Leslie Crowther
Encyclopedia
Leslie Crowther, CBE
(6 February 1933 –
29 September 1996) was an English
comedian
, actor
and gameshow host.
in Nottinghamshire
. At the end of 1944 he moved to London
with his parents, but was evacuated for a few months to Bute
until just after the war ended.
His father, Leslie Frederick Crowther, was also an actor. Leslie snr was an alcoholic, and died in early January 1955, at the age of 67, ten days after being hit by a car. Leslie jnr had a half-brother, Frank Ronald, from his father's first marriage.
Crowther had stage experience from the mid-1940s. As a youngster, he showed promise as a pianist and in 1944 won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He attended the respected Cone-Ripman Drama School in London, where he met his future wife, and at 16, he appeared as a member of the Ovaltineys Concert Party of the Air on Radio Luxembourg. He also attended Nottingham High School
and then Thames Valley Grammar School
.
Crowther married Jean Stone on 27 March 1954. They had five children, including twins born on 9 December 1954. One of his daughters, Liz
, is an actress. His daughter Caroline was married to the late rock musician Phil Lynott
, and his youngest child Nick works in radio, presenting traffic and travel bulletins for AA Roadwatch
based in Stanmore
. Crowther was a supporter of West Bromwich Albion F.C.
, and was particularly friendly with officials and players of the club during the Ron Atkinson
era (late 1970s to early '80s). During the late 50's and early 60's Crowther worked on the Stage and radio some of his radio worked include Ovaltine radio programmes, Variety playhouse and Crowther's Crowd
and The Black and White Minstrel Show
, and later the long-running children's institution Crackerjack (with Peter Glaze
) for the BBC
, from 1960 to 1968. In September 1967, Leslie Crowther was the presenter chosen to host the first series of the re-vamped Children's Favourites show, Junior Choice, on the newly opened Radio One
station.
From 1964-67 Crowther presented Meet The Kids, an annual trip to a children's hospital ward that was screened by the BBC on Christmas Morning. He would walk around the ward meeting the patients, and the show would feature a surprise celebrity, and a present hidden under each bed. Typical locations were Great Ormond Street or Hackney Hospitals. In 1969 Crowther defected to ITV and A Merry Morning was screened annually, following the same format, usually from the Seacroft Hospital in Leeds.
From the 1970s, Crowther also achieved fame as the face of Stork SB Margarine for which he appeared in a number of television commercials. In 1971 he made The Leslie Crowther Show, a comedy sketch show, with three older comics, Arthur English
, Chic Murray and Albert Modley
("Eee it's grand to be daft!") as the internal "rep" company. In 1972 and 1973 he appeared in a television sitcom called My Good Woman with Richard Wilson, Sylvia Syms
and Keith Barron
. He also narrated two storytelling LPs for children, Tallulah Supercat
and "Tallulah and the Cat-Burglars".
panel/game show Whose Baby? which he presented in the mid-1980s. He is also remembered as host of the first British version of the popular game show The Price Is Right
, from 1984 to 1988, during which time his Come on down! catchphrase entered British television folklore. In 1994, Crowther said that when The Price is Right was axed in May 1988, the producers never bothered to contact him directly. Instead, he learned the news from the press who called at his house and asked him how he felt.
In February 1990 Crowther was chosen to be host of the TV show Stars in Their Eyes
. The first episode was transmitted on 21 July 1990. Crowther hosted the first three series, and a Christmas Special in 1991. He was booked to record an Elvis Presley
special, and a fourth series.
On 14 November 1983 Crowther was arrested for drink-driving. Two weeks later he was fined, and banned from driving for nine months. This did not deter Crowther and in October 1988 he turned up at a gala in Glastonbury
, drunk. This made him realise that he had a serious problem and needed help. Unlike five years earlier, his alcohol addiction received much publicity. From January 1989 to 17 March 1989 Crowther was a resident in Clouds House
, a drug and alcohol treatment centre near Shaftesbury
. He never drank alcohol again.
from January 1991 to December 1992. He was a huge cricket
fan and had an apartment near London's Lord's Cricket Ground
for many years.
