Vivian Stanshall(1943-1995)
- Actor
- Writer
- Composer
Lead singer of underground art school comedy/jazz band (with
Neil Innes), The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Viv
soon became known as one of Britain's foremost eccentrics. Born in Oxfordshire and brought up as a cockney in east London and Essex, Viv was characterised by his almost aristocratic English accent
which he would punctuate with very out-of-place belches and
obscenities. By the late 60s, Viv had changed from the dapper, witty
eccentric of his youth to a cynical, almost hollow-eyed wreck - often
seen in a state of advanced alcoholism, with a shaved head, knotted
beard and trademark octagonal glasses. Perhaps his most famous creation
is Sir Henry of Rawlinson's End - who first appeared on a Bonzos LP, a
later became a radio series and finally a movie. Eerily, the real Sir
Henry Rawlinson, of whom Viv was unaware, died exactly 100 years to the
day before Viv.
