Connect with us

Published

on

Paul O’Grady has been remembered as “one of the greatest drag artists the UK has ever seen” at the LGBTQ+ cabaret club that helped him rise to fame as Lily Savage.

Instead of the typical minute’s silence, there was a minute of raucous applause from the audience at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT) in south London on Wednesday evening – a moment to cheer in memory of the “trailblazer and legend”.

O’Grady died unexpectedly but peacefully” at the age of 67 on Tuesday evening.

Paul O'Grady alias Lily Savage at her 'Council flat' in south London.

His close friend Linda Thorson, an actress known for starring in The Avengers and Emmerdale, said in an interview with Good Morning Britain that he died in bed with his husband, Andre Portasio, beside him.

Stars and royalty including Sir Elton John and the Queen Consort led the thousands of tributes following his death.

The TV presenter and comedian rose to fame on the nightclub circuit in the 1980s as the acerbic, platinum wig-wearing Lily Savage – a name believed to have been inspired by his late mother.

After touring the north of England, he settled into a solo residency at the RVT before the character went on to become a household name.

‘Silence is polite – but this is a moment to applaud’

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Producer reveals how O’Grady was day before death

On Wednesday evening, RVT host Michael Twaits described O’Grady as “an absolute legend of the community” to a full-house audience paying tribute.

“Today we lost one of the greatest drag artists the UK has ever seen, and it is this building, this building was where it happened,” he said.

“Eight years of doing solo shows… and also doing shows like tonight, introducing new talent to the LGBT+ scene. Paul O’Grady was an absolute legend of the community.”

Read more on Paul O’Grady:
Lily Savage to Battersea: A life in pictures
A rubber gloves raid and a plane crash

Twaits said O’Grady had always stayed true to his roots, despite his rise to TV fame.

“It was around raising up the community, and when you move from a stage like this into the mainstream, when you move into breakfast f****** television… and still stay true to yourself, stay true to your queer self, and stay true to your working class roots.”

Telling the audience that “a trailblazer and a legend has left us”, he then led the crowd in a round of applause.

“Obviously a moment of silence is polite… but I don’t think a moment of silence is right. I think this is a moment to applaud, a moment to love, a moment to cheer,” he said.

Deputy PM invited to cabaret club

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Paul O’Grady – and Lily Savage – remembered by MPs

MPs also highlighted O’Grady’s time at the RVT in the House of Commons earlier on Wednesday.

Addressing Dominic Raab, Sir Chris Bryant said: “I don’t know whether the deputy prime minister ever met Lily Savage or has ever spent a night out at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, but… I can take him some time if he wants to go?”

As laughter broke out, the Labour MP added: “Her alter ego, Paul O’Grady, campaigned acerbically and hilariously for elderly people, for care workers, against oppression of every kind.

“Isn’t it time we in this country celebrated our naughty, hilarious drag queens and comics of every kind who inspire us to be a better and more generous nation?”

Mr Raab, who was filling in for Rishi Sunak during Prime Minister’s Questions, accidently referred to O’Grady as “Paul Grayson”, before correcting himself and describing the star as an “incredible comic”.

‘A true animal lover in every bone in his body’

Flowers are left at Battersea Cats & Dogs Home in south London, where TV presenter and comedian Paul O'Grady worked as the charity's ambassador
Image:
Flowers have been left at Battersea Cats & Dogs Home in south London

Among the many paying tribute to O’Grady was the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, the charity for which the star had been an ambassador since 2012.

He filmed 11 series of his beloved show For The Love Of Dogs at the centre, and during the first series he rehomed Eddie, a Chihuahua Jack Russell-cross puppy.

Eddie was followed by shih-tzu Boycie in 2014, Conchita, a Maltese, in 2015, Arfur, a mongrel puppy, in 2017, Nancy, another mongrel puppy, in 2020, and Sausage, a wire-haired dachshund, in 2021.

The Queen Consort and Paul O'Grady, pictured together at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

Battersea chief executive Peter Laurie said O’Grady would have taken all of the charity’s dogs home “if he had his way”.

Mr Laurie said: “It’s hard to overstate Paul’s impact at Battersea over the last decade. He really helped put Battersea on the map.”

O’Grady’s “real legacy” is how he showed both the British public and an international audience how “lovable and incredible” rescue dogs are, Mr Laurie added.

“He could walk into a kennel with a dog he had never met before, sit on the floor and play with that dog and bond with that dog within minutes.

“He would fall in love with that dog and the dog would fall in love with him too and you can’t pretend, that was so authentic, that really was Paul – a true animal lover in every bone in his body.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Angelina Jolie on her legacy, family and new film Maria

Published

on

By

Angelina Jolie on her legacy, family and new film Maria

Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.

The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.

Pic: StudioCanal
Image:
Pic: StudioCanal

She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.

Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.

“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”

The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.

Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.

More on Angelina Jolie

Who was Maria Callas?

Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.

After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.

Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.

Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.

She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.

Pic: StudioCanal
Image:
Pic: StudioCanal

Jolie on changing motivations as an actor

Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.

Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.

“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.

“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.

“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.

Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
Image:
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP

A family affair

Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.

She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.

“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.

“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”

She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”

Maria is in cinemas now.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

Published

on

By

Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man in the duo Sam & Dave, dies

Sam Moore, who sang Soul Man and other 1960s hits in the legendary Sam & Dave duo, has died aged 89.

Moore, who influenced musicians including Michael Jackson, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen, died on Friday in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery, his publicist Jeremy Westby said.

No additional details were immediately available.

Moore was inducted with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Tom Holland and Zendaya’s engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor’s dad

Published

on

By

Tom Holland and Zendaya's engagement confirmed by Spider-Man actor's dad

Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.

Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.

Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.

He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.

“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”

“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.

Zendaya arrives at the 82nd Golden Globes.
Pic: Invision/AP
Image:
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP

Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.

Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.

In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.

He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”

“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”

More entertainment news:
Paris Hilton’s home destroyed in fires
RuPaul pays tribute to The Vivienne

Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.

Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.

Continue Reading

Trending