Arts: he Sad, Strange Scandal of Jimmy Savile

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Brow Beat The Sad, Strange Scandal of Jimmy Savile By June Thomas Posted Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012, at 02:00 PM ET One veteran journalist has described the sex-abuse allegations against the late British TV and radio host Jimmy Savile as "the worst crisis" the BBC has faced in the last 50 years. I imagine it's hard for Americans reading U.S. press coverage to conceive of a scandal involving a glorified DJ wreaking such havoc on an institution as powerful as the British Broadcasting Corporation. It's no doubt especially difficult after seeing photographs of Savile: He wore his peroxided hair in the same bowl cut for 50 years, was usually dressed in a tracksuit and scads of gold jewelry, and he was often seen with a cigar in his mouth. Strangest of all for a man who was hosted some of Britain's most popular radio and TV shows for decades, he had an oddly limited vocabulary, which mostly consisted of oft-repeated catchphrases: "How's about that then," "As it happens," and a sort of strangled Tarzan call that launched a thousand impressions. In fact, he was so popular with impressionists that when I was growing up in the 1970s, it felt like he was on television every night of the week. But even without the imitators, Savile was a perennial presence on the box—in 1964, he was the first host of Top of the Pops, and he made regular appearances until the chart show came to an end in 2006. He also hosted children's TV shows, most notably Jim'll Fix It 1974-94, in which kids ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate It's Not About the Economy, Stupid Mitt Romney Is Dolores Umbridge The Most Spectacular Mutation in Recent Human History	Advertisement
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