Freddie Starr was one of the most recognisable faces on TV and a comedy icon, but the beloved performer died alone and penniless in 2019, leaving fans concerned for the fate of his funeral arrangements
Comedy legend Freddie Starr, once amongst Britain’s most cherished performers, was given a proper send-off in the UK after a kind-hearted stranger stepped forward to pay for his funeral when the star died without a penny to his name. The entertainer, who raked in fortunes during his heyday in the 1970s and 80s whilst hosting his own BBC programme, succumbed to a heart attack in 2019 aged 76.
When he passed away, he was residing in a humble one-bedroom property on Spain’s Costa del Sol and was allegedly facing the prospect of becoming homeless.
Fears quickly mounted that the quirky comic would end up with a pauper’s funeral in Spain – a basic burial funded by taxpayers for those without means, typically in an anonymous or shared plot – worlds apart from his desire to be interred back on home soil.
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His Bulgarian carer Nelly Georgieva, who discovered his remains, disclosed that she hadn’t been in contact with his relatives for years, casting doubt over his final send-off until a compassionate stranger intervened, reports the Daily Record.
Speaking at the time, Nelly revealed: “Freddie had bad feelings about back home, he felt the British people had deserted him.
“It would be terrible if Freddie ends up being buried in a pauper’s grave. I don’t want to see that happen but I’m worried if I tried to do something about it his relatives would object,” she added.
Starr, who left behind six children, three former spouses and a widow, departed this world with nothing but outstanding debts and no concrete plans for his burial.
When the late comedian found himself without a benefactor, Sheffield-based funeral director Michael Fogg, who had never crossed paths with Starr, nobly shouldered the costs of his repatriation and funeral, asking nothing from Starr’s family.
Mr Fogg explained his altruistic act: “Anyone who can make a funeral director laugh must be a bloody good comedian. And Freddie Starr could make me laugh. He shouldn’t be buried in foreign land, he should be brought back to be in his own country.”
Fogg’s magnanimity ensured that Starr was returned to British soil, sparing the beloved entertainer the indignity of an anonymous pauper’s burial abroad.
Undeterred by public curiosity, Mr Fogg elaborated: “For those asking why I am paying, well it is my money, it is my business and that is what I want to spend my money on.
“He should be reunited with the people he loved and his family. He shouldn’t be buried in foreign land, he should be brought back to be in his own country.”
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