Actors/Actresses who ended up destitute

[stevie boy]

James Robertson Justice

Susan Shaw

Ronald Lewis

Peter Wyngarde



any more??

[batman]

Tom Conway

Peter Lawford

Barbara Payton



Ronald Lewis was scuppered by trying to begin a Welsh National Theatre virtually on his own and losing all his money. He committed suicide.



Susan Shaw was devastated by her husband's death and began a slow drink assisted decline. IIRC she was supported by her family for several years.



Hoggers is yer man for JRJ details.



I wouldn't include Peter Wyngarde, first thing he isn't dead ... and he makes a good living as an after dinner speaker and at 'cult' memorabilia shows.



Conway, Lawford and Payton were scuppered by booze. All ended up in scuzzy low rent apartments with Payton also becoming a hooker.



Conway was the subject of a newspaper article in the last year of his life which resulted in people sending money to him as he was fondly remembered by fans. He spent the money on booze and died in the arms of his girlfriend.



Bats.

[Mark O]

Didn't Sammy Davis junior hit hard times?........and his old Ratpack 'mates' wouldn't help him out?

[adeUK]

I vividly remember a local (London) news story from the late 80s, and how incredibly sad it made me feel.



After years of illness, outside the limelight, Terry-Thomas was seen in some sort of care home, wearing a woolly hat, looking very unkempt, unshaven. He was in the later stages of Parkinson's, and was filmed, but not interviewed, possibly given his poor state of health. I think Richard Briers was involved, as a cousin of T-T's. The gist was that he had no money, couldn't look after himself and had to rely on the charity of others, and here was one of the most internationally successful Brits of 1960s cinema.



I wondered what could have happened in the years between his last film appearances and seeing him in such a shabby state. Bad financial decisions? Loss of family? I gather he became ill in the 1970s while still active.



You couldn't wish it on anybody . . .

[vetchbook]

It was indeed sad to hear of what happened to this great comedy sage.

I know that by the time of appearing in 1970s films such as Spanish Fly etc, his illness was becoming apparent.



Carry On actor Jack Douglas [I think it was him, excuse me if it wasn't] came across T-T and helped organise a benefit concert in London for him.

People like Phil Collins got invovled and T-T was able to pay for respectable personal care during his final days.

[howard 65]

Anthony Steel and Eva Bartok both had sad ends in London

[Windthrop]

Acting and showbusiness in general is precarious for anyone that enters it. It goes with the territory.



JRJ was helped by his friends - Keith Bromley etc. which says alot about JRJ that he was so well liked. He may have been penniless but his friends and his partner stood by him.



T-T spent alot of his dosh on 'miracle' cures when he had Parkinsons - sad but understandable.



Anthony Steel - the talent wasn't that great and as he got older the work dried up - very sad.



Such are the vagaries of an actors life. Given that alot of pension schemes have been wound-up alot of non-theatricals are in the same boat.

[clw666]

Fallen Stars by Julian Upton is a very good book on this subject. Available on Amazon or Ebay.



I found it when researching Ian Hendry who drank heavily and was working when really ill almost until the end, collapsing and dying at age 53, 'almost penniless'

[orpheum]

Wilfred Lawson done in by drink.Was a leading man in the 30s and 40s a bit part player by the 50s.Often stole the show.

[Dave Rattigan]

Not English, of course, but Bela Lugosi was another one who went severely downhill.

[Windthrop]

name='clw666']Fallen Stars by Julian Upton is a very good book on this subject. Available on Amazon or Ebay.



I found it when researching Ian Hendry who drank heavily and was working when really ill almost until the end, collapsing and dying at age 53, 'almost penniless'

I remember Hendry being interviewed in the TV Times saying that if his landlord put the rent up he would have to find cheaper property to rent. One of the last things I saw him in was an episode of Bergerac - he was superb in it.



Financial problems, as I mentioned in an earlier post, can happen to the best of them. Bernard Miles (Life peer by then) was in dire straights by the end. Even John Mills was nearly spent by the end - but he had passed average male life expectancy by nealy 20 years.

