Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English radio DJ and television entertainer. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the first DJs to join BBC Radio's newly created BBC Radio 1 in 1967. It was here he developed his trademark voices and comical characters which he later adapted for television.
Everett was dismissed from the BBC in 1970 after making a flippant comment on air after a news item concerning a government minister's wife. He was later re-instated at the BBC, working both on local and national radio, but, in the autumn of 1973, when commercial radio became licensed in the UK, he joined Capital Radio. Starting in the late 1970s, he transitioned to television where he made numerous comedy series on ITV and BBC, often appearing with Cleo Rocos, whose glamorous and curvaceous figure was often used to comic effect. Rocos would be his assistant in the 1987 BBC gameshow Brainstorm. He was a highly versatile performer, able to write his own scripts, compose jingles and operate advanced recording and mixing equipment. His personality also made him a regular guest on chat shows and game shows such as Blankety Blank.
Everett openly supported the UK's Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher and made publicity appearances at conferences and rallies. However, as a closeted gay man, he would face criticism for the hypocrisy of supporting a Conservative government that enacted Section 28, a clause of the Local Government Act which made it illegal for councils to promote gay rights and issues. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1989 and died in 1995.
Early life
Maurice James Christopher Cole was born on Christmas Day 1944 at 14 Hereford Road, Seaforth, north of Liverpool city centre. From a Roman Catholic family, he attended St Bede's, the local secondary modern school, in Crosby (now part of Sacred Heart Catholic College). Cole later attended a junior seminary at Stillington, North Yorkshire, near York, with an Italian missionary order, the Verona Fathers, where he was a choirboy. After he left school, he worked in a bakery and in the advertising department of The Journal of Commerce and Shipping Telegraph.
Radio
Radio London, Radio Luxembourg and BBC Radio 1
Everett's first break (as Maurice Cole) came when he sent a tape to the BBC in 1962. He was interviewed at the BBC and offered a job as a presenter on the BBC Light Programme, the forerunner to BBC Radio 2. He declined, however, in favour of the less-constrained world of pirate radio, where he began his career, in December 1964, as a DJ for Radio London. It was while working here that he was advised to change his name to avoid legal problems. He adopted the name "Everett" from a childhood hero, the American film comic actor Edward Everett Horton.
Everett teamed with Dave Cash for the Kenny & Cash Show, one of the most popular pirate radio programmes. His offbeat style and likeable personality quickly gained him attention, but in November 1965 he was dismissed after some outspoken remarks about religion on air. Like most of the pirate stations, Radio London carried sponsored American evangelical shows and Everett's disparaging remarks about The World Tomorrow caused its producers to threaten to withdraw their lucrative contract with the station. After a spell at Radio Luxembourg, and another dismissal, Everett returned to Radio London in June 1966.
Johnny Beerling, a BBC producer, secretly visited Radio London in February 1967, and observed Everett at work: "I saw this man Everett doing everything. In the old way of doing things, the DJ sat in one room with a script. Someone else played the records and somebody else controlled the sound. Yet I see this man who has control of everything." An audition tape submitted to the BBC was assessed in March 1967 by a panel: "Member one: 'A pseudo-American voice. Sounds experienced and seems to fancy his luck. Yes.' Member two: 'By far the most original of the young DJs. I found the stilted bits in bad taste but with suitable restraint and encouragement, Kenny Everett could be one of the BBC's best DJs. Yes.' Member three: 'Without the hard sell and the occasional phoney American accent, a good pop DJ. Must be made to curb the funnies and the voices. Yes.' Member four: 'I found the continuous changes of voices irritating and his personality supercilious but he certainly has some talent. Should be available but would need very firm production. Yes.'"