... LESTER JACKIE LESTER a favourite principal comedian with audiences in the South during the fifties and an enormously successful club/cabaret artist as far as Northern audiences were concerned during the sixties, died in Leeds General Infirmary on January 12. 1972. aged 48. With his fine-cut features Jackie's forte was female impersonation of every description, from char ladies to duchesses, ...

... WILKIE WALTER WILKIE. wall known British circua director and manager, died, re cently. at the age of 60. following a long illnaaa. at Johannesburg. South Africa ...

... AL DOBRITSCH, the circus and variety gymnast and trainer, well- known for hi* past performances in Great Britain, died, recently, at the age of (0. in Los Angeles. California. He had lately acted as a booker on the Ed Sullivan T V. Show GEORGE OLSEN GEORGE OLSEN. one of the top Orchestra Lsaders of the 1930s, died, at the age of 78. at Paranus. New Jersey. U.S.A.. recently. He wes married to ...

... WILLIAMS RITA WILLIAMS, the popular singer of the 1950 s, died in a London hos pital. at the age of 51, on November 13. Starting as a teenage solo singer, in the 1930 s, she sang with IVY BEN SON'S and CARROLL GIBBON'S Bands Then she formed her own group the RITA WILLIAMS SINGERS and they were featured for a long time, under their new title of the BANDITS, with BILLY COTTON and his Wakey. ...

... MICHAEL (BOBBY) ISRAEL died very suddenly at home on February 10. He was a success ful insurance broker, but well known in the theatre as hus band of Ren6e Stepham. He was also a familiar figure in the world of ballroom dancing, having been in his youth an amateur ballroom dancing champion. OBITUARY ...

... HASTINGS HAROLD HASTINGS, one of the best known and most popular of Broadway's musical directors, died, on May 30, at the age of 56, from a sudden heart attack, at his home, in Larchmont, New York. He was M.D. for the current hit A Little Light Music at the Shubert Theatre. ...

... CECIL , whose orchestra was the summer entertainment at Broad- stairs Pavilion for the last 21 years, hasd >od in Ramsgate Hospital Cecil who was 62, leaves a widow and son, and will be mourned by hundreds of thousands of fans who attended his concerts each summer. Out of season Cecil taught music locally, and was much in demand from focal '.chools He went into hospital recently suffering from ...

... THE DEATH has occurred of William J Hartley who until his retirement in 1966 was entertainments and Town Hall manager of the Borough of Chelsea He was a founder mem ber of the Civic Entertainment Offi ,cers Association, had held office as treasurer, and after his retirement was elected an Honorary Fellow, and continued to take an active in terest in his Association and in civic entertainment ...

... MARJORIE BARKENTIN who dramatised James Joyce's Ulysses. as Ulysses in Night- town, in which Zero Mostal ap peared at the London Arts :n 1959. I has died in New York, aged 63. ...

... REDFORD Wall known in local club* a muaiclan. WILFRED REDFORD. 57. diad at hia home. Douglas Avanua. Hey sham. Planial and organist, he was for fiva years pianiet at the ELMS HOTEL. Bare. Morecambe. and was organist at the MELBOURNE CLUp. Lancaster ...

... NELLIE BEATRICE PLAT! Mrs Nellie Beatrice Piatt, a noted Blackpool musical enter tainer of about 60 years profes sional standing, died last week at the home of her son, Victor Piatt in Layton. She had a big reputation as 3 solo violinist and led some of the best of the local theatre and pier orchestras. She was 82 vears of age. ...

... SIDNEY HARRIS, former straight and jazz violinist, who presented a single act in American Vaudeville besides appearing with famous stage bands, has died at the age of 67 after a heart attack. He appeared st the London Hippo drome in the 1920's with the Vincent Lopez Orchestra ...