Don Estelle was a British actor and singer, best known as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
Early life
Born Ronald Edwards in Crumpsall, Manchester, Lancashire, he was brought up in a house on Russell Street, Crumpsall. During the Second World War, at the age of eight, he was evacuated to Darwen, Lancashire, 20 miles from his home, to escape the German bombing of the city. It was there he found his voice as a treble at the local Holy Trinity Parish Church, and on returning home after the war, he continued singing at St Mary's Church, Crumpsall. He later joined a charity group, the Manchester Kentucky Minstrels, and performed with them "Granada" in the 1954 talent showWhat Makes a Star? at BBC Radio's northern studios in Manchester.
Career
Estelle gained experience by singing one song 12 times a week in the showThe Backyard Kids at the Hulme Hippodrome in Manchester. He later toured the northern club circuit, where he met the comedy actor Windsor Davies with whom he teamed and toured for four years. Estelle had cameo roles in Dad's Army. He eventually landed the role of Gunner "Lofty" Sugden in the sitcom, It Ain't Half Hot Mum which was first broadcast in 1974 and ran until 1981. Davies' Sergeant Major character often made fun of Lofty in the storylines. The character was given the ironic nickname of Lofty because of Estelle's stature. Estelle had a powerful tenor voice, and had a Number 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1975 with a semi-comic version of "Whispering Grass", followed by a cover of "Paper Doll" which reached number 41, and a top ten LP, Sing Lofty, all three recorded with It Ain't Half Hot Mum co-star Windsor Davies. Estelle also acted in the films Not Now, Comrade and A Private Function, in addition to alongside Melvyn Hayes, who also appeared in It Ain't Half Hot Mum. In the first series of The League of Gentlemen, he made brief appearances in two episodes as Little Don, the keeper of the Roundabout Zoo, a zoo on a traffic island. In 2001, he appeared in an episode of Linda Smith's A Brief History of Timewasting as Little Don of the East End Art Mafia. In his autobiography, Sing Lofty: Thoughts Of A Gemini, Estelle was extremely bitter about modern-day entertainment, attacking those who refused to re-run It Ain't Half Hot Mum as "tight-crutched, white-trousered morons". According to his obituary in The Independent, "in recent years Estelle cut a slightly sorry figure, dressed in his "Lofty" outfit, setting out a stall of his tapes and singing to passers-by in shopping centres. He played a dirty old man in the promotional video for The SunPage Three Girl Jo Hicks's single "Yakety Sax" ".
Final years
Estelle's last years were in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he spent countless hours working with jazz/blues pianist, Malcolm Bishop. Says Malcolm, "Lofty was clearly looking for someone to pass the figurative baton on to. He was extremely generous with time, his resources, and a shortbread that he loved made for him by a local friend. On the evening before Don returned to the UK I sat with him in his living room until after 4 AM as he so passionately encouraged and advised me in my own career. Even though we had discussed business for after his return to New Zealand, part way through the evening I realised this would be the last time I would see my friend." Beyond reuniting with family and friends, the reasons for Estelle's UK visit were twofold. The BBC was filming a documentary on the history of British comedy and had requested interviews. He also needed a liver transplant, but he became too weak for doctors to operate. Estelle returned to the UK weeks before his death. He died in Rochdale Infirmary on 2 August 2003, and was buried in Rochdale with the oversized pith helmet he wore as Gunner "Lofty" Sugden. He was survived by his second wife Elizabeth.
