Rolf Harris

Rolf Harris was born on 30 March 1930 in Bassendean, Western Australia, Australia. He was the son of John Albert Eric Humphries, a construction manager, and Alice May Williams. He attended Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia. He moved to England in 1952 and became a successful entertainer in various fields. He released several hit songs, such as Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport Sun Arise Jake the Peg and Two Little Boys. He also played various musical instruments, such as the didgeridoo, the Stylophone and the wobble board. He hosted several television shows, such as Rolf's Cartoon Club and Animal Hospital. He was also a painter and a portraitist, who painted an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 2005. He appeared in several films, such as The Dam Busters (1955), The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963) and Mary and Max (2009). He married Alwen Hughes in 1958 and they had one daughter, Bindi Nicholls. He was honoured with several awards and honours, such as Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1989, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006 and a BAFTA fellowship in 2012. However, his reputation was tarnished when he was arrested in 2013 as part of Operation Yewtree, a police investigation into historical allegations of sexual offences. He was found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault on four female victims, who were aged between eight and 19 at the time of the offences. He was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison in 2014. He was released on licence in 2017 after serving nearly three years. He died on 10 May 2023 at his home in Bray, Berkshire, England from natural causes¹².