Rolf Harris | |
|---|---|
 Harris in 2010 | |
| Born | (1930-03-30)30 March 1930 |
| Died | 10 May 2023(2023-05-10) (aged 93) Bray, Berkshire, England |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1953–2014 |
| Criminal charges | Indecent assault |
| Criminal penalty | 5 years, 9 months'imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Released on licence in 2017 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | George Frederick Harris (grandfather) |
Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor.[1] He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably thedidgeridoo and theStylophone, and is credited with the invention of thewobble board.[2] He was convicted in England in 2014 of thesexual assault of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career.[3]
Harris began his entertainment career in 1953, releasing several songs, including "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" (a Top 10 hit in Australia, the UK and the United States), "Sun Arise", "Jake the Peg" and "Two Little Boys", which reached number 1 in the UK. From the 1960s, Harris was a successful television personality in the UK, later presenting shows such asRolf's Cartoon Club andAnimal Hospital. In 1985, he hosted the short educational filmKids Can Say No!, which warned children between ages five and eight how to avoid situations where they might besexually abused, how to escape such situations and how to get help if they are abused. In 2005, he paintedan official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.[4]
After theJimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal, Harris was arrested as part of theOperation Yewtree police investigation regarding historical allegations ofsexual offences in 2013.[5] Harris denied any wrongdoing and was placed on trial in 2014. In July 2014, Harris was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison after being convicted on twelve counts ofindecent assault on four female victims, who were between the ages of eight and nineteen at the time that the offences took place between the 1960s and 1980s. Following his conviction, he was stripped of many of his honours and re-runs of his television programmes were pulled from syndication.[6][7][8]
Harris wasreleased on licence in 2017 after serving nearly three years atHM Prison Stafford. The conviction involving an eight-year-old girl in Portsmouth was overturned asunsafe in 2017.[9] He applied for permission to appeal against his convictions concerning the three other girls, but this was refused.[10]
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Harris was born on 30 March 1930 inBassendean, a suburb ofPerth, Western Australia,[12] to Agnes Margaret (née Robbins) and Cromwell ("Crom") Harris, who had both emigrated fromCardiff, Wales. He grew up inWembley, Perth.[13] He was named afterRolf Boldrewood, the pseudonym of an Australian writer whom his mother admired.[12][14] After his later fame, Harris was often referred to within Australia as "the boy from Bassendean".[15] As a child he owned a dog called Buster Fleabags, about whom he later wrote a book (for the UKQuick Reads Initiative).[16]
Harris attended Bassendean State School andPerth Modern School inSubiaco, later gaining a Bachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Western Australia and a Diploma of Education fromClaremont Teachers' College (nowEdith Cowan University).[17][18][failed verification] When he was 16, and still a student at Perth Modern School, his self-portrait in oils was one of the 80 works (out of 200 submitted) accepted to be hung in theArt Gallery of New South Wales as an entry in the 1947Archibald Prize.[19] He painted a portrait of the thenLieutenant Governor of Western Australia, SirJames Mitchell, for the 1948 Archibald Prize.[20] He won the 1949Claude Hotchin prize for oil colours with his landscape "On a May Morning,Guildford".[21]
As an adolescent and young adult Harris was a champion swimmer.[22] In 1946, he was the Australian Junior 110 yards (100 metres) Backstroke Champion.[23] He was also the Western Australian state champion over a variety of distances and strokes during the period from 1948 to 1952.[24]
Harris moved to England in 1952[5] and became an art student atCity and Guilds of London Art School in South London, aged 22. In 1953 he found work in television, at theBBC, performing a regular ten-minute cartoon drawing section in a one-hour children's show calledJigsaw, with a puppet called "Fuzz", made and operated on the show by magicianRobert Harbin. He went on to illustratePaper Magic, Harbin's first book on origami, in 1956. In 1954, Harris was a regular onBBC Television programmeWhirligig, which featured a character called "Willoughby", who sprang to life on a drawing board, but was erased at the end of each episode.[25]
By this stage, Harris had drifted away from art school as a slightly disillusioned student. He then met his longtime hero, Australian impressionist painterHayward Veal (1913–1968), who became his mentor, teaching him the rudiments of impressionism and showing him how it could help with his portrait painting.[26] At the time that he was working with Veal, Harris was also entertaining with hispiano accordion every Thursday night at a club called the Down Under, frequented by Australians and New Zealanders. At the Down Under venue Harris honed his entertainment skills over several years, eventually writing what later became his theme song, "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport".[27]
