What was Freddie Starr's cause of death, when did he pass away and how old was he?
FREDDIE Starr has been found dead 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.
Who was Freddie Starr?
Starr was born on January 9, 1943 in Lancashire, England.
He was 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 Adolph 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 show 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.”
How old was he?
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.
Police sources said he is believed to have died of natural causes. There were no suspicious circumstances.
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 to an ambulance at 8.10pm local time.
The Merseyside-born comic, impressionist, singer and actor had a history of heart problems and asthma.
Police sources said he is believed to have died of natural causes. There were no suspicious circumstances.
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.”
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.
Did he get arrested?
His life was then 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.
Did he eat the hamster?
On March 13, 1986 The Sun published “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.
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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