Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

and the

Stylophone The Stylophone is a miniature analog synthesizer played with a stylus. Invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis, it entered production in 1968, manufactured by Dubreq. Some three million Stylophones were sold, mostly as children's toys, but they we ...

, and is credited with the invention of the

wobble board The wobble board is a musical instrument invented and popularized by Australian musician and artist Rolf Harris, and is featured in his best-known song " Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport". A wobble board, like some other musical instruments, can be or ...

. He was convicted in England in 2014 of the

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career. 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 as '' Rolf's Cartoon Club'' and ''

Animal Hospital ''Animal Hospital'' is a British television show starring Australian singer and TV presenter Rolf Harris that ran on BBC One from 29 August 1994 to 13 September 2004. Other presenters included Lynda Bryans, Steve Knight, Mairi McHaffie, Rhodri W ...

''. In 1985, he hosted the short educational film '' Kids Can Say No!'', which warned children between ages five and eight how to avoid situations where they might be sexually abused, how to escape such situations and how to get help if they are abused. In 2005, he painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. After the

Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal In late 2012, it emerged that Jimmy Savile, a British media personality who had died the previous year, had sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, mostly children but some as old as 75, and mostly female. He had been well kn ...

, Harris was arrested as part of the Operation Yewtree police investigation regarding historical allegations of sexual offences in 2013. 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 of

indecent assault Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault. England and Wales Indecent assault was a broa ...

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. He was released on licence in 2017 after serving nearly three years at HM Prison Stafford. The conviction involving an eight-year-old girl in Portsmouth was overturned as unsafe in 2017. He applied for permission to appeal against his convictions concerning the three other girls, but this was refused.

Early life

Harris was born on 30 March 1930 in Bassendean, a suburb of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, to Agnes Margaret (née Robbins) and Cromwell ("Crom") Harris, who had both emigrated from

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. He grew up in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

, Perth. He was named after Rolf Boldrewood, the pseudonym of an Australian writer whom his mother admired. After his later fame, Harris was often referred to within Australia as "the boy from Bassendean". As a child he owned a dog called Buster Fleabags, about whom he later wrote a book (for the UK

Quick Reads Initiative '' Quick Reads'' is a series of short books by bestselling authors and celebrities. With no more than 200 pages, they are designed to encourage adults who do not read often or find reading difficult to discover the joy of books. Quick Reads are a c ...

). Harris attended Bassendean State School and Perth Modern School in Subiaco, later gaining a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

and a Diploma of Education from Claremont Teachers' College (now

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Parliaments of the Australian states and territories, Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is, , t ...

).Hill, Amelia. (1 January 2006).
Wizard of Oz
. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''; retrieved 19 April 2013. While he was just 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 the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

as an entry in the 1947

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

. He painted a portrait of the then Lieutenant Governor of Western Australia, Sir James Mitchell, for the 1948 Archibald Prize. He won the 1949 Claude Hotchin prize for oil colours with his landscape "On a May Morning,

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

". As an adolescent and young adult Harris was a champion swimmer. In 1946, he was the Australian Junior Backstroke Champion. He was also the Western Australian state champion over a variety of distances and strokes during the period from 1948 to 1952.

Career in television, music, and art

1950s

Harris moved to England in 1952 and became an art student at City and Guilds of London Art School in South London, aged 22. In 1953 he found work in television, at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, performing a regular ten-minute cartoon drawing section in a one-hour children's show called ''Jigsaw'', with a puppet called "Fuzz", made and operated on the show by magician Robert Harbin. He went on to illustrate ''Paper Magic'', Harbin's first book on origami, in 1956. In 1954, Harris was a regular on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

programme ''Whirligig'', which featured a character called "Willoughby", who sprang to life on a drawing board, but was erased at the end of each episode. By this stage, Harris had drifted away from art school as a slightly disillusioned student. He then met his longtime hero, Australian impressionist painter Hayward Veal (1913–1968), who became his mentor, teaching him the rudiments of impressionism and showing him how it could help with his portrait painting. At the time that he was working with Veal, Harris was also entertaining with his piano 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". Although Harris chiefly appeared on the BBC, he was also on the British ITV network, and when commercial television started in 1955, he was the only entertainer to work with both the BBC and ITV. He performed on the BBC with his own creation, Willoughby, a specially made board on which he drew Willoughby (voiced and operated by Peter Hawkins). The character would then come to life to engage in a comedic dialogue with Harris as he drew cartoons of Willoughby's antics. On Associated Rediffusion's ''Small Time'', 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. Harris returned to

in Australia when television was introduced there in 1959 after he was headhunted. 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. From 1959, he worked on TVW-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. The song was sent to EMI 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 (), because they did not think the song would be successful. The novelty song was originally titled "Kangalypso" and featured the distinctive sound of the "

". 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 a

racial slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejor ...