Although Harris chiefly appeared on the BBC, he was also on the BritishITV network, and when commercial television started in 1955, he was the only entertainer to work with both the BBC andITV. He performed on the BBC with his own creation, Willoughby, a specially made board on which he drew Willoughby (voiced and operated byPeter Hawkins). The character would then come to life to engage in a comedic dialogue with Harris as he drew cartoons of Willoughby's antics.[28] OnAssociated Rediffusion'sSmall Time,[29] Harris invented a character called Oliver Polip the Octopus, which he drew on the back of his hand and animated. Harris then illustrated the character's adventures with cartoons on huge sheets of card.[30]
Harris returned toPerth in Australia when television was introduced there in 1959 after he washeadhunted. He subsequently produced and starred in five episodes of a half-hour weekly children's show, as well as his own weekly evening variety show.[31] From 1959, he worked onTVW-7's first locally produced show,Spotlight, and during this time he recorded "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" on a single microphone placed above him in the television studio.[32]
The song was sent toEMI in Sydney, and was released shortly afterwards as a record, becoming both his first recording and his first number one single. The song was successful in the UK. Harris offered four local backing musicians to split 10% of the royalties from the song, but they decided to take a recording fee of £7 each (equivalent toA$233 in 2022), because they did not think the song would be successful.[33] The novelty song was originally titled "Kangalypso"[34] and featured the distinctive sound of the "wobble board".[12]
The fourth verse – "Let me abos go loose, Lou/Let me abos go loose/They're of no further use, Lou/So let me abos go loose" – became increasingly controversial, because of the use of what later became regarded as aracial slur, and was removed in later versions of the song. In 2006, four decades after the song's release, Harris expressed his regret about the original lyric.[35]
At the end of 1960, he toured Australia sponsored byDulux paints and singing his hit song whilst doing huge paintings on stage with Dulux emulsion paint. While painting on stage, one of his catchphrases was, "Can you tell what it is yet?"[36] After Harris and his wife returned to England, they visited Perth to meet family and for tours of Australia, where he spent around four months travelling with his band.[37]
After returning to the UK in 1962, he was introduced toGeorge Martin, who re-recorded all of his songs the following year, including a remake of "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" which became a huge hit in the US, and "Sun Arise", an Aboriginal-inspired song Harris had written with Perth naturalistHarry Butler. The song reached number two in the UK charts. Harris met and worked withthe Beatles after they started recording with Martin, and hecompèred their 16-night season of Christmas shows at London'sFinsbury Park Astoria Theatre (later the Rainbow Theatre) in 1963.[38] Harris sang "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", with the Beatles singing backing vocals, for the first edition of theFrom Us to You BBC radio show in December 1963. Harris changed the original lyrics to create a version that was specially written for the Beatles.[39]
Harris was the presenter ofHi There andHey Presto it's Rolf in 1964.[40] By the timeThe Rolf Harris Show was broadcast in 1967, lasting until 1974, onBBC1, he had gained a high profile on British television.[41][42] He was the commentator for theUnited Kingdom in the1967 Eurovision Song Contest.[43]
In March 1967,David Blanasi, anAboriginal Australian virtuoso player and maker of thedidgeridoo, travelled to London with Harris, appearing live onThe Rolf Harris Show on Saturday 1 April for the first time.[44] Blanasi taught Harris how to play the didgeridoo while on tour with him, which began an ongoing professional association.[45]
Harris created one of his best known characters in the 1960s,Jake the Peg, but his biggest success in terms of record sales was in 1969, with his rendering of the American Civil War song "Two Little Boys", originally written in 1902. Harris later discovered a personal poignancy to the song, as the story bears such a resemblance to theWorld War I experiences of his father Crom, and Crom's beloved younger brother Carl, who died aged 19 after being wounded in battle in France two weeks before theArmistice of November 1918.[46] "Two Little Boys" was theChristmas Number One song in the UK charts for six weeks in 1969. It sold over one million copies and was awarded agold disc.[47]
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, his BBC TV programmes remained a light-entertainment staple, with the last show,Rolf on Saturday OK?, broadcast on Saturday evenings.[31] On many of his television appearances, Harris painted pictures on large boards in an apparently slapdash manner, with the odd nonsense song thrown in, asking "Can you tell what is it yet?" as he painted. Only at the end of the song would a fully formed picture emerge, sometimes only after the board was turned through 90 or 180 degrees. Such appearances led to several television series based on his artistic ability, such asRolf's Cartoon Time, broadcast on BBC One from 1979 to 1989, andRolf's Cartoon Club, onCITV between 1989 and 1993.[31]