Leslie Crowther's showbusiness career ended on the afternoon of 3 October 1992 on the M5
near Cheltenham
, when he sustained serious head injuries in a car crash which nearly killed him. The precise cause of the accident remains unknown. It was speculated that he fell asleep at the wheel and, as a result, his Rolls Royce
car skidded into the central reservation
barrier and overturned several times. In the months before the accident, Crowther was extremely busy with Lord's Taverners events and functions, and the day before, 2 October, had been to a dinner in Swansea
. That night he stayed at a hotel in Birmingham and then opened some Allied Carpets
stores in Birmingham
on the morning of 3 October. Crowther was returning home when the accident occurred.
The car ended up on its roof on the hard shoulder of the motorway, and was a write-off. At first, Crowther did not appear to be seriously injured, apart from being shaken up and sustaining a cracked bone in his neck
. Crowther was able to tell the police
his personal details, including his home telephone number and what Warfarin
tablets he was taking for his heart condition; he was diagnosed with heart trouble three years before. In his autobiography, he claimed the stress of the media harassment over his alcoholism in late 1988/early 1989 had brought it on.
However, after being taken to Cheltenham
general hospital, his condition suddenly deteriorated and he lapsed into unconsciousness. A brain scan revealed a blood clot had formed on the left-hand side of his brain
. Crowther was taken to Bristol
's Frenchay Hospital
for brain surgery to remove the blood clot that evening. It is very likely that the warfarin tablets contributed to the extent of the brain bleeding, as they thin the user's blood. Crowther almost died during the operation, which took four hours.
On 5 October, after a nurse was unhappy with his condition, a further scan revealed that another blood clot, the size of a small apple, had formed on the same side of his brain. Crowther then underwent a second brain operation that lasted two hours and a tracheotomy
to help him breathe. Crowther remained in a coma for 17 days after the accident. He was a patient in Frenchay Hospital until February 1993. He came home for the first time just before Christmas in 1992. After his release from Hospital, Crowther underwent months of occupational therapy
and physiotherapy.
Coincidently, in August 1992, Rita Rees of the Bristol
Headway
branch, a brain injury
charity, introduced herself to Crowther at Bath railway station, told him about Headway's work, and asked him if he would visit Headway house, a recovery centre for people who had suffered brain injuries. He agreed to do so. Crowther visited on 16 September 1992, and according to his wife, was very moved by what he had seen.
in the 1993 New Year's Honours list in recognition of his years of charity work and went to Buckingham Palace
to collect it in July 1993. On 20 November 1993, he made his first TV appearance since his accident on The Royal Variety Performance, appearing alongside Cilla Black
, where he announced he had started to write his autobiography, which was named The Bonus of Laughter. It was published in the Autumn of 1994. On 6 October 1994, he and Matthew Kelly were interviewed together on a This Morning
television programme.
Crowther retired from showbusiness on 4 November 1994, recognising that "I wouldn't be able to do things I've done the way I would want to, and the way my fans would expect". He also said that he was considering starting a new career as a writer. Five days after he retired, he appeared as the subject on This Is Your Life
for the second time, having first appeared on 28 March 1973. Two weeks after that, Crowther appeared on the BBC's "Invitation to Remember", in which he looked back on, and reminisced, about his long career. Crowther's final television appearance was in March 1995 as a guest on June Whitfield
's This Is Your Life episode.
in Bath, at the age of 63, with his wife Jean and family at his side. He had lived near Bath from 1978, whilst maintaining a flat in London overlooking Lord's Cricket Ground
.
The 30 September 1996 episode of Bruce's Price Is Right, the Bruce Forsyth
remake of Crowther's The Price Is Right
, was dedicated to Crowther at the request of Forsyth himself, according to the ITV
continuity announcement. Forsyth told the Daily Mirror the previous day that Crowther had written to congratulate him on obtaining the job of presenting the Price Is Right, when it was relaunched in 1995.
Crowther was cremated a week later, on 7 October. Ronnie Barker
was amongst those who attended Crowther's funeral. A memorial service was held for him in London on 27 November 1996.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(6 February 1933 –
29 September 1996) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and gameshow host.
Biography
Crowther was born in West BridgfordWest Bridgford
West Bridgford is a town in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of the city of Nottingham, delimited by the River Trent; this proximity means that it forms a continuous urban area with Nottingham, effectively makes West Bridgford a suburb of the city, and...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. At the end of 1944 he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with his parents, but was evacuated for a few months to Bute
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
until just after the war ended.