, 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.

1960s to 1980s

At the end of 1960, he toured Australia sponsored by Dulux 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?" 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. After returning to the UK in 1962, he was introduced to

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

, 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 naturalist Harry Butler. The song reached number two in the UK charts. Harris met and worked with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

after they started recording with Martin, and he compèred their 16-night season of Christmas shows at London's Finsbury Park Astoria Theatre (later the Rainbow Theatre) in 1963. Harris sang "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", with the Beatles singing backing vocals, for the first edition of the ''From 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. Harris was the presenter of ''Hi There'' and ''Hey Presto it's Rolf'' in 1964. By the time ''The Rolf Harris Show'' was broadcast in 1967, lasting until 1974, on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

, he had gained a high profile on British television. He was the commentator for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest. In March 1967, David Blanasi, an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

virtuoso player and maker of the

, travelled to London with Harris, appearing live on ''The Rolf Harris Show'' on Saturday 1 April for the first time. Blanasi taught Harris how to play the didgeridoo while on tour with him, which began an ongoing professional association. 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 the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

of November 1918. "Two Little Boys" was the Christmas Number One song in the UK charts for six weeks in 1969. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. 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. 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 as '' Rolf's Cartoon Time'', broadcast on BBC One from 1979 to 1989, and '' Rolf's Cartoon Club'', on

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

between 1989 and 1993. In the early 1980s, he starred in his own weekly Australian television series, ''The Rolf Harris Show'', produced by the ABC Television. The series featured numerous guests, including regulars such as Jane Scali. During the show Harris would also paint Australian bush scenes. Harris was the subject of episodes of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1971 and 1995. In 1973, Harris performed the first concert in the Concert Hall of the newly completed

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. In 1974, he released the single "Papillon" on EMI. He played the didgeridoo on two albums by English pop singer

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

, entitled '' The Dreaming'' (1982) and '' Aerial'' (2005); he also contributed vocals to the songs "An Architect's Dream" and "The Painter's Link" on ''Aerial''. In 1985, Harris presented a twenty-minute child abuse prevention video called '' Kids Can Say No!''

Later career

In the late 1980s, Harris was touring in Australia and was asked to sing his own version of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

's "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...

" for the television programme '' The 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 the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

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" on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' is an exhibit at the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

. 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 the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

final after the song was adopted by the club's fans in 2003. 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 group

the Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...

; he was subsequently digitally removed from DVD releases after his conviction. From 1994 to 2003, Harris was the host of the reality television programme ''

'', a chronicle of a British veterinary practice. During his time hosting the series, he adopted an abandoned English Bull Terrier from the practice named "Dolly". Harris presented 19 series of ''Animal Hospital'' for BBC One and the show won the ''Most Popular Factual Entertainment Show'' award at the National TV Awards on five occasions. 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 the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

''. In 2001 and 2004, Harris presented '' Rolf on Art'', a television series that highlighted the work of a selection of his favourite artists, including

van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French people, French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Print ...

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

and

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer, whose work has been primarily associated with the Post-Impressionist and Symbolist movements. He was also an influ ...

. In November and December 2002, under the direction of Charles Saumarez Smith, London's

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

exhibited a collection of Harris's art. On 26 September 2004, Harris oversaw a project to recreate

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

's ''

The Hay Wain ''The Hay Wain'' – originally titled ''Landscape: Noon'' – is a painting by John Constable, completed in 1821, which depicts a rural scene on the River Stour, Suffolk, River Stour between the English counties of Suffolk and Essex. It hangs ...

'' 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 episode ''Rolf on Art: The Big Event''. Also in 2004, as a part of the ''Rolf on Art'' series, Harris travelled to Lapland to design and paint a Christmas card for the "Children in Need" charity organisation. Harris presented three series of the BBC art programme ''

Star Portraits with Rolf Harris ''Star Portraits with Rolf Harris'' is a BBC television series that ran for three seasons from 2004-07. The show features three artists who each paint a picture of a celebrity, and then the celebrity gets to choose which paintings to keep. It was ...