In the early 1980s, he starred in his own weekly Australian television series,The Rolf Harris Show, produced by theABC Television. The series featured numerous guests, including regulars such asJane Scali. During the show Harris would also paint Australian bush scenes.[citation needed]
Harris was the subject of episodes ofThis Is Your Life in 1971 and 1995.[48] In 1973, Harris performed the first concert in the Concert Hall of the newly completedSydney Opera House.[49] In 1974, he released the single "Papillon" on EMI.[50] He played the didgeridoo on two albums by English pop singerKate Bush, entitledThe Dreaming (1982) andAerial (2005); he also contributed vocals to the songs "An Architect's Dream" and "The Painter's Link" onAerial.[51]
In 1985, Harris presented a twenty-minute child abuse prevention video calledKids Can Say No![52][53]
In the late 1980s, Harris was touring in Australia and was asked to sing his own version ofLed Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" for the television programmeThe Money or the Gun performing with his own small group; a version was released as a single in the UK in February 1993. This cover version reached number seven in the charts, which led to his appearance at theGlastonbury Festival in 1993. Harris appeared at six subsequent Glastonbury festivals—1998, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2010 and 2013—and a wobble board Harris used to perform "Stairway to Heaven" onTop of the Pops is an exhibit at theNational Museum of Australia. In 2000, Harris, along with Steve Lima, released a dance track called "Fine Day", which entered the "top 30" in the UK charts at that time. A "Killie-themed" version of the song was scheduled for release in March 2007, to coincide with the Scottish football club Kilmarnock's appearance in theScottish League Cup final after the song was adopted by the club's fans in 2003.[54] One of the adapted lyrics referred to a hypothetical situation, in which Kilmarnock could be losing the match 5–0, and the club coincidentally lost 5–1. Harris performed "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" in 2000 with the Australian children's groupthe Wiggles; he was subsequently digitally removed from DVD releases after his conviction.[55]
From 1994 to 2003, Harris was the host of the reality television programmeAnimal Hospital, a chronicle of a Britishveterinary practice. During his time hosting the series, he adopted an abandonedEnglish Bull Terrier from the practice named "Dolly".[56] Harris presented 19 series ofAnimal Hospital for BBC One and the show won theMost Popular Factual Entertainment Show award at theNational TV Awards on five occasions.[57] Harris eventually announced that it was "time to move on" at the completion of the series, which broke "the hearts of thousands of fans across the country", according to theRadio Times.[58]
In 2001 and 2004, Harris presentedRolf on Art, a television series that highlighted the work of a selection of his favourite artists, includingvan Gogh,Degas,Monet andGauguin. In November and December 2002, under the direction ofCharles Saumarez Smith, London'sNational Gallery exhibited a collection of Harris's art.[59]
On 26 September 2004, Harris oversaw a project to recreateJohn Constable'sThe Hay Wain painting on a large scale, with 150 people each contributing a small section. On live BBC television, each individual canvas was assembled into the full picture as part of the episodeRolf on Art: The Big Event. Also in 2004, as a part of theRolf on Art series, Harris travelled toLapland to design and paint a Christmas card for the "Children in Need" charity organisation.[60]
Harris presented three series of the BBC art programmeStar Portraits with Rolf Harris, with the first and second series airing in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Following the first series, a touring exhibition—featuring portraits ofCilla Black,Michael Parkinson andAdrian Edmondson—was organised with County Hall Gallery.[61] In 2001, Harris had said he always imagined he would eventually become a portrait painter as his grandfather,George Frederick Harris, had been.[62]
Harris was commissioned topaint a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday. The painting was conducted atBuckingham Palace and was unveiled there by Harris on 19 December 2005.[63] The painting also became the subject of a special episode ofRolf on Art. Harris explained toThe Daily Telegraph the following year: "I was as nervous as anything. I was in a panic". The portrait was later voted as the second most-favoured portrait of the Queen by the British public.[64]
In September 2006, theRoyal Australian Mint launched the first of the new 2007 Silver Kangaroo Collector's Coin series and Harris was commissioned to design the first coin of the series.[65] In January 2007, a one-hour documentary titledA Lifetime in Paint, about Harris's work as an artist—from his early years in Australia to the present day—was screened on BBC One.[66]
In 2007, Harris participated in theBBC Wales programmeComing Home, in which he discussed his Welsh family history.[67] In December 2007 a new DVD, titledRolf Live!, was released through his website,[68] whileRolf on Art: Beatrix Potter was screened on BBC One during the same month.[69] Harris appeared with a wobble board in aChurchill Insurance advertisement in 2009,[70] and hosted the satirical quiz showHave I Got News for You in May 2009.[71]Harris was narrator of the 2010 Australian documentary seriesPenguin Island, a six-part natural history documentary about the life of thelittle penguin.[72] From September 2010 to October 2010, he took part inJamie's Dream School, teaching art to a class of 20 students,[73] followed by an appearance as himself on the Christmas special ofMy Family, which aired on 24 December 2010.[74]
