11 Facts About Rex Jameson

Rex Jameson returned to a niche celebrity in the 1970s in his drag act at The Black Cap, Camden Town, London.

Rex Jameson was born in 1924, to unknown parents presumably in London, and was found abandoned at the entrance to Trinity Hospital, Greenwich.

Rex Jameson was adopted by George and Mabel Coster of Southend-on-Sea, where he grew up, and moved with them to Holloway in London in 1938.

Rex Jameson was called up to the Royal Air Force in 1942, and joined Ralph Reader's Gang Show in the Middle East, where he entertained the forces and worked with comedian Tony Hancock.

Rex Jameson toured widely, introducing several characters including a vicar and a Cockney charlady, to whom he gave the name Gladys Shufflewick.

Rex Jameson made his first appearance on BBC radio, as Mrs Shufflewick, in 1950, and soon became popular, appearing regularly on such programmes as Variety Bandbox and Midday Music-Hall.

Rex Jameson continued to perform in clubs, using more risque material than on the radio, and became a mentor to the young Danny La Rue.

Rex Jameson appeared on television, and in 1955 was one of the first performers to be voted as "TV Personality of the Year".

Rex Jameson was booked less frequently for broadcasts or major theatre dates and never again achieved success on television or radio.

Rex Jameson appeared briefly in the 1970 Marty Feldman film Every Home Should Have One, and toured working men's clubs in the north of England, where his bawdy material proved popular, but he faced hostility for his increasingly overt homosexuality, and his alcoholism meant that he lost some of his previously impeccable timing.

Rex Jameson collapsed with a heart attack while walking between gigs, and died in the Royal Free Hospital on 5 March 1983, at the age of 58.