STARR OF THE SHOW
What was Freddie Starr’s cause of death, when did he pass away and how old was he?
FREDDIE Starr was found dead on May 9 at the age of 76 at his home in Spain.
But who was the comedian and what was the cause of his death? Here's what you need to know about the iconic entertainer.
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Who was Freddie Starr?
was born on January 9, 1943, in Lancashire, England, as Frederick Leslie Fowell.
He was a comedian, singer and actor who was known for his wacky, wild and unpredictable behaviour.
The entertainer was one of the biggest stars of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
He would sing songs sped up to make them sound like a tape being fast forwarded.
Freddie also impersonated Adolf Hitler playing football and doing a Nazi salute and he also impersonated Mick Jagger in front of the Royal Family in 1970.
He starred on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here in 2011 just a year after recovering from quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack.
But he left the jungle due to ill health and became a recluse after a comeback bid flopped.
One of Starr’s last performances was a shambling karaoke Elvis impression at a bar in Fuengirola.
Videos of a bloated Freddie in a T-shirt and shorts belting out hits with locals surfaced on Facebook.
A pal said: “He was mortified when that footage got out and realised how far he’d fallen. He wasn’t his old self after that.”
The neighbour added: “It was such a sad end from someone who’d been loved by millions.”
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How old was Freddie when he died?
Freddie Starr was 76 years old when he was found dead.
His first moment in the spotlight came when he took part in a film at just 14 years old.
How did he die?
Freddie was found in his home in Spain on May 9, 2019.
He was discovered by his carer on the floor of his Costa Del Sol apartment.
An autopsy revealed the comedian died of a heart attack.
A post-mortem carried out this morning at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Malaga confirmed the heart attack theory as his cause of death.
Police sources had said immediately after the discovery of heavy smoker Freddie’s body at his Costa del Sol home yesterday afternoon there seemed nothing suspicious about his death and everything was pointing towards it being the result of natural causes.
Neighbours in the resort of Mijas told how Freddie had been a shadow of his old self after being hammered with a £960,000 legal bill defending historical sex abuse charges.
He was forced to sell his £700,000 UK home and moved to Spain in 2015, despite never being charged over claims he put his hand up a girl’s skirt in 1974.
Chain-smoking Freddie was reduced to living in a pokey one-bedroom flat — but still loved a laugh.
As recently as February he posted a wacky Facebook snap of himself with cigarettes stuck in his mouth, nose and ears.
His last post just eight days ago read: “I’m ok getting tired more now but otherwise I’m doing good.
“I just have to say thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all the kind comments and messages it really does mean a lot so thank you to each and everyone of you thanks so much. Freddie.”
Freddie Starr’s body was removed from his home by ambulance at 8.10pm local time on May 9, 2019.
The Merseyside-born comic, impressionist, singer and actor had a history of heart problems and asthma.
A neighbour told The Sun: “Freddie hadn’t looked well for some time and rarely ventured out.
“Whenever he appeared recently his head would be down and he’d be smoking.”
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Was Freddie Starr married?
He married four times — splitting from fourth wife Sophie Lee in 2015 — and has six children.
None of them were in regular contact with the funnyman in his later years and he admitted to being a natural loner.
Sophie, 40 years Freddie’s junior, said he became impossible to live with, adding: “Freddie would fly off in rages and take it all out on me daily. He started to give me constant verbal abuse, telling me that I was useless and things like that. Our marriage was hell.
“On one occasion I was left with a black eye.”
Starr admitted being an “a**ehole”, but claimed his “behaviour and attitude” had changed.
He wed Betty at 17 in 1960, they had one son and divorced in 1972.
He had three children with second wife Sandy (1980-1885) and then married and divorced his third wife Donna twice (1998–2003 and 2006–2010).
She was 27 years younger than him and together they had a daughter, Ebony.
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Did he get arrested?
Freddie's life was turned upside-down in 2012 when he was arrested under Operation Yewtree — the police investigation into historic sex abuse allegations.
In all, he was arrested four times before being released without charge after 18 months on bail.
He said in 2015: “I don’t know where to turn. Most of my old showbusiness friends have forsaken me. I need help.
“I have no money left and I’m too ill to work. I don’t see a very pleasant future ahead.”
Facing legal bills of more than £1million he left the country and moved to Spain’s Costa del Sol.
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Did he eat the hamster?
On March 13, 1986, The Sun published the headline “Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster”.
Starr had been staying with Vince McCaffrey at his home in Cheshire.
Lea La Salle, McCaffrey’s girlfriend, alleges Starr came home from a performance in Manchester and demanded she made him a sandwich.
When she refused, Starr went and put her pet hamster Supersonic in between two slices of bread and reportedly ate it.
Despite a long and varied career full of highs and lows, Freddie was still stopped in the street more than 30 years on and asked: “Did you really eat that hamster?”
The comedian insisted the story was made up by his then-manager Max Clifford.
READ MORE ON FREDDIE STARR
Starr told his side of the story in his 2001 autobiography Unwrapped.
He said he stayed at McCaffrey’s house in 1979.
He wrote in the book: “I have never eaten or even nibbled a live hamster, gerbil, guinea pig, mouse, shrew, vole or any other small mammal."
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