become famous
> so quickly.”
> She added he had been diagnosed with bone cancer only weeks ago and
> could not be treated.
>
> “It happened very quickly,” she said. “He was dearly loved by his
> family.”
> He died at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, where
> he had moved 15 years and lived in a one bedroom flat.
>
> At the height of his fame he compered Miss World, appeared on Juke
> Box Jury and Top of the Pops.
>
> Mark Linsey, BBC Controller of Entertainment Commissioning, said:
> "We're sorry to hear of Simon's death. Simon was an iconic figure
> within the entertainment industry and shaped the face of
> entertainment chat shows in the 1960s and was one of the leading
> presenters of the time."
> Earlier this year, in his first interview for 20 years, Dee reflected
> on his brief fame, saying: “I have no regrets. If you change your
> past, you change your present. Bitterness destroys, but laughter
> lifts you.
> “It has all been enlightening and as a girlfriend said the other day,
> 'you've still got your hair.'”
>
> Dee was married three times and is survived by four children and four
> grandchildren.
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6115003/Simon-Dee-the-first-chat-show-star-who-fell-from-grace-dies-aged-74.html

There's a lot that isn't being said in that obit.

1) His name was always said to be CARL Henty-Dodd, not Cyril.

2) He was EXTREMELY bitter about the way he was dumped from Dee Time, and 
frequently and publicly claimed that it was politically motivated because of 
some things he said about (I think) JFK's assassination.

3) A recent "hey, let's see if Dee Time could make a come back if he WAS 
given another chance" re-creation during a Sixties Season on one of the 
secondary TV channels in the UK was a huge embarrassment for all concerned. 
I'd have given the guy the benefit of the doubt if he had been anywhere near 
"good enough" but sadly he wasn't. At his age and with all the crap he's had 
in his life, why should he be expected to be?

4) Jonathon Ross IS the latest floppy-haired twerp to front a programme in 
the format Simon Dee used to great advantage and he shares Dee's tendancy to 
attempt outrageousness in interviews, to crack bad jokes followed by an 
aside to the house band, and to be immensely overpaid for the time he spends 
doing it.

Thank You, Simon Dee, for being such an important part of my childhood, 
including your groundbreaking work in pirate radio.

-- 
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop

Borg Master wrote:

> " Simon Dee, the disc jockey who became Britain’s first television 
> superstar and an icon of the radical and licentious culture of the late 1960s, has
> died aged 74.

What 'radical and licentious culture'? Tbe 1960s were probably as 
conservative as the 1950s for 99% of the population.

-- 
Mike Dickson, Edinburgh

Free Music Project: http://www.mikedickson.org.uk/
Or http://www.last.fm/music/Mike+Dickson
Or http://soundcloud.com/mikedickson
Or http://www.planetmellotron.com/revd4.htm#mikedickson

"Mike Dickson"  wrote in message 
news:7g2qo3F2o03r5U1@mid.individual.net...
> Borg Master wrote:
>
>> " Simon Dee, the disc jockey who became Britain’s first television 
>> superstar and an icon of the radical and licentious culture of the late 
>> 1960s, has
>> died aged 74.
>
> What 'radical and licentious culture'? Tbe 1960s were probably as 
> conservative as the 1950s for 99% of the population.

Just what year were you born in, Mike?

Mike Dickson wrote:
> Borg Master wrote:
>
>> " Simon Dee, the disc jockey who became Britain’s first television
>> superstar and an icon of the radical and licentious culture of the
>> late 1960s, has died aged 74.
>
> What 'radical and licentious culture'? The 1960s were probably as
> conservative as the 1950s for 99% of the population.

True but, thank goodness, I was in the other 1%.

-- 
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop

"Brian Watson"  wrote in message 
news:7g3u6tF2nssvaU1@mid.individual.net...
> Mike Dickson wrote:
>> Borg Master wrote:
>>
>>> " Simon Dee, the disc jockey who became Britain's first television
>>> superstar and an icon of the radical and licentious culture of the
>>> late 1960s, has died aged 74.
>>
>> What 'radical and licentious culture'? The 1960s were probably as
>> conservative as the 1950s for 99% of the population.
>
> True but, thank goodness, I was in the other 1%.

Ditto.  Nowadays nobody questions anything except, "hey my iPod died ... 
help".

Borg Master wrote:

>> What 'radical and licentious culture'? Tbe 1960s were probably as 
>> conservative as the 1950s for 99% of the population.
> 
> Just what year were you born in, Mike?

1847

-- 
Mike Dickson, Edinburgh

Free Music Project: http://www.mikedickson.org.uk/
Or http://www.last.fm/music/Mike+Dickson
Or http://soundcloud.com/mikedickson
Or http://www.planetmellotron.com/revd4.htm#mikedickson

"Mike Dickson"  wrote in message 
news:7g5h57F2nnqrkU1@mid.individual.net...
> Borg Master wrote:
>
>>> What 'radical and licentious culture'? Tbe 1960s were probably as 
>>> conservative as the 1950s for 99% of the population.
>>
>> Just what year were you born in, Mike?
>
> 1847

Arh! now I understand.....another one of the living dead.

I remember him, he was a here today & gone tomorrow personality.
Regards  Mike.

Mike Cawood, HND BIT wrote:
> I remember him, he was a here today & gone tomorrow personality.

Plainly left his mark if you still remember him.

-- 
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."
www.imagebus.co.uk/shop