Robert Charles William Luff, CBE

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...

 (7 July 1914 – 18 February 2009) was a theatrical agent and producer

Theatrical producer

A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...

. He was most notable for producing the stage version of 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 being the former agent of Lenny Henry

Lenny Henry

Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...

, the Tiller Girls

Tiller Girls

The Tiller Girls were among the most popular dance troupes of the 1900s, first formed by John Tiller in Manchester, England, in 1890. Whilst on visits to the theatre, Tiller had noticed the overall effect of a chorus of dancers was often spoiled by lack of discipline. Tiller found that by linking...

 and Beryl Reid

Beryl Reid

Beryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...

. He successfully owned theatres and hotels in Scarborough, Bournemouth

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...

, Morecambe

Morecambe

Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...

 and Eastbourne

Eastbourne

Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...

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Personal life

The son of an engineer, Luff was born in Bedford, and educated at Bedford Modern School. Whilst there he learnt to play the drums and later formed his own dance band, briefly known as Robert Luff and the Piccadilly Players until he received a writ from a lawyer representing the more famous Piccadilly Players. As a keen fan of big band music, he eventually branched out into booking bands in and around his home town. In 1995 he was appointed CBE for his services to charity, such as the St John Ambulance, he also invested large sums of his own money in the Royal Brompton Hospital

Royal Brompton Hospital

Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the United Kingdom .The hospital is part of Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust is a national and international specialist heart and lung centre based in Chelsea, London and Harefield, Middlesex...

, for research into Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disease affecting most critically the lungs, and also the pancreas, liver, and intestine...

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