Kenny Everett

**Kenny Everett** (25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was a British comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born **Maurice James Christopher Cole**, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for The Kenny Everett Video Show.

## Personal life

Everett married singer Lee 'Lady Lee' Middleton (Billy Fury's former girlfriend) in 1966. By 1979 they had separated. In the mid-1980s, he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality.

Everett was told in 1989 that he had HIV.  He went public with his illness in 1993. He died from an AIDS-related illness in London on 4 April 1995, aged 50.

## Shows presented

The following is a list of the main shows Everett presented.

### Radio

- _Kenny & Cash Show_ Radio London – 1964–1965
- _Kenny Everett Show_ Radio Luxembourg – 1966
- _Midday Spin_ BBC Radio 1 – 1967
- _Everett is Here_ BBC Radio 1 Saturdays 10am–12midday – 1968–1970
- _Kenny Everett Show_ BBC Local Radio – 1971
- _Kenny Everett Show_ BBC Radio 1 Sundays 1–3pm – 1972
- _Breakfast Show_ Capital Radio – 1973–1974
- _Kenny Everett Show_ Capital Radio – 1974–1980
- _Kenny Everett Show_ Radio Victory – 1975–1976
- _Captain Kremmen_ Radio Victory – 1976
- _Kenny Everett Show_ BBC Radio 2 Saturdays 11am–1pm – 1981–1983
- _Kenny Everett Show_ Capital Radio Saturdays 11am–1pm – 1984–1988
- Weekday afternoons Capital Gold 1–4pm – 1988–1991
- Weekday mid-mornings Capital Gold 9am–12midday – 1991–1994

### Television

- _Nice Time_ Granada Television – 1968
- _The Kenny Everett Explosion_ LWT – 1970
- _The Kenny Everett Video Show_ Thames Television – 1978–1980
- _The Kenny Everett Video Cassette_ Thames Television – 1981
- _The Kenny Everett Television Show_ BBC One – 1981–1988
- _Brainstorm_ BBC – 1988
- _Gibberish_ BBC – 1992

## Tributes & portrayals

On 18 November 2007, ITV1 broadcast a tribute show to Everett called _Licence To Laugh._ Friends and colleagues said what it was like to know and work with the man they affectionately called "Cuddly Ken". Additionally, current celebrities such as Chris Moyles and Chris Tarrant talked about their love for the outrageous entertainer.  They shared the ways in which Everett had influenced them and their work. It also had archive footage.

In March 2010 the BBC said it was making a 90-minute TV biopic called _Number One in Heaven_.  It was to be written by Tim Whitnall and focus on Everett's unhappiness at secondary school.

In April 2012 the BBC said it was working on a 90-minute TV biopic called _The Best Possible Taste_.  This would focus on the performer's relationship with his ex-wife, singer Lee Middleton.

## Infobox (comedian)

- **name**: Kenny Everett
- **caption**: Everett in the 1990s
- **birth name**: Maurice James Christopher Cole
- **birth place**: Seaforth, Merseyside, Seaforth, Lancashire, England
- **death place**: London, England
- **medium**: Radio, television
- **nationality**: British
- **active**: 1962–95
- **genre**: Character comedy,
surreal comedy, Sketch comedy, sketch
- **influences**: Spike Milligan, Joe Meek, Delia Derbyshire, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Peter Cook, Vivian Stanshall, Frank Zappa
- **influenced**: Chris Moyles, Chris Tarrant
- **spouse**: (divorced)
- **notable work**: #Shows presented, See below
- **website**: http://www.kennyeverett.co.uk/