His father, Leslie Frederick Crowther, was also an actor. Leslie snr was an alcoholic, and died in early January 1955, at the age of 67, ten days after being hit by a car. Leslie jnr had a half-brother, Frank Ronald, from his father's first marriage.
Crowther had stage experience from the mid-1940s. As a youngster, he showed promise as a pianist and in 1944 won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. He attended the respected Cone-Ripman Drama School in London, where he met his future wife, and at 16, he appeared as a member of the Ovaltineys Concert Party of the Air on Radio Luxembourg. He also attended Nottingham High School
Nottingham High School
Nottingham High School is a British boys' independent school situated about a mile north of Nottingham city centre. It has around 900 pupils from ages 11 to 18 and there is the adjoining Nottingham High Junior School catering for younger boys and, from September 2008, the Lovell House...
and then Thames Valley Grammar School
Thames Valley Grammar School
Thames Valley Grammar School was a co-educational grammar school in Twickenham, Middlesex, England.-History:Thames Valley Grammar School opened in 1928 under one of the youngest headmasters in the country, Mr H. W, Bligh. Initially conceived as a boys school, unusually for the time it opened, and...
.
Crowther married Jean Stone on 27 March 1954. They had five children, including twins born on 9 December 1954. One of his daughters, Liz
Liz Crowther
Elizabeth Ann 'Liz' Crowther is an English television actress. She is the daughter of comedian Leslie Crowther....
, is an actress. His daughter Caroline was married to the late rock musician Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
, and his youngest child Nick works in radio, presenting traffic and travel bulletins for AA Roadwatch
The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
based in Stanmore
Stanmore
Stanmore is a suburban area of the London Borough of Harrow, in northwest London. It is situated northwest of Charing Cross. The area is home to Stanmore Hill, one of the highest points of London, high.-Toponymy:...
. Crowther was a supporter of West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
, and was particularly friendly with officials and players of the club during the Ron Atkinson
Ron Atkinson
Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...
era (late 1970s to early '80s). During the late 50's and early 60's Crowther worked on the Stage and radio some of his radio worked include Ovaltine radio programmes, Variety playhouse and Crowther's Crowd
Television career
Crowther made a name for himself in television in the 1950s, with appearances as presenter of such programmes as Billy Cotton Band ShowBilly Cotton Band Show
The Billy Cotton Band Show was a popular Sunday afternoon radio programme on the BBC Light Programme from 1949 to 1968.The band leader, Billy Cotton, was a larger-than-life Cockney character who started each show with the cry “Wakey-Wake-aaaay!”, followed by the band’s signature tune “Somebody...
and The Black and White Minstrel Show
The Black and White Minstrel Show
The Black and White Minstrel Show was a British light entertainment show that ran on BBC television from 1958-1978 and was a popular stage show. It was a weekly light entertainment and variety show presenting traditional American minstrel and Country songs, as well as show and music hall numbers,...
, and later the long-running children's institution Crackerjack (with Peter Glaze
Peter Glaze
William George Peter Glaze was an English comedian born in London. He hosted Crackerjack with Leslie Crowther in the 1960s and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean, and Bernie Clifton in the 1970s...
) for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, from 1960 to 1968. In September 1967, Leslie Crowther was the presenter chosen to host the first series of the re-vamped Children's Favourites show, Junior Choice, on the newly opened Radio One
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
station.
From 1964-67 Crowther presented Meet The Kids, an annual trip to a children's hospital ward that was screened by the BBC on Christmas Morning. He would walk around the ward meeting the patients, and the show would feature a surprise celebrity, and a present hidden under each bed. Typical locations were Great Ormond Street or Hackney Hospitals. In 1969 Crowther defected to ITV and A Merry Morning was screened annually, following the same format, usually from the Seacroft Hospital in Leeds.
From the 1970s, Crowther also achieved fame as the face of Stork SB Margarine for which he appeared in a number of television commercials. In 1971 he made The Leslie Crowther Show, a comedy sketch show, with three older comics, Arthur English
Arthur English
Arthur Leslie Norman English was an English actor and comedian from the music hall tradition.English was born in Aldershot, Hampshire. After serving in the army in World War II, reaching the rank of sergeant, English worked as a painter and decorator in his native town...
, Chic Murray and Albert Modley
Albert Modley
Albert Modley was a variety entertainer and comedian.-Works:* Babes in the Wood...
