Jimmy Savile

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Jimmy Savile with his signature cigar (2006)

James Wilson Vincent "Jimmy" Savile [ sæ vəl ] OBE , KCSG (born October 31, 1926 in Leeds , † October 29, 2011 ibid) was a British disc jockey and host of the BBC and other television stations . After his death, hundreds of cases emerged in which Savile was accused of exploiting his position as a pop idol for sexual abuse , predominantly of young girls. Scotland Yard called him "the worst sex criminal in the history of the country". According to the investigating authorities, never before in UK criminal history have so many allegations of sexual abuse been made against a single person.

Life

As a teenager, Savile was assigned to work in mining , the so-called Bevin Boys program, during the Second World War . From the late 1940s he worked as a manager and entertainer in dance halls . He is considered one of the first disc jockeys at a time when dance events without live music were still uncommon. Since his youth he has been active as a cyclist in the Tour of Britain , as a pro-wrestler and as a long-distance runner - in 2005 he was a participant in the London Marathon .

Careers in radio and television

He began his radio career in 1958 as a disc jockey with Radio Luxemburg . After an interlude at Tyne Tees Television , he worked from 1964 on both radio and television programs for the BBC, creating new entertainment formats. In 1965 Savile was so famous that the BBC “Britain's No. 1 DJ ”dedicated its own television documentary.

Savile coined as an extravagant host the hit parade telecast Top of the Pops . Together with his colleague Alan Freeman, he presented, among others, the pop group The Beatles with their song "I Want to Hold your Hand" in the first Top of the Pops show on January 1, 1964 .

He invented the family program Jim'll fix it , which first aired on BBC 1 at 5:55 pm on May 31, 1975. The program, hosted by Savile, promised children that their dreams would come true, including crossing the Atlantic in the Concorde supersonic aircraft or taming a lion. When asked about his affinity for children, Savile replied with British irony: “I couldn't eat any of them. … I hate them."

On New Year's Eve 1969, his BBC and ZDF- produced program Pop Go the Sixties was broadcast across Western Europe.

Savile was a regular organizer of charity events, becoming friends with the family of English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher . According to his own statements, he also acted as an "unofficial marriage counselor" between