Harris performed on the Pyramid Stage at theGlastonbury Festival on 25 June 2010, during the festival's 40th birthday, followed by an appearance at theBestival Festival on the Isle of Wight in September 2010.[75] On 5 August 2011, Harris played at Wickham Festival inWickham, Hampshire,[76] and also appeared on the Wiggles' 2011 DVD releaseUkulele Baby, singing and performing the song "Good Ship Fabulous Flea" with his wobble board. In 2011 Harris made a guest appearance on BBC One'sThe Magicians, hosted byLenny Henry.[77] On 5 November 2011, Harris appeared in an episode ofPiers Morgan's Life Stories, in which he wept as he spoke about a period in which he felt his "life was over": "I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't know what to think. I now know what people mean when they say, 'I've got clinical depression.' I'd never felt so low. There's no way to come out of the blackness. I felt out of control". Harris also stated that he regrets missing so much of his daughter's childhood.[78]
In December 2011, Harris's portrait ofBonnie Tyler was valued at an estimated £50,000 on BBC'sThe Antiques Roadshow.[79] From 19 May to 12 August 2012, a major retrospective of Harris's paintings, titled "Rolf Harris: Can You Tell What It Is Yet?", was exhibited at theWalker Art Gallery in Liverpool.[80] The opening day yielded the busiest Saturday on record, with visitor figures peaking at 3,632.[81]
On 2 May 2012, Harris appeared onThe One Show, in which he described his artistic style as being "impressionistic".[82] On 4 June 2012, he performed at the Queen'sDiamond Jubilee Concert outsideBuckingham Palace.[83]
In October 2012, Harris started presenting a series onChannel 5, based atLiverpool University's Veterinary School, calledRolf's Animal Clinic. At the time of his arrest by British police on suspicion of sexual offences, the show was broadcasting a repeat run and was consequently ceased without any details of its future. In 2013, Channel 5 replaced Harris with former BBC hostBen Fogle and recommissioned the show under the title 'Ben Fogle's Animal Clinic'.[84]
Harris released 30 studio albums, two live albums and 48 singles.[85] In 1960 his single "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" reached number 1 in Australia, and in 1969 "Two Little Boys" reached number 1 on both the Irish and UK charts.[86] His 1992Rolf Rules OK? album was nominated for theARIA Music Award for Best Comedy Release.[87]
Harris is credited with inventing a simple homemade instrument called the wobble board.[88] As well as hisbeatboxing, similar toeefing, Harris went on to use an array of unusual instruments in his music, including the didgeridoo (the sound of which was imitated on "Sun Arise" by four double basses), theJew's harp and later, theStylophone (for which he also lent his name and likeness for advertising).[89]
His version ofLed Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", featuring didgeridoo and wobble board, reached the UK top ten in 1993.[90][91] Harris also recorded a version ofQueen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and performedthe Divinyls' "I Touch Myself", accompanied only by his wobble board, for "Denton's Musical Challenge" onTriple M Sydney'sAndrew Denton Breakfast Show[92] (the recording was released on the first Musical Challenge compilation album in 2000).[93] Harris also recorded an Australian Christmas song called "Six White Boomers", about a joey kangaroo trying to find his mother during the Christmas period. The song describes how Santa Claus used six large malekangaroos ("boomers"), instead ofreindeer.[94] In October 2008 Harris announced he would re-record his popular 1969 song "Two Little Boys", backed by North Wales'Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir, to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I.[95] Proceeds from the release were donated to thePoppy Appeal.[96] Harris was inspired to make the recording after participating inMy Family at War, a short series of programmes that aired during the BBC's "Remembrance" season, broadcast in November 2008. He discovered that the experiences of his father and uncle during the Great War mirrored the lyrics of the song.[97]
In March 2013, Harris was one of twelve people arrested in England duringOperation Yewtree, for questioning regarding historical allegations of sexual offences.[5][98][99][100][101] The allegations were not linked to the sexual misconduct revelations surroundingJimmy Savile, who died in 2011, and Harris denied any wrongdoing.[102][103] He was bailed without charge, did not comment publicly on the allegations,[104] and was understood to have denied them strongly.[103] When returning to the stage in May 2013 for the first time since his arrest, he thanked the audience for their support.[105]
In August 2013, Harris was again arrested by Operation Yewtree officers and charged with nine counts of indecent assault dating to the 1980s, involving two girls between 14 and 16 years old, and four counts alleging production of indecent child images in 2012.[99][106][107][108] TheCrown Prosecution Service'sAlison Saunders explained to the media:
