Don Estelle
Estelle as Lofty inIt Ain't Half Hot Mum
Born	Ronald Edwards (1933-05-22)22 May 1933 Crumpsall,Manchester,Lancashire, England
Died	2 August 2003(2003-08-02) (aged 70) Rochdale,Greater Manchester England
Resting place	Rochdale Cemetery, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England
Nationality	English
Other names	Rolly
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1954–2001
Television	It Ain't Half Hot Mum Dad's Army
Spouses	Mary Heywood ​ ​ (m. 1955; div. 1972)​ Elizabeth Amy Brent ​ ​ (m. 1974)​

Don Estelle (22 May 1933 – 2 August 2003) was an English actor and singer, best known as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden inIt Ain't Half Hot Mum.

BornRonald Edwards^[1] inCrumpsall,Manchester (historically part ofLancashire), he was brought up in a house on Russell Street in the area.^[2] During theSecond World War, at the age of eight, he was evacuated toDarwen, Lancashire to escape theManchester Blitz.^[3] It was there he found his voice as aboy soprano at the localHoly Trinity Parish Church, and on returning home after the war, he continued singing at St Mary's Church, Crumpsall.^[4] He later joined a charity group, the Manchester Kentucky Minstrels, and with them, performed "Granada" in the 1954 talent showWhat Makes a Star? atBBC Radio's northern studios in Manchester.

Estelle gained experience by singing one song 12 times a week in the showThe Backyard Kids at theHulme Hippodrome in Manchester. He met the actorWindsor Davies in 1962 at the Garrick Theatre in London and the two men formed an act which toured theatres and clubs for four years.^[3] Estelle had small roles inDad's Army (playing aPickfords removals man in one 1969, episode and anARP warden called Gerald in three more in 1970). He eventually gained the role of Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in thesitcomIt Ain't Half Hot, Mum, which was first broadcast in January 1974 and ran until September 1981, reuniting him with Davies,^[3] whosesergeant major character often mocked Lofty in the storylines. The character was given the ironic nickname of Lofty because of Estelle's 4 ft 9 in (145 cm) stature.

Estelle had a powerfultenor voice, and achieved a number-one hit in theUK Singles Chart in 1975 with a semi-comic version of "Whispering Grass",^[5] followed by a cover of "Paper Doll" which reached number 41, and a top ten LP,Sing Lofty (1976), all three recorded with Windsor Davies. Estelle also acted in the filmsNot Now, Comrade (1976) andA Private Function (1984), in addition toSanta Claus: The Movie (1985) alongsideMelvyn Hayes, who also appeared inIt Ain't Half Hot Mum.

In the first series ofThe League of Gentlemen, he made brief appearances in two episodes as Little Don, the keeper of the Roundabout Zoo, a zoo on atraffic island. In 2001, he appeared in an episode ofLinda Smith's A Brief History of Timewasting as Little Don of the East End Art Mafia.^[6]

In his autobiography,Sing, Lofty: Thoughts Of A Gemini (1999), Estelle was extremely bitter about modern-day entertainment producers, describing them as being "tight-crutched, white-trousered morons".^[3] According to his obituary inThe Independent, "in recent years Estelle cut a slightly sorry figure, dressed in his 'Lofty' outfit, setting out a stall of his tapes and singing to passers-by in shopping centres." He appeared as a "dirty old man" in the promotional video forThe SunPage Three Girl Jo Hicks's single "Yakety Sax" in 2001 (based on the theme fromThe Benny Hill Show).^[4] Estelle produced a duo recording with SirCyril Smith, by then the former MP for Rochdale. The six-track CD, which included "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine", was available by mail order in 1999.^[3]

Estelle briefly moved toChristchurch, New Zealand, where he spent countless hours working with jazz/blues pianist Malcolm Bishop. According to Bishop, "Lofty was clearly looking for someone to pass the figurative baton on to. He was extremely generous with time, his resources, and a shortbread that he loved made for him by a local friend. On the evening before Don returned to the UK I sat with him in his living room until after 4 am as he so passionately encouraged and advised me in my own career. Even though we had discussed business for after his return to New Zealand, part way through the evening I realised this would be the last time I would see my friend.

Beyond reuniting with family and friends, the reasons for Estelle's UK visit were twofold. The BBC was filming a documentary on the history of British comedy and had requested interviews. He also needed a liver transplant, but he became too weak for doctors to operate. Estelle returned to the UK weeks before his death. He died inRochdale Infirmary on 2 August 2003, and was buried inRochdale with the oversizedpith helmet he wore as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden.^[7] He was survived by his second wife, Elizabeth.^[8]

• Don Estelle atIMDb

• 1933 births
• 2003 deaths
• 20th-century English male actors
• British expatriates in New Zealand
• English male singers
• English male television actors
• People from Crumpsall
• Male actors from Manchester
• Male actors from Rochdale
• 20th-century English singers
• 21st-century English singers
• 20th-century English male singers
• 21st-century English male singers

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