William George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton (August 18, 1937–December 11, 1996) was a British cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer. August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... A cartoonist at work. ... List of satirists below - writers, cartoonists and others known for their involvement in satire - humourous social criticism. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Rushton was a co-founder of Private Eye with his Shrewsbury School peers Christopher Booker, Paul Foot and Richard Ingrams, originally acting as the magazine's layout artist. He served as one of its cartoonists until his death. Rushton found fame as a performer in That Was The Week That Was and other television programmes with David Frost. Towards the end of his life he appeared as a guest on countless TV shows of varying quality, including Through the Keyhole. He also provided all the voices in the claymation-style animated series The Trap Door, and was also the voiceover on a number of TV adverts and at least one public information film. Private eye may mean: Look up Private eye on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Private Eye a fortnightly British satirical magazine-newspaper, edited by Ian Hislop (as of 2005) A private investigator, a private detective for hire (see also crime fiction and detective fiction) Private Eye, a song by Alkaline Trio... Shrewsbury School (founded 1552) is a leading British Independent School (sometimes called Public School) located in Shrewsbury in the county of Shropshire. ... Christopher Booker (born 1938) is an English journalist and editor. ... Paul Foot addressing a miners rally, June 1984 Paul Mackintosh Foot (November 8, 1937 – July 18, 2004) was a British radical investigative journalist, political campaigner, author, and long-time member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). ... Richard Ingrams (born 1937) was the second editor of British satirical magazine-cum-newspaper, Private Eye, taking over from Christopher Booker. ... That Was The Week That Was, also known as TW3, was a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. ... Sir David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE (born April 17, 1939) is an English television presenter. ... Through the Keyhole is a light-hearted BBC (originally ITV) Panel game, where panelist must attempt to identify the celebrity who lives in a house, after they are given a video tour of it. ... The term Claymation is a registered trademark created by Will Vinton Studios to describe their clay animated movies; the more generic term is clay animation, but the portmanteau claymation has entered the English language as a genericized trademark. ... The Trap Door is a childrens claymation-style animated television series, shown in the United Kingdom in 1984. ... Public Information Films (known as PIFs) are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement (PSAs). ...

For 22 years, he was a panelist in the long-running BBC Radio 4 radio panel comedy game show I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, joining it as a regular team member from the third series. Rushton also illustrated Auberon Waugh's "Way Of The World" column in The Daily Telegraph from 1990 until his death. BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station which broadcasts a wide variety of chiefly spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. ... Cover for, Im Sorry I Havent a Clue Collection 1 (Volumes 1-3). From left-to-right, Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer, Humphrey Lyttelton, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Willie Rushton. ... Auberon Alexander Waugh (November 17, 1939 – January 16, 2001) was a British author and journalist. ... This article concerns the British newspaper. ...

Whilst working for Private Eye, in 1963 (under the slogan "Death to the Tories") he fought the Kinross and West Perthshire by-election (where Sir Alec Douglas-Home, a.k.a. Baillie Vass was elected in order to become Prime Minister) as an independent candidate. On the eve of poll he retired from the election and endorsed the Liberal candidate, who seemed the most credible challenger; this was too late to take his name from the ballot paper and Rushton received 45 votes. Private eye may mean: Look up Private eye on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Private Eye a fortnightly British satirical magazine-newspaper, edited by Ian Hislop (as of 2005) A private investigator, a private detective for hire (see also crime fiction and detective fiction) Private Eye, a song by Alkaline Trio... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel KT1 (July 2, 1903 - October 9, 1995), known from 1951 to 1963 as the 14th Earl of Home, was a British politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October 1963 to October 1964. ... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel KT1 (July 2, 1903 - October 9, 1995), known from 1951 to 1963 as the 14th Earl of Home, was a British politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October 1963 to October 1964. ... Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party (the SDP) to form a new party which would become...

He illustrated many books and, after the Spycatcher controversy, wrote the send-up Spy Thatcher: An Insult to British Intelligence. Spycatcher is a book by the former MI5 secret service operative Peter Wright. ...

Rushton died from complications from a heart operation on December 11, 1996. December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

He is honoured by a blue plaque at Mornington Crescent tube station, a reference to his skill at the game Mornington Crescent on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ... Mornington Crescent tube station A train pulls into the Mornington Crescent tube station Mornington Crescent is a station in Camden Town in north London, named after the road it is on. ... The Mornington Crescent tube station, the games namesake Mornington Crescent is a game created and popularized by the BBC Radio 4 programme Im Sorry I Havent a Clue (ISIHAC). ...

External links

• Willie Rushton at the Internet Movie Database
• BBC biography
• Willie Rushton Tribute Page

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ...