Jimmy Clitheroe (24th
December 1921 to 6th June 1973)
The
4 foot 3 inches tall entertainer made a living in theatre, radio and films. He
was the star of The Clitheroe Kid which is still played on Radio 4 Extra
nowadays. Even as an adult he could pass for a schoolboy. Perhaps this was why
he never married and lived with his mum in Blackpool. When his mother died in 1973 he was
inconsolable and his doctor prescribed sleeping pills. He died on the day of
her funeral from an accidental overdose of sleeping
pills (combined with seven glasses of brandy.) The 51-year-old who never
weighed more than five stones was found unconscious in bed by relatives. He
died later that day.
In the memorial
gardens at Blackpool's Careleton Crematorium there used to be a tree planted in
his memory though it's not there now. I'm a geek and here I am stood at its
original position. The memorial garden is behind the crematorium where Jimmy
was turned to dust. I guess Jimmy's ashes were sprinkled at the foot of the
tree.
At Careleton Crematorium in Blackpool
The
tree once stood in the Gardens of Remembrance...
