Jimmy Savile

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1972 Queens New Years Honours List and was awarded Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1990 Queens New Years Honours List for his services to entertainment and charity.

Attended St. Annes Roman Catholic School in Leeds, England.

Injured, although apparently not seriously, in a gas fire accident in England.

Was a "Bevin Boy" at the end of World War 2: drafted to work in the coal mines (between 10% and 15% of conscripts were sent to the mines rather than into the military).

His Radio Luxembourg programme for Decca in the early 60s, was known as The Teen & Twenty Disc Club.

Was once voted tie-man of the year.

Is a member of MENSA.

Has run in many marathons and is thought to have helped raise over 40,000,000 for charitable causes.

Was a successful respected advertising icon in the 1970s. His most remembered advert was for the "wear seat belts" campaign called "clunk click every trip", which lead to widespread take-up of seat belt use. He has also advertised train journeys "let the train take the strain" and "this is the age of the train", Green Shield Stamps, Bisto Gravy (with his mother), Startrite Shoes and Dale Farm Yoghurts.

Before retirement often volunteered for patient portering duties at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Bucks.

Once pretended to be his own brother by wearing a short haired dark wig.

His second appearance on "This Is Your Life" is thought to have been a mistake by Thames TV, who had not only lost the recording of his first appearance but had completely forgotten that he had already appeared previously.

In 1962 Jimmy attempted to launch a recording career on Decca Records with the single "Ahab the Arab" written by Ray Stevens, this and its follow up "The Bossa Nova" sank quietly without trace.

In October 2009 traded in his ancient Volkswagen Camper van for a new model which he uses to travel the country.

In November 2009 he received an honorary degree in the arts from the University of Bedfordshire for his lifelong support of the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, UK. He particularly supported Stoke Mandeville because he had sustained a spinal injury (from which he eventually made a full recovery) as a result of a tunnel roof-fall while he was working as a coal miner in the 1940s. In October 2012, the university announced that the degree would be posthumously rescinded following a series of sexual abuse allegations made against him following his death.

He called his beloved mother by the nick-name of "The Duchess".

Once lived in a caravan in the back of the BBC car-park.

Created the "Double Deck" that could play two vinyl records back-to-back.

Gave the name to the show "Top of the Pops".

He held the first UK Disco.

(10 November 2011) Buried in the town of Scarborough, England. As he wished, his coffin was interred at a 45-degree angle to the vertical so it was "overlooking" the sea.

His closed coffin was laid In-State for a short time at the Queens Hotel, Leeds, England.

(9 November 2011) His funeral service was held at St Annes Roman Catholic Cathedral, Leeds, England, where he had been christened as a baby.

Left behind charity accounts totaling more than 5 million as well as a personal wealth worth at least 2.5 million. During his lifetime, he is believed to have raised 45 million for charity.

Sir Peter Parker , Chairman of British Rail, was so pleased with the success of the "This is the Age of the Train" advertising campaign which Jimmy Savile fronted that he gave him a gold pass allowing him unlimited use of the British railway system.

Never married.

In October 2012, almost a year after his death, an ITV documentary examining claims of sexual abuse against Savile led to broad media coverage and a substantial and rapidly growing body of witness statements and sexual abuse claims, including accusations against public bodies for covering up or failure of duty. Scotland Yard launched a criminal investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by Savile over six decades, describing him as a "predatory sex offender", and later stated that they were pursuing over 400 lines of inquiry based on the testimony of 300 potential victims via fourteen police forces across the UK. By late October 2012, the scandal had resulted in inquiries or reviews at the BBC, within the National Health Service, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Department of Health.

In January 2013, a joint report by the NSPCC and Metropolitan Police, "Giving Victims a Voice", stated that 450 people had made complaints against Savile, with the period of alleged abuse stretching from 1955 to 2009 and the ages of the complainants at the time of the assaults ranging from 8 to 47. The suspected victims included 28 children aged under 10, including 10 boys aged as young as 8. A further 63 were girls aged between 13 and 16 and nearly three-quarters of his victims were under 18. Some 214 criminal offenses were recorded, with 34 rapes having been reported across 28 police forces. Savile was never charged during his lifetime.

Due to his distinctive voice, mannerisms, catchphrases and dress sense, he was one of the most frequently impersonated celebrities in Britain for decades. Notable examples are by "The Two Ronnies" , Mike Yarwood , Alistair McGowan and "Tweenies" .

In the 1990s, satirist Christopher Morris broadcast a spoof obituary of Savile on BBC Radio 1 which claimed he had dropped dead during the Stoke Mandeville Hospital Boxing Day party, but the patients were not mourning and wished he had suffered rather more.

Irvine Welsh has acknowledged that he based his character Freddy Royle, from his 1996 story "Lorraine Goes to Livingston", on Savile. Royle, a childrens TV presenter described as the nations "favourite caring, laconic uncle", turns out to be a child molester and necrophiliac, raising millions for the hospital where he commits his crimes.

"Spitting Image" made a puppet of him which showed him, in a series of sketches, being chased around by doctors with butterfly nets.

To questions about his apparent lack of a sex life, Savile claimed that he had committed himself to entertainment from an early age and he had ruled out personal ties to concentrate on his career. He said that sex was "rather like going to the bathroom".

Following the revelation of his crimes, there were many calls for him to be stripped of his Knighthood and OBE (Order of The British Empire) but this is impossible due to the honors dying with the person.

Despite his family friendly persona, he was known, long before his crimes came to light, to those who worked with him as cold, vindictive and unfriendly.

The nature and scale of Saviles crimes have led everyone associated with him to go to great lengths to distance themselves. The BBC has either edited footage from Saviles programmes or banned them outright, all of the hospitals who had wings bearing Saviles name had it removed, and Saviles ornate headstone in Leeds was taken down, broken into pieces, and taken to a landfill.

Was the recipient of many honorary degrees and titles, almost all of which were rescinded upon his crimes being revealed.

Question One: Am I doing my thing at the cost of somebody else? Answer:,No. Question Two: Am I doing my thing and getting plenty? Answer: Yes.

I had to look after the welfare of hundreds of youngsters. I was,protecting my young patrons from drugs and other immoral influences.

The people who work for me call me the Godfather. And nobody messes with,the Godfather. He is the boss. The big man.

And so, if nothing else, it was a ginormous relief when I got the,knighthood, because it got me off the hook.

[on "Meet Ricky Gervais" (2000) ] Here is the man with the,shortest series in the world.

I think all children should be eaten at birth.