He was one of the most eccentric names and faces in British entertainment. He was the first ever presenter of Top of the Pops in 1964 and remained at the healm for 20 years. He returned for an episode in 2001 and was on-hand to co-present the final ever episode on July 30th 2006. Savile was also well known for his charitable support. He competed for good causes in over 300 professional bike races and 212 marathons including the London Marathon at the age of 79. He raised millions of pounds for charity and for his efforts, he was awarded the OBE in 1971 and in 1990 he was knighted for his services in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. That same year he was honoured with a papal knighthood from the Vatican making him a Knight Commander of Saint Gregory the Great (KCSG). For me however, he will always be remembered as the man who 'fixed it' for children of my generation by making their dreams come true. 'Jim'll Fix It' ran for 286 episodes from 1975-1994. Here is that famous opening theme and then a memorable Xmas special clip from 1976 with that other fabulous eccentric, Rod Hull and his side-kick Emu.
He was an eccentric character with a dress sense, a vocabulary and a taste in jewellery and cigars that marked him out from the crowd. He was a one-off. At 84, he certainly lived life to the full.
RIP Jimmy
Postscript
In light of the revulsion that I have felt from the news of recent weeks, I have marked through the entirety of the blog post above.
I will not delete it as it needs to remain to remind myself of what I and the majority of the country believed of a man who it turns out, was nothing of the sort. It will stand in time as an example of how we can sometimes be so totally wrong that it beggers belief and almost defies comprehension.
I have never before and hope will never have to again, redact a previous blog post of mine in this way. I will now update my blog with news of this necessary change.
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