Beth Yeomans
Brightly coloured string vests, tracksuits, gold jewellery and pots and pans are just some of Sir Jimmy Saville’s possessions that will be auctioned in Leeds this summer.
The eccentric celebrity DJ, Jimmy Saville, owned five homes including flats in Leeds and Scarborough, and a cottage in Glencoe, which will be sold separately. Items are being gathered from the properties, they are expected to raise millions of pounds for his own charity, a wish Jimmy left in his will.
Jimmy relished being in the public eye throughout his career, he was well know for his extensive charity work, his broadcasting Jim’ll Fix It and Top of the Pops as well as being a disc jockey.
Never one to hide in the background Jimmy was rarely seen without his trademark fat cigar, flamboyant tracksuits and his chunky gold jewellery the Yorkshire man certainly had a personality to match.
Jimmy had a tough childhood, one of seven brothers and sisters his family struggled to provide food and clothing but Jimmy always said this helped him grow into the man he became. Once Jimmy began making money he looked after his mother for 16 years in his flat in Scarborough, he called her the Duchess even though she was a very unsentimental character. She died in 1973; Jimmy kept all her clothes and had them cleaned once a year. It was suspected that Jimmy’s starved childhood had caused him to be flamboyant and fuelled his urge to do good.
Sir Jimmy died, aged 84, last October, his diamond-encrusted Rolex watch and his £150,000 Rolls Royce will be put in the auction. The sale has been organised by the trusties of the Jimmy Saville Charitable Trust, it will take place at Saville’s Hall in Leeds in June. It is thought that everything Jimmy owned will be up for auction including his cigars, pictures and a collection of pop memorabilia.
He was a member of Mensa and during the Second World War he worked down the coalmines which was cut short when he was caught in an explosion which forced him to walk with sticks and wear a steel corset to make him stand straight. After three years his condition improved and he no longer needed the sticks, Jimmy raised around £12 million for the Stoke Mandeville’s national Spinal Injuries Centre.
Saville promoted car seat-belts via the “clunk click, every trip” campaign as well as staring in the British Rail commercials “Let the train take the strain.”
In 1964 Jimmy introduced the first Top of the Pops programme and returned in 2006 for the last broadcast.
The BBC took him on in 1969, on Radio 1; his show ran for two decades, he kept his old-fashioned showbiz style that set him apart from other DJs. It was his desire to help people that led him to popular TV show Jim’ll Fix It between 1975 and 1994. He granted many children’s dreams including helping kids meet their favourite pop stars.
Jimmy received his OBE in 1971, a knighthood in 1990 and was admired by many people in showbiz.
So if you fancy owning one of the legends many extravagant items, get saving as the auction is predicted to raise millions. Who knows maybe his famous tracksuits will set a new trend this summer.