Having completed our review, we have concluded there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Harris to be charged ... The decision has been taken in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors and theDirector of Public Prosecutions's interim guidelines on prosecuting cases of child sexual abuse. We have determined that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest.[99]
Harris appeared atWestminster Magistrates' Court on 23 September 2013, charged with nine counts of indecent assault and four counts of making indecent images of children. His lawyer indicated that Harris would plead not guilty and he was subsequently bailed.[109] In December 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that Harris was facing three further counts of sexual assault. The CPS said that the new charges were of alleged assault against females aged nineteen in 1984, aged seven or eight in 1968 or 1969, and aged fourteen in 1975.[100][110] At a further hearing atSouthwark Crown Court on 14 January 2014, Harris pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.[111]
The four counts of making indecent images were related to theProtection of Children Act 1978, which interprets viewing images on a computer as making images. The charges were brought after detectives examined Harris's computer and found 33 images of possibly underage models among thousands of adult pornographic images. Harris never entered a plea on the charges, as his lawyers argued successfully that the charges should besevered from the 12 sexual assault charges and tried separately. In the aftermath of Harris's conviction, it was reported that his legal team had obtained the identity documents of the models involved, confirming they were adults over 18.[112] The websites Harris had visited, according to theInternet Watch Foundation, are not known for illegal images of children. The prosecution informed the court that they would not be proceeding with the indecent images charges.[112]
The trial of Harris began on 6 May 2014 at Southwark Crown Court.[113] Seven of the twelve charges involved allegations of a sexual relationship between Harris and one of his daughter's friends. Six charges related to when she was between the ages of 13 and 15, and one when she was 19. Harris denied that he had entered into a sexual relationship with the girl until she was 18. During the trial, a letter Harris had written to the girl's father in 1997 after the end of the relationship was shown in court, saying: "I fondly imagined that everything that had taken place had progressed from a feeling of love and friendship—there was no rape, no physical forcing, brutality or beating that took place."[114]
Three charges related to the assault of a 15-year-old Australian girl visiting the UK in 1986.[114] One charge was that he sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl who asked for his autograph at a community centre in Hampshire in 1968 or 1969. When questioned by police about this allegation, Harris replied "I would simply never touch a child inappropriately."[114] Harris was also accused of groping the bottom of a 14-year-old girl at a celebrityIt's a Knockout event inCambridge in 1975.[115] He denied that he had visited Cambridge until four years before the trial, but television archive material was produced in court showing that he had taken part in an episode of theITV showStar Games, which had been filmed in Cambridge in 1978. Harris denied that he had told a deliberate lie and said that his failure to remember the show was "a lapse of memory."[116] Additional witnesses who claimed to have been assaulted in Malta, New Zealand, and Australia were called to testify against Harris, although these charges could not be pursued in the British courts.[117]
After several delays in the trial, in which the judge's summarising took three days, the jury retired to consider its verdict on 19 June 2014. On 30 June, Harris was found guilty of all 12 counts of indecent assault.[118][119][120][121]
At Southwark Crown Court on 4 July 2014,Mr JusticeSweeney sentenced Harris to a total of five years and nine months in prison.[122] When passing sentence, the judge said to Harris: "You have shown no remorse for your crimes at all. Your reputation now lies in ruins, you have been stripped of your honours but you have no one to blame but yourself."[123][124] Some sentences were expected to run consecutively, and Harris was expected to serve half of his sentence in prison. He was told to payprosecution costs, though not compensation to the victims.[125] The sentence was referred to theAttorney GeneralDominic Grieve after complaints that it was toolenient.[126] On 30 July 2014, the new Attorney General,Jeremy Wright, announced that he would not be referring the sentence to theCourt of Appeal for review "as he did not think they would find it to be unduly lenient and increase it. The sentencing judge was bound by the maximum sentence in force at the time of the offending."[127]
On 1 August 2014, the Judicial Office said that Harris had applied to appeal against his conviction and that his lawyers had lodged papers at the Court of Appeal.[128] In October 2014, Harris was refused permission to appeal, and could apply again before three judges.[129] Harris did not lodge an appeal within the required 28 days, or ask for an extension.[130]
Following his conviction, it was reported in July 2014,[131] October 2014[132] and February 2015[133] that he was being investigated by police over other alleged sexual offences.