("Eee it's grand to be daft!") as the internal "rep" company. In 1972 and 1973 he appeared in a television sitcom called My Good Woman with Richard Wilson, Sylvia Syms
Sylvia Syms
Sylvia M. L. Syms OBE is a British actress. She is probably best known for her roles in the films Woman in a Dressing Gown , Ice-Cold in Alex , No Trees in the Street , Victim and The Tamarind Seed...
and Keith Barron
Keith Barron
Keith Barron is an English actor and television presenter, well-known from numerous roles on British television from the 1960s to the present day.-Career:...
. He also narrated two storytelling LPs for children, Tallulah Supercat
Tallulah Supercat
Tallulah Supercat and "Tallulah and the Cat Burglars" were storytelling LPs for children released in the UK in the early 1970s on the Pinnacle label. Both featured pop songs composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley. The stories were narrated by television entertainer, Leslie Crowther. In the first,...
and "Tallulah and the Cat-Burglars".
Gameshows
Crowther was one of the many hosts of the ITVITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
panel/game show Whose Baby? which he presented in the mid-1980s. He is also remembered as host of the first British version of the popular game show The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (UK game show)
The Price Is Right in the UK was hosted by Leslie Crowther, Bob Warman, Bruce Forsyth, and Joe Pasquale. It ran from 24 March 1984 to 12 January 2007.-Crowther era :...
, from 1984 to 1988, during which time his Come on down! catchphrase entered British television folklore. In 1994, Crowther said that when The Price is Right was axed in May 1988, the producers never bothered to contact him directly. Instead, he learned the news from the press who called at his house and asked him how he felt.
In February 1990 Crowther was chosen to be host of the TV show Stars in Their Eyes
Stars In Their Eyes
Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent show that ran on Saturdays nights from 21 July 1990 until 23 December 2006 in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars...
. The first episode was transmitted on 21 July 1990. Crowther hosted the first three series, and a Christmas Special in 1991. He was booked to record an Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
special, and a fourth series.
Alcoholism
Like his father before him, Crowther was an alcoholic and this problem continued throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.On 14 November 1983 Crowther was arrested for drink-driving. Two weeks later he was fined, and banned from driving for nine months. This did not deter Crowther and in October 1988 he turned up at a gala in Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
, drunk. This made him realise that he had a serious problem and needed help. Unlike five years earlier, his alcohol addiction received much publicity. From January 1989 to 17 March 1989 Crowther was a resident in Clouds House
Clouds House
Clouds House is a Grade II listed building located near the village of East Knoyle in rural Wiltshire. Designed in the 19th century by Philip Webb for Percy and Madeline Wyndham, Clouds was Webb’s grandest design following on from Red House in Bexleyheath for the artist and close friend William...
, a drug and alcohol treatment centre near Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
. He never drank alcohol again.
The end of a career
Crowther was a popular president of the Lord's TavernersLord's Taverners
The Lord’s Taverners is a thriving club, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to 'give young people, particularly those with special needs, a sporting chance'.The Lord’s Taverners was founded in 1950 by a...
from January 1991 to December 1992. He was a huge cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
fan and had an apartment near London's Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
for many years.
Leslie Crowther's showbusiness career ended on the afternoon of 3 October 1992 on the M5
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
near Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, when he sustained serious head injuries in a car crash which nearly killed him. The precise cause of the accident remains unknown. It was speculated that he fell asleep at the wheel and, as a result, his Rolls Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
car skidded into the central reservation
Central reservation
On divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...
barrier and overturned several times. In the months before the accident, Crowther was extremely busy with Lord's Taverners events and functions, and the day before, 2 October, had been to a dinner in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. That night he stayed at a hotel in Birmingham and then opened some Allied Carpets
Allied Carpets
Allied Carpets is one of the largest retailers of floor coverings operating a chain of large out-of-town superstores around the UK. It also has some High Street stores. It is the second-largest retailer of carpets in the UK.-History:...
stores in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on the morning of 3 October. Crowther was returning home when the accident occurred.