'', with the first and second series airing in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Following the first series, a touring exhibition—featuring portraits of

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "A ...

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (28 March 1935 – 16 August 2023) was an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other ta ...

and

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

—was organised with County Hall Gallery. In 2001, Harris had said he always imagined he would eventually become a portrait painter as his grandfather, George Frederick Harris, had been. Harris was commissioned to paint a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for her 80th birthday. The painting was conducted at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

and was unveiled there by Harris on 19 December 2005. The painting also became the subject of a special episode of ''Rolf on Art''. Harris explained to ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' 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. In September 2006, the Royal 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. In January 2007, a one-hour documentary titled ''A 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. Rolf Harris drawing a self-portrait

In 2007, Harris participated in the

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

programme '' Coming Home'', in which he discussed his Welsh family history. In December 2007 a new DVD, titled ''Rolf Live!'', was released through his website, while ''Rolf on Art: Beatrix Potter'' was screened on BBC One during the same month. Harris appeared with a wobble board in a Churchill Insurance advertisement in 2009, and hosted the satirical quiz show '' Have I Got News for You'' in May 2009. Harris was narrator of the 2010 Australian documentary series '' Penguin Island'', a six-part natural history documentary about the life of the

little penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is the smallest species of penguin. It originates from New Zealand. It is commonly known as the fairy penguin, little blue penguin, or blue penguin, owing to its slate-blue plumage and is also known by ...

. From September 2010 to October 2010, he took part in ''Jamie's Dream School'', teaching art to a class of 20 students, followed by an appearance as himself on the Christmas special of '' My Family'', which aired on 24 December 2010. Harris performed on the Pyramid Stage at the

on 25 June 2010, during the festival's 40th birthday, followed by an appearance at the Bestival Festival on the Isle of Wight in September 2010. On 5 August 2011, Harris played at Wickham Festival in

Wickham, Hampshire Wickham () is a village in the civil parish of Wickham, Hampshire#Wickham and Knowle civil parish, Wickham and Knowle, in the City of Winchester, Winchester district, in the county of Hampshire, England. It is about 3 miles north of Fareham. I ...

, and also appeared on the Wiggles' 2011 DVD release ''Ukulele Baby'', singing and performing the song "Good Ship Fabulous Flea" with his wobble board. In 2011 Harris made a guest appearance on BBC One's '' The Magicians'', hosted by

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

. On 5 November 2011, Harris appeared in an episode of '' Piers 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. In December 2011, Harris's portrait of Bonnie Tyler was valued at an estimated £50,000 on BBC's '' The Antiques Roadshow''. 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 the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...

in Liverpool. The opening day yielded the busiest Saturday on record, with visitor figures peaking at 3,632. On 2 May 2012, Harris appeared on ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

'', in which he described his artistic style as being "impressionistic". On 4 June 2012, he performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert outside

. In October 2012, Harris started presenting a series on Channel 5, based at Liverpool University's Veterinary School, called ''Rolf'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 host Ben Fogle and recommissioned the show under the title 'Ben Fogle's Animal Clinic'.

Musical recordings and experimentation

Harris released 30 studio albums, two live albums and 48 singles. 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. His 1992 ''Rolf Rules OK?'' album was nominated for the ARIA Music Award for Best Comedy Release. Harris is credited with inventing a simple homemade instrument called the wobble board. As well as his

beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.eefing, 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), the Jew's harp and later, the

(for which he also lent his name and likeness for advertising). His version of

's "

", featuring didgeridoo and wobble board, reached the UK top ten in 1993. Harris also recorded a version of

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

's "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

" and performed the Divinyls' " I Touch Myself", accompanied only by his wobble board, for "Denton's Musical Challenge" on Triple M Sydney's '' Andrew Denton Breakfast Show'' (the recording was released on the first Musical Challenge compilation album in 2000). 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 male

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

s ("boomers"), instead of

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

. 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. Proceeds from the release were donated to the Poppy Appeal. Harris was inspired to make the recording after participating in ''My 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.

