Rolf Harris’ death: Disgraced entertainer’s health declined rapidly in his final years

Rolf Harris was released from prison in 2017, having served three years of his initial sentence. Photo / AP

Rolf Harris spent the last years of his life in disgrace, and in poor health.

The late entertainer allegedly was struggling to eat, walk and communicate as a result of his rapid health decline and, on Tuesday night, it was announced that Harris had died on May 10, according to news.com.au.

The convicted sex offender, who had spent years in the spotlight before being arrested in 2013 on indecent assault charges, had neck cancer which he had been battling since his release from prison in 2017.

Earlier this month, an ambulance was spotted outside Harris’ home in Berkshire, where he lived with his wife, Alwen Hughes, 91. The couple needed 24-hour care with Hughes suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and Harris’ cancer struggle.

However, the extent of Harris’ health problems became evident in the latter part of last year.

“Rolf has been very sick,” William Merritt, author and private investigator, shared with The Daily Mail in 2022 after visiting Harris.

Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris arrives with his wife Alwen Hughes. Photo / AP

“When I saw him, he was able to speak to me. He was with it. But he was obviously unwell.”

Merritt revealed that Harris maintained “the entertainer” persona and would “turn into a big kid” as soon as someone came to see him, attempting to “perform on cue even when he’s unwell”.

However, a neighbour disclosed that the star’s health took a turn for the worst after his poodle, Bumble, died, according to The Telegraph.

“Only carers and nurses, who care for him 24 hours, come and go. I’m told he can’t eat anymore,” Portia Wooderson, Harris’ neighbour, said.

From lauded entertainer to disgraced sex offender

Rolf Harris entertaining children with his artwork in 1986. Photo / Getty Images

Born in 1930 in Bassendean, Perth, Harris initially found fame in the 1950s as an artist, television star and musician - notably, he wrote the now-classic Aussie tune Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport.

In 1953 after studying at the City and Guilds of London Art School in South London, Harris began a career in television with the BBC in a series of children’s shows centred around his drawing and performance abilities.

At the end of the decade, having married Alwen Hughes and after becoming the only entertainer to work with both the BBC and ITV at the time, Harris was headhunted when the medium took off in Australia.

Returning to Perth, he fronted a five-day-a-week children’s show and an evening variety show, cementing himself as a familiar face to Australian audiences.

His familiarity and background as an artist saw him become the poster boy for Dulux paint, and he toured the country with a live art show.

Rolf Harris performs at the Queen's Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace. Photo / AP

When Harris went back to the UK with his wife, the next two decades saw him solidified as a high-profile British entertainer. Starting as the presenter of Hi There and Hey Presto it’s Rolf in 1964, the year his daughter Bindi was born, he went on to host The Rolf Harris Show for almost a decade. He fronted other children’s shows and a short film called Kids Can Say No!, the first British children’s film about sexual abuse which he later brought to New Zealand as a campaign series in 1986.

A successful musician who could turn his hand to many an instrument including a didgeridoo and stylophone, his classic Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport reached number one in Australia in 1960 and in 1992 he was nominated for an ARIA Music Award for Best Comedy Release. He also illustrated the cover of The Great Australian Songbook.

He toured throughout New Zealand, Australia and the UK from 1968 to 1975 performing with Kiwi guitarist Gray Bartlett who would later tell the Herald he was “stunned” and “very disappointed” for Harris’ family and the victims as the star’s 2013 convictions came to light.

His artistic talent continued to be profiled and in 2005, Queen Elizabeth II sat for a portrait with him.

Rolf Harris with his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Photo / Getty Images

But Harris’ long-running star status was shockingly brought into disrepute when he became part of a British police investigation called Operation Yewtree in 2013.

The operation looked into child sexual abuse cases against Jimmy Savile and others. Harris’ allegations were not linked to Savile and the Australian entertainer denied any wrongdoing.

Harris continued to deny myriad allegations brought by women, one as young as 8 at the time of an alleged offence. But in July 2014, he was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault and sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.

Harris also allegedly abused two girls during his visits to New Zealand. But the claims were deemed to be outside the jurisdiction of the court and did not form part of the charges.

Following Harris’ conviction, New Zealand’s Maggie Barry came forward to reveal she was groped by the disgraced Australian in a Palmerston North recording studio when she was working as a journalist. She told the Herald more than a dozen New Zealand women approached her to say they were also indecently assaulted after she shared her story.

In 2016 a further seven indecent assault charges were laid against Harris who was allowed to attend the trial via video link from Stafford Prison because of his age and poor health. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and the prosecution did not pursue a retrial.

Harris was released from prison in 2017, having served three years of his initial sentence.

He returned to the world having been stripped of his many accolades for his service to entertainment, charity and communities. Honorary doctorates he had been awarded were rescinded and he was removed from the Aria Hall of Fame, had his Bafta fellow annulled and his once-beloved roles as the face of British Paints and Dulux had also been canned.