36 Facts About Felix Dennis

Felix Dennis was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer and philanthropist.

Felix Dennis was born on 27 May 1947 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, the son of a part-time jazz pianist who ran a tobacconist's shop.

Felix Dennis grew up poor in northeast Surrey, for a time living in his grandparents' tiny terrace house in Thames Ditton, not far from his birthplace, with his mother, Dorothy, and brother Julian.

In 2006, Dennis said in an interview with Oliver Marre of The Observer newspaper:.

Felix Dennis went to nightschool, trained as a chartered accountant, and turned us middle-class.

Felix Dennis was a wonderful man, but for me he was a second alpha male in the house and that meant I left home very early.

In 1967, Felix Dennis began selling copies of the counterculture OZ magazine on the streets of London's Kings Road.

Later, Felix Dennis became a designer and worked with Jon Goodchild, the magazine's art director.

In 1969, Felix Dennis wrote a world exclusive for OZ, the first ever review of Led Zeppelin's debut album.

Felix Dennis was quickly promoted to co-editor and became involved in the longest conspiracy trial in English history over the infamous "Schoolkids OZ" issue.

Felix Dennis received a more lenient sentence than his co-defendants because he was, in the opinion of the judge, "much less intelligent" and therefore less culpable.

Felix Dennis later told author Jonathan Green that on the night before the appeal was heard, the OZ editors were taken to a secret meeting with the Chief Justice, Lord Widgery, who told them that they would be acquitted if they agreed to give up work on OZ.

In 1973, following acquittal by the Court of Appeal, Felix Dennis went on to found his own magazine publishing company.

UK-based cartoonists published by Dennis included Edward Barker, Michael J Weller, Dave Gibbons, Bryan Talbot, and Brian Bolland.

Felix Dennis was the second publisher of Personal Computer World which he later sold to VNU.

Felix Dennis established MacUser, the worldwide rights of which he sold to Ziff Davis Publishing in the mid-1980s, but Dennis continued to publish the UK publication until its demise in 2015.

In 1995, Felix Dennis Publishing created Maxim, a title that began on the back of a beer mat and became the world's biggest selling men's lifestyle magazine and global brand.

In 1996, Felix Dennis acquired a majority stake in what is Felix Dennis Publishing's flagship brand The Week which is published in the UK and US and translates to a global circulation of over 700,000.

In June 2007, Felix Dennis sold his US magazine operation, which published the magazines Blender, Maxim and Stuff to Alpha Media Group for a reported US$250 million although exact details were never disclosed.

In 2008, Felix Dennis Publishing established digital magazines iGizmo, iMotor and Monkey along with the purchase of The First Post from the Kensington-based First Post Group for an undisclosed sum.

In 2001, while at hospital, Felix Dennis wrote his first poem on a post-it note.

Felix Dennis's poetry was featured on radio interviews and in the national press, and was the subject of television documentaries in both the UK and US.

In October 2003, Felix Dennis appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company, along with RSC actors, reading from his work at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

In 2006, Felix Dennis wrote a best-seller on how he became a multi-millionaire in How to Get Rich.

Felix Dennis was credited with having been the first person to say the word "cunt" on live British television.

In 2003, Felix Dennis was interviewed by Melvyn Bragg on the South Bank Show, and was the subject of CBS's 60 Minutes in the US.

Felix Dennis had appeared as the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, hosted by Kirsty Young, first broadcast on 12 August 2007.

Felix Dennis later said he had been talking "a load of hogwash" while drunk.

Felix Dennis appeared on BBC Breakfast television in 2013, to talk about his life and poetry tour.

In 1995, Felix Dennis planted his first small wood near Dorsington, Warwickshire.

On Friday, 20 September 2013, Felix Dennis planted the scheme's millionth tree, an oak sapling, at a ceremony attended by local residents, council members, forestry officials and employees.

Felix Dennis had one of the largest private collections of original bronze sculpture held in his purpose-built Garden of Heroes and Villains.

In 1994 Felix Dennis purchased 'Britannia Bay House' on Mustique from English rock star David Bowie who had the villa built in 1989.

In 2014 Felix Dennis worked successfully on a programme with the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines government to give every secondary school pupil a laptop, totalling 12,500.

The Writers Cottage that was added by Felix Dennis and where he wrote some of his poetry is a bedroom.

Felix Dennis died of throat cancer at his home in Dorsington, Warwickshire, on 22 June 2014, aged 67.