Sexual offences

In March 2013, Harris was one of twelve people arrested in England during Operation Yewtree, for questioning regarding historical allegations of sexual offences. The allegations were not linked to the sexual misconduct revelations surrounding

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English media personality and DJ. He was known for his eccentric image, charitable work, and hosting the BBC shows ''Top of the Pops'' and ''Jim'll Fix It''. A ...

, who died in 2011, and Harris denied any wrongdoing. He was bailed without charge, did not comment publicly on the allegations, and was understood to have denied them strongly. When returning to the stage in May 2013 for the first time since his arrest, he thanked the audience for their support.

Charges

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. The

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

's Alison 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 the Director 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.

Harris appeared at

Westminster Magistrates' Court Westminster Magistrates' Court is a Magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' court at 181 Marylebone Road, London. The Chief Magistrate of England and Wales, who is the Senior Judiciary of England and Wales#District judges, Distric ...

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. 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. At a further hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 14 January 2014, Harris pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. The four counts of making indecent images were related to the

Protection of Children Act 1978 The Protection of Children Act 1978 (c. 37) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that criminalized indecent photographs of children. The act applies in England and Wales. Similar provision for Scotland is contained in the Civic Go ...

, 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 be severed 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. The websites Harris had visited, according to the Internet 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.

Trial

The trial of Harris began on 6 May 2014 at Southwark Crown Court. 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." Three charges related to the assault of a 15-year-old Australian girl visiting the UK in 1986. 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." Harris was also accused of groping the bottom of a 14-year-old girl at a celebrity '' It's a Knockout'' event in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1975. 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 the ITV show ''Star 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." 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.

Conviction and imprisonment

After several delays in the trial, in which the judge's summing-up 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. At Southwark Crown Court on 4 July 2014, Mr Justice Sweeney sentenced Harris to a total of five years and nine months in prison. 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." Some sentences were expected to run consecutively, and Harris was expected to serve half of his sentence in prison. He was told to pay prosecution costs, though not compensation to the victims. The sentence was referred to the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Dominic Grieve after complaints that it was too lenient. On 30 July 2014, the new Attorney General, Jeremy Wright, announced that he would not be referring the sentence to the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

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." 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. In October 2014, Harris was refused permission to appeal, and could apply again before three judges. Harris did not lodge an appeal within the required 28 days, or ask for an extension. Following his conviction, it was reported in July 2014, October 2014 and February 2015 that he was being investigated by police over other alleged sexual offences. On 14 June 2015, ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

'' 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, of

victim blaming Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as ...

. 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." The publication of the letter led Dux to question whether Harris should get parole: In 2014, Vanessa Feltz alleged that Harris sexually assaulted her while she interviewed him live on the bed during an edition of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

morning programme ''

The Big Breakfast ''The Big Breakfast'' is a British breakfast light entertainment television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 1992 to 2002, and as a revival from 2021 to 2022. The show had various presenters, starting with Chris Evans (presenter), ...

'', and

Linda Nolan Linda Mary Hudson (; 23 February 1959 – 15 January 2025) was an Irish singer, actress, and television personality. After moving with her family to Blackpool at the age of three in 1962, she attained fame as a member of the girl group the Nol ...

alleged that he groped her in 1975, when she was 15, when the Nolan Sisters were his support act in South Africa. Harris served his sentence initially at HM Prison Bullingdon, then HM Prison Stafford, which is specifically for men convicted of sex offences. He was released on 19 May 2017, after serving three years of his sentence.

Further charges

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. Harris pleaded not guilty to all of the charges via videolink at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 17 March and was told to appear at Southwark Crown Court on 14 April. On 14 April, he pleaded not guilty to seven charges of indecent assault and one charge of sexual assault. Harris's trial began on 9 January 2017, 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. The prosecution started its case on 11 January; the allegations involved unwanted

groping Groping is a form of sexual harassment involving the intentional inappropriate touching of another person commonly without their consent. The term generally has a negative connotation in many societies. Touching a consenting person's body d ...

. 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". 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. The prosecution team asked for one week to decide if it would apply for a retrial. 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. On 30 May, the jury were unable to reach verdicts and the prosecution announced that they would not pursue another retrial.

One conviction overturned

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 was unsafe. The

dismissed applications to challenge the other eleven convictions from the 2014 trial.

