Singer-songwriter, entertainer, and television personality, who in 2014 was convicted of a number of counts of indecent assault, resulting in a prison sentence and the rescinding of a number of honours.
Before his conviction, Rolf Harris was best known as an expatriate Australian entertainer, singer, artist, writer and musician who has lived in England since the 1960s. Known as 'The Boy from Bassendean', Harris grew up along the Swan River and was an accomplished swimmer. He was educated at Bassendean State School, Perth Modern School, and the University of Western Australia, before completing a teaching degree at Claremont Teachers' College and then studying art in London.
Harris began his entertainment career producing and presenting a daily children's television programme. In 1960, he recorded 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport,' which became a world hit, and in which he introduced his famous wobble-board—a sheet of masonite wobbled by hand to produce a rhythmic accompaniment. Always identified as distinctively Australian, he represented his country at the World Trade Expo in 1967 (where he sang 'Jake the Peg'), had another Number 1 hit with 'Two Little Boys' in 1969, and in 1992 had great success with a wobble-board version of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'.
Rolf Harris hosted a wide variety of television programmes, including the Rolf Harris Show (1967-71), children's cartoon programmes from 1984 to 1993 and, from 1994 to 2004, the BBC's Animal Hospital. The first artist to perform at the Sydney Opera House, he appeared at major events including World Trade Expos, the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games, the 1984 Olympic Games, the Bicentennial Command Performance in Sydney in 1988, and the first UNICEF concert at the United Nations building in New York. He made numerous television documentaries (such as Rolf's Walkabout, Bligh of the Bounty, Indian Walkabout) and, over many years, raised large amounts of money for charities. Harris compiled and illustrated many children's books and published joke, quizz, painting and cartoon books and kits; some children's books by other authors are based on his characters. He also illustrated Looking at Pictures with Rolf Harris: A Children's Introduction to Famous Paintings (1978). Some of his instruction books have been translated into several languages.
Harris was awarded an MBE (1968), an OBE (1978) and an AM (1989). He also received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Edith Cowan University. In 2004, Harris was named Showbusiness Personality of the Year by the Variety Club in the United Kingdom. He received a CBE in 2006.
In 2014, Harris was found guilty on multiple counts of indecent assault. After his conviction, he was stripped of a number of the honours that he had accumulated during his career, including his CBE. For details, see the notes to individual awards.
