DESPITE achieving popularity in the television show It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, the diminutive Don Estelle was most proud of the success of his spin-off song Whispering Grass, which reached No 1 in the British charts in 1975. As Gunner “Lofty” Sugden, the 4ft 9in Estelle was always recognisable to viewers of the comedy, set in the Royal Artillery depot in Deolali, India. His character was the sidekick of Windsor Davies’s Sergeant- Major Williams and the butt of jokes about his height. Estelle, who appeared in every episode, had a career as a singer for 20 years before taking part and music was his first love. “I’m a singer who suddenly discovered I can be funny,” he once declared, continuing with typical self-deprecation, “at least, people are kind enough to say I’m funny.”
After recording Whispering Grass, Estelle continued his singing partnership, producing the album Sing Lofty — which achieved a total of 300,000 sales — and releasing two more singles of old Ink Spots numbers, Java Jive and Bless You for Being an Angel. After four years, however, the Estelle and Davies duo acknowledged that their moment was passed and decided to end the partnership. In 1981 the television show also reached the end of its eight-year run, and was withdrawn amid accusations of racism.
Born in Manchester in 1933, Don Estelle discovered his aptitude for singing as a soprano chorister. He had a stage career on the North of England club circuit and at the same time worked as an extra for Granada television, first appearing on screen throwing darts in the Rovers Return of Coronation Street. An auspicious meeting with one of the show’s stars, Arthur Lowe, led to an introduction to David Croft and Jimmy Perry, the writers of Dad’s Army. After Estelle performed a brief role as a removal man on that show, they asked him to appear in the new comedy that they had written, based on Perry’s experiences in India.
After the end of It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Estelle had bit parts in programmes such as The Benny Hill Show. His career declined, though and by the early Nineties he was reported as having been busking in shopping precincts. He returned to the public eye in a cameo role as Don in the cult series A League of Gentleman.
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Don Estelle, actor and singer, was born on May 22, 1933. He died on August 2, 2003, aged 70.