Documentary

A documentary, ''Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight'', featuring interviews with Harris's victims, police investigators and colleagues premiered on

ITVX ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...

on 18 May 2023. The two 60-minute episodes were made by

Optomen Optomen is an Independence, independent television production company part of All3Media, with Optomen Television Ltd. for the United Kingdom and Optomen Productions Inc. (launched in 2002) for the United States. It specializes in unscripted prog ...

and executive-produced by Tina Flintoff and Nick Hornby.

Personal life, illness and death

On 1 March 1958, in London, Harris married Alwen Hughes, a Welsh sculptor and jeweller, while they were both art students. In 1964, he and his wife had a daughter. In September 2016, it was reported that Harris, who had been serving his prison sentence at the time, had been hospitalised with suspected

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

. In October 2022, it was reported that Harris was suffering with neck cancer, unable to talk, and was being fed via a tube. He also required 24-hour care. Harris died at his home in Bray, Berkshire, on 10 May 2023, aged 93. His death was not publicly announced until 23 May, when it was confirmed to the media by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

register office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...

. His

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...

gave the cause of death as neck cancer and " frailty of old age". On 15 August 2024, Alwen Hughes died aged 92.

Honours

Harris received multiple awards and honours, but following his conviction many of these were rescinded. Harris was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in 1968; he was advanced to Officer (OBE) in 1977, then to Commander (CBE) in 2006, but these honours were revoked in March 2015. In 1986, Harris planted a '' Cathormion umbellatum'' tree at Kununurra's celebrity tree park. 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. In 1989, he was appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM),Rolf Harris's citation
at the Australian Government's "It's an Honour" website; accessed 13 September 2016. and was advanced to Officer (AO) in the Queen's 2012 Birthday Honours. These appointments were rescinded in February 2015. In 2001, he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

"for service to entertainment, charity and the community". On 30 July 2014, the board of the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

(New South Wales) voted to remove Harris from the list of those honoured as " Australian National Living Treasures" and to withdraw the award. Harris had been among the original 100 Australians selected for the Medal in 1997. Harris received two honorary doctorates: from the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

in 2007 and Liverpool Hope University in 2010. Both were rescinded following his indecent assault conviction. In 2008, Harris was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. He was joined onstage by

the Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

to perform "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport" and his "Jake the Peg" routine. After his conviction, the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

removed him from the ARIA Hall of Fame. The same year, to coincide with the release of ''Art: The Definitive Visual Guide'', publishers

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

conducted the "What the British really think about art today" survey and placed Harris above notable English artist

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

. In 2011, Harris was awarded the title of "Best Selling Published Artist" by the Fine Art Trade Guild. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA the following year, but following his conviction, the academy announced that his fellowship would be annulled. In July 2014, Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir announced that Harris's honorary vice-presidency had been annulled.

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony held by the

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, ''Rolf Rules OK'' , Best Comedy Release , , , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Rolf Harris , ARIA Hall of Fame , , , -

Books

Filmography

References

External links

*
BFI Database: Rolf Harris
*

Walker, John A. (February 2005). "Rolf Harris: Celebrity artist"
. ''Jamani/artdesigncafe''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Rolf 1930 births 2023 deaths 20th-century Australian criminals 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian singer-songwriters 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century Australian male singers 20th-century Australian male artists 21st-century Australian criminals 21st-century Australian painters 21st-century Australian singer-songwriters 21st-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male singers 21st-century Australian male artists Alumni of the City and Guilds of London Art School Archibald Prize finalists Australian children's entertainers Australian comedy musicians Australian emigrants to England Australian male composers Australian male criminals Australian male painters Australian male film actors Australian male singer-songwriters Australian male swimmers Australian television presenters Australian multi-instrumentalists Australian people convicted of child sexual abuse Australian people convicted of indecent assault Australian people imprisoned abroad Australian people of Welsh descent BBC television presenters Child sexual abuse in England Columbia Graphophone Company artists Comedians from Berkshire Comedians from Perth, Western Australia Criminals from Western Australia Deaths from throat cancer in England Didgeridoo players Edith Cowan University alumni Former officers of the Order of Australia Male actors from Berkshire Male actors from Perth, Western Australia Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Operation Yewtree People educated at Perth Modern School People from Bray, Berkshire People stripped of a British Commonwealth honour People stripped of honorary degrees Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales University of Western Australia alumni 20th-century Australian folk musicians Child sexual abuse in Australia