[Windthrop]

name='batman']Tom Conway

Peter Lawford

Barbara Payton

Conway, Lawford and Payton were scuppered by booze. All ended up in scuzzy low rent apartments with Payton also becoming a hooker.



Bats.

Also as I understand it alot of old Pete's money went up his nose.

[alan gowdy]

name='Windthrop']

Such are the vagaries of an actors life. Given that alot of pension schemes have been wound-up alot of non-theatricals are in the same boat.

Pensions? Buying a pension is like buying a bucket with a hole in it. At current rates of return, you would have to invest £200 a month for almost 200 years to reap a monthly income in retirement equal to the national average wage.



I'm thinking of writing a book on pension planning. It would be 200 pages long, all of them blank except the last. On it would be the words DON'T RETIRE.

[Windthrop]

name='alan gowdy']Pensions? Buying a pension is like buying a bucket with a hole in it. At current rates of return, you would have to invest £200 a month for almost 200 years to reap a monthly income in retirement equal to the national average wage.



I'm thinking of writing a book on pension planning. It would be 200 pages long, all of them blank except the last. On it would be the words DON'T RETIRE.

Take your point - what I should have said was final salary schemes were being wound up. The other sort are a joke.

[batman]

name='Dave Rattigan']Not English, of course, but Bela Lugosi was another one who went severely downhill.

Lugosi was a victim of several things. Typecasting, the decline in horror films, Hollywood's exploitation of his financial crisis in the late 30s, his own arrogance and drugs. He toured a dismal horror show around the US for years, even bringing "Dracula" to the UK in the early 50s (my mother in law saw him at Norwich Theatre Royal), before years of addiction to prescription drugs finally took their toll. After a high profile newspaper 'confession' he settled down and married a longtime fan before his last hurrah with Ed Wood.



Bats.

[ShirlGirl]

name='batman']Lugosi was a victim of several things. Typecasting, the decline in horror films, Hollywood's exploitation of his financial crisis in the late 30s, his own arrogance and drugs. He toured a dismal horror show around the US for years, even bring "Dracula" to the UK in the early 50s (my mother in law saw him at Norwich Theatre Royal), before years of addiction to prescription drugs finally took their toll. After a high profile newspaper 'confession' he settled down and married a longtime fan before his last hurrah with Ed Wood.



Bats.

"Married a longtime fan"! Hey, I missed out on Stewart Granger, maybe there's still some hope for me with Richard Todd....?

[Windthrop]

name='ShirlGirl']"Married a longtime fan"! Hey, I missed out on Stewart Granger, maybe there's still some hope for me with Richard Todd....?

He is still sharing his house with his ex-wife.

[john audley]

Debatable of course but in my view Terry Thomas was the very greatest of comedy actors with perfect timing. A terrible end to such a wonderful man who, no doubt, was grossly underpaid like so many great actors of the past unlike the obscene amounts demanded by some of todays 'stars' who come nowhere near the past brilliance.

[Windthrop]

name='john audley']Debatable of course but in my view Terry Thomas was the very greatest of comedy actors with perfect timing. A terrible end to such a wonderful man who, no doubt, was grossly underpaid like so many great actors of the past unlike the obscene amounts demanded by some of todays 'stars' who come nowhere near the past brilliance.

He was very highly paid by the standards of the day - Richard Briers (his cousin) said at one point in the 50s TT had £3 million in the Bank. I don't know how you would inflation adjust that to current money but it would be at least £100 million by todays standards I would think. TT was undone by continuing to spend lavishly when his health was failing and the work was drying up and the presence of alot of hangers on. He was helped at the end by friends and fans who helped him out by raising money at a charity bash.

[oxfam1uk]

Gosh, what a depressing subject for discussion !



I too had heard that Bernard Miles was bankrupt towards the end of his life. He had apparently spent a lot of his money keeping the Mermaid Theatre in East London going.



A benefit concert was organised for him there, a few years before his death.



My conclusion from all the above comments ? Don't go into showbiz, and if you do make sure you stay married for the whole of your life - it's the best form of Social Security !