The car ended up on its roof on the hard shoulder of the motorway, and was a write-off. At first, Crowther did not appear to be seriously injured, apart from being shaken up and sustaining a cracked bone in his neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
. Crowther was able to tell the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
his personal details, including his home telephone number and what Warfarin
Warfarin
Warfarin is an anticoagulant. It is most likely to be the drug popularly referred to as a "blood thinner," yet this is a misnomer, since it does not affect the thickness or viscosity of blood...
tablets he was taking for his heart condition; he was diagnosed with heart trouble three years before. In his autobiography, he claimed the stress of the media harassment over his alcoholism in late 1988/early 1989 had brought it on.
However, after being taken to Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
general hospital, his condition suddenly deteriorated and he lapsed into unconsciousness. A brain scan revealed a blood clot had formed on the left-hand side of his brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
. Crowther was taken to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
's Frenchay Hospital
Frenchay Hospital
Frenchay Hospital is a large hospital situated in Frenchay, South Gloucestershire, on the outskirts of Bristol, England, part of the North Bristol NHS Trust....
for brain surgery to remove the blood clot that evening. It is very likely that the warfarin tablets contributed to the extent of the brain bleeding, as they thin the user's blood. Crowther almost died during the operation, which took four hours.
On 5 October, after a nurse was unhappy with his condition, a further scan revealed that another blood clot, the size of a small apple, had formed on the same side of his brain. Crowther then underwent a second brain operation that lasted two hours and a tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
to help him breathe. Crowther remained in a coma for 17 days after the accident. He was a patient in Frenchay Hospital until February 1993. He came home for the first time just before Christmas in 1992. After his release from Hospital, Crowther underwent months of occupational therapy
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...
and physiotherapy.
Coincidently, in August 1992, Rita Rees of the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Headway
Headway Devon
Headway Devon is a local charity in Devon, UK, which provides care, support, and rehabilitation for adults and children with brain injuries. The organisation is an independently registered charity affiliated to the national charity Headway UK....
branch, a brain injury
Acquired brain injury
An acquired brain injury is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, emotional, or behavioural impairments that lead to permanent...
charity, introduced herself to Crowther at Bath railway station, told him about Headway's work, and asked him if he would visit Headway house, a recovery centre for people who had suffered brain injuries. He agreed to do so. Crowther visited on 16 September 1992, and according to his wife, was very moved by what he had seen.
Afterwards
Crowther was awarded the CBECBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in the 1993 New Year's Honours list in recognition of his years of charity work and went to Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
to collect it in July 1993. On 20 November 1993, he made his first TV appearance since his accident on The Royal Variety Performance, appearing alongside Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
, where he announced he had started to write his autobiography, which was named The Bonus of Laughter. It was published in the Autumn of 1994. On 6 October 1994, he and Matthew Kelly were interviewed together on a This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
television programme.
Crowther retired from showbusiness on 4 November 1994, recognising that "I wouldn't be able to do things I've done the way I would want to, and the way my fans would expect". He also said that he was considering starting a new career as a writer. Five days after he retired, he appeared as the subject on This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...
for the second time, having first appeared on 28 March 1973. Two weeks after that, Crowther appeared on the BBC's "Invitation to Remember", in which he looked back on, and reminisced, about his long career. Crowther's final television appearance was in March 1995 as a guest on June Whitfield
June Whitfield
June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
's This Is Your Life episode.
Death
Leslie Crowther died from heart failure on 29 September 1996 in the Royal United HospitalRoyal United Hospital
The Royal United Hospital is a major acute hospital, located in the Weston suburb of Bath, England, which lies approximately miles west of the Bath city centre. The hospital currently has 565 beds and occupies a site...
in Bath, at the age of 63, with his wife Jean and family at his side. He had lived near Bath from 1978, whilst maintaining a flat in London overlooking Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
.
The 30 September 1996 episode of Bruce's Price Is Right, the Bruce Forsyth
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...
remake of Crowther's The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (UK game show)
The Price Is Right in the UK was hosted by Leslie Crowther, Bob Warman, Bruce Forsyth, and Joe Pasquale. It ran from 24 March 1984 to 12 January 2007.-Crowther era :...
, was dedicated to Crowther at the request of Forsyth himself, according to the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
continuity announcement. Forsyth told the Daily Mirror the previous day that Crowther had written to congratulate him on obtaining the job of presenting the Price Is Right, when it was relaunched in 1995.
Crowther was cremated a week later, on 7 October. Ronnie Barker
Ronnie Barker
Ronald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
was amongst those who attended Crowther's funeral. A memorial service was held for him in London on 27 November 1996.