Rolf Harris
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Rolf Harris AM OBE (born March 30, 1930) is a British/Australian musician, composer, painter, and television host.
Born in Bassendean, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. He had experience in Perth on television in its early years, with his rapid drawing style and flair for amusing entertainment.
He moved to the United Kingdom as an art student at City and Guilds Arts School, Kennington, South London at the age 22, notably illustrating Robert Harbin's Paper Magic (1956).
He returned to Perth after art school and was involved in Children's Television shows. Some years later he returned to the UK to live. He has regularly returned to Perth over the years for family visits.
He initially rose to fame in 1960 for his novelty song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", featuring the distinctive sound of the "wobble board" - a large piece of Masonite which was played by "wobbling" it back and forth. He 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), jew's harp and, later, the stylophone. His biggest hit, however, was a gimmick-free rendering of the sentimental song "Two Little Boys" (1969), a departure for him in that he usually recorded either his own compositions or traditional songs. Harris also created one of his most famous roles in the 1960's, Jake the Peg.
He also made several television appearances in which he would paint pictures on large boards in an apparently slapdash manner, with the odd nonsense song thrown in, but with detailed results. These led to a string of TV series based on his artistic ability, notably Rolf Harris's Cartoon Time in the 1980s and Rolf's Cartoon Club in the early 1990s. He also hosted a successful variety TV series in Canada, which was a second home to Harris during the 1960s.
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The Opening Ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games
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Matilda, the winking kangaroo was the mascot for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. When Matilda arrived at the stadium, she 'winked' to the crowd as she went around the stadium — then her 'pouch' opened and several young children (about 5 years old to 7 years old), dressed as joey kangaroos, rushed out (then ran to - and jumped on - a number of trampolines which had been set up especially for them).
Rolf Harris, who was standing, complete with wobble board, at the back of a small truck, then sang a special rendition of his hit song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", which included some lyrics especially written for the Opening Ceremony:
- Let me welcome you to the Games, friends,
- Welcome you to the Games
- Look, I don't know all of your names, friends,
- But let me welcome you to the Games.
Rolf Harris then sang "Waltzing Matilda".
As well as a video tape recording of the Opening Ceremony being released, the music for the Opening Ceremony was released as an album and an audio tape, with Rolf Harris as one of the featured artists.
Stairway to Heaven
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His career received a boost in 1993 when his cover version of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" became a hit, reaching number 7 on the Top 10 of the UK singles chart. The single, originally recorded for an appearance on the television show The Money or the Gun, recreated the song in the style of "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport", complete with wobble board and didgeridoo solos. Harris also recorded a version of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" around this time; unlike the tongue-in-cheek "Stairway to Heaven", "Bohemian Rhapsody" was performed relatively straight.
Later that year he made his first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in what was seen as a novelty act. Reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that he is constantly requested to play the festival. He played it again in 1998, 2000 and 2002.
He is probably best known to younger Britons as the host of the reality television programme Animal Hospital, which chronicled the real-life activity of a British veterinary practice. More recently, he presented Rolf on Art, which highlighted the work of some of his favourite artists, including van Gogh, Degas, Monet and Gauguin.
On September 26, 2004 Harris fronted a project to recreate John Constable's famous The Hay Wain painting on a massive scale, with 150 people contributing to a small section. Each individual canvas was assembled into the full picture live on the BBC, in the show Rolf on Art: The Big Event.
On December 19, 2005 he unveiled a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace as part of her 80th birthday celebrations. In his words, it is an impressionistic rather than photographic depiction. Some commentators found it to be offensive and unbecoming of Her Majesty, however the Queen herself expressed her approval at the painting after her final sitting, particularly with the way in which Harris had painted her smile. The story of the painting featured as a special edition of Rolf on Art, broadcast on BBC 1 on January 1, 2006.
Trivia
He appears on the 2005 Kate Bush album Aerial (album).
He has been credited with inventing a simple homemade instrument called the wobbleboard. This discovery was accidentally made in the course of his work when he attempted to dry a freshly painted hardboard with added heat, from hearing the sound made by the board as he held the board by the short edges to cool off. He suggests the effect can best be obtained through faint bouncing of a tempered hardboard or a thinner MDF board between the palms of one's hands.
He was named as one of the Radio Times list of the top 40 most eccentric TV presenters of all time in July 2004. He can make all sorts of strange noises, including budgie noises and, what he calls, 'eefing and eyfing' (a sort of panting, whistling noise). Rolf has also planted a tree in the Celebrity Tree Park in Kununurra, Western Australia.