On 14 June 2015,The Mail on Sunday published a letter, claimed to have been written by Harris in prison and sent to one of his friends. It contained song lyrics that were highly abusive towards his female accusers. Harris was accused by Liz Dux, lawyer for the women who gave evidence, ofvictim blaming.[134] In response to the lyrics one of the victims said, "What he did was damage young women's self-worth, their confidence and for some of those women, he affected them deeply for the rest of their lives."[135] The publication of the letter led Dux to question whether Harris should get parole:[136][137][138]
It should certainly affect the way he's treated when he applies for early release – he hasn't understood the severity of his crimes. This letter was clearly written by a man who has contempt for his victims and is utterly unrepentant. Far from being reformed by his time in prison, it seems to have fed his perverse sense of indignation and his arrogance is undiminished. If it is the case that a parole board can't take this into account it is totally wrong. Harris has caused those he abused great harm, and by writing this letter, he continues to cause them harm.
In 2014,Vanessa Feltz alleged that Harris sexually assaulted her while she interviewed him live on the bed during an edition ofChannel 4 morning programmeThe Big Breakfast,[139] andLinda Nolan alleged that he groped her in 1975, when she was 15, whenthe Nolan Sisters were his support act in South Africa.[140]
Harris served his sentence initially atHM Prison Bullingdon, thenHM Prison Stafford, which is specifically for men convicted of sex offences.[141] He was released on 19 May 2017, after serving three years of his sentence.[142]
On 12 February 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that Harris would face seven further indecent assault charges. The offences allegedly occurred between 1971 and 2004 and involve seven complainants who were aged between 12 and 27 at the time.[143] Harris pleaded not guilty to all of the charges viavideolink at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 17 March and was told to appear at Southwark Crown Court on 14 April.[144] On 14 April, he pleaded not guilty to six charges of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault.
Harris's trial began on 9 January 2017,[145] with him appearing and watching by videolink from Stafford Prison. Harris did not have to attend in person because of his age and poor health.[146] The prosecution started its case on 11 January; the allegations involved unwantedgroping.[147] Unlike at the previous trial, Harris did not give any evidence. His defence said that the jury in the first trial "got it wrong" and that the ensuing media frenzy "made him vulnerable to people making accusations against him".[148] On 8 February, Harris was acquitted of three charges. Judge Alistair McCreath discharged the jury from deliberating on the further four counts of which he was accused.[148]
The prosecution team asked for one week to decide if it would apply for a retrial.[149] On 15 February, it was announced he would face a retrial for three offences, and one new charge (to which he pleaded not guilty). His retrial began on 15 May.[150] On 30 May, the jury were unable to reach verdicts and the prosecution announced that they would not pursue another retrial.[151]
On 16 November 2017, Harris's conviction on the charge that he had indecently assaulted an eight-year-old girl at a community centre in Portsmouth in 1969 was overturned on the grounds that it wasunsafe. TheCourt of Appeal dismissed applications to challenge the other eleven convictions from the 2014 trial.[152]
A documentary,Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight, featuring interviews with Harris's victims, police investigators and colleagues premiered onITVX on 18 May 2023.[153] The two 60-minute episodes were made byOptomen.[154]
On 1 March 1958, in London, Harris married Alwen Hughes, a Welsh sculptor and jeweller, while they were both art students.[40][155] In 1964, he and his wife had a daughter.[156][157][158]
In September 2016, it was reported that Harris, who had been serving his prison sentence at the time, had been hospitalised with suspectedsepsis.[159]
In October 2022, it was reported that Harris was sufferingneck cancer, mostly unable to speak, and was being fed via a tube. He also required 24-hour care.[160] Harris died at his home inBray, Berkshire, on 10 May 2023, aged 93.[161] His death was not publicly announced until 23 May,[162] when it was confirmed to the press by theRoyal Borough of Windsor and Maidenheadregister office.[163] Hisdeath certificate gave the cause of death as neck cancer and "frailty of old age". Harris was cremated.[161]
On 15 August 2024, his widow Alwen Hughes died aged 92.[164][165]
Harris received multiple awards and honours, but following his conviction many of these were rescinded.[166] Harris was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1968; he was advanced to Officer (OBE) in 1977, then to Commander (CBE) in 2006,[167] but these honours were revoked in March 2015.[8][168]
In 1986, Harris planted aCathormion umbellatum tree atKununurra's celebrity tree park.[169] The plaque recording the planting was stolen in July 2014, a week before the local council voted to keep it. The council, however, felt that ongoing vandalism at the park made it unlikely that the plaque would be replaced.[170]
In 1989, he was appointed a Member of theOrder of Australia (AM),[171] and was advanced to Officer (AO) in theQueen's 2012 Birthday Honours.[167] These appointments were rescinded in February 2015.[172][173]
In 2001, he was awarded theCentenary Medal "for service to entertainment, charity and the community".[171] On 30 July 2014, the board of theNational Trust of Australia (New South Wales) voted to remove Harris from the list of those honoured as "Australian National Living Treasures" and to withdraw the award.[174] Harris had been among the original 100 Australians selected for the Medal in 1997.
Harris received two honorary doctorates: from theUniversity of East London in 2007[175] andLiverpool Hope University in 2010.[176] Both were rescinded following his indecent assault conviction.[177][178]
In 2008, Harris was inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame. He was joined onstage bythe Seekers to perform "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" and his "Jake the Peg" routine.[179] After his conviction, theAustralian Recording Industry Association removed him from the ARIA Hall of Fame.[166]
The same year, to coincide with the release ofArt: The Definitive Visual Guide, publishersDorling Kindersley conducted the "What the British really think about art today" survey and placed Harris above notable English artistDamien Hirst.[64]
In 2011, Harris was awarded the title of "Best Selling Published Artist" by theFine Art Trade Guild.[180][181] He was made aFellow of BAFTA the following year,[182] but following his conviction, the academy announced that his fellowship would be annulled.[183] In July 2014,Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir announced that Harris's honorary vice-presidency had been annulled.[184]
TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by theAustralian Recording Industry Association. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Rolf Rules OK | Best Comedy Release | Nominated | [185] |
| 2008 | Rolf Harris | ARIA Hall of Fame | Revoked | [166] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | You Lucky People | Private Proudfoot | Film | [186] |
| 1956 | Jim Whittington and His Sealion | The Demon King | TV film | |
| 1958–59 | The Vise | TV series | ||
| 1959 | Hancock's Half Hour | Unnamed characters | TV series | [187] |
| Web of Suspicion | Ben | Film | [188] | |
| Crash Drive | Bart | Film | [188] | |
| 1960 | The Man from Interpol | Grady | TV series | [189] |
| 1963 | To Tell the Truth | Contestant | TV series | [190] |
| 1968 | Christmas Night with the Stars | Contributor | TV series | [191] |
| 1974–75 | The Sooty Show | Himself | TV series: 2 episodes | |
| 1979 | The Little Convict | Grandpa | Film | [192] |
| 1979–1989 | Rolf Harris Cartoon Time | Himself | TV series | |
| 1985 | Highway | Contributor | TV series | [193] |
| Kids Can Say No! | Himself | Short film | ||
| 1989–1993 | Rolf's Cartoon Club | Himself | TV series | |
| 1994–2004 | Animal Hospital | Himself | TV series | [194] |
| 1998 | Goodnight Sweetheart | Himself | TV series | [188] |
| 2001 | Fetch the Vet | Ralph Morris | TV series | [195] |
| 2004–07 | Star Portraits with Rolf Harris | Himself | TV series | |
| 2011 | Olive the Ostrich | Narrator | TV series | [188] |
| The Fruit Cases | Captain Straw | TV series | ||
| 2012 | Run for Your Wife | Busker | Film | [196] |
Speculation over Harris's health has built in recent weeks and it is unclear at this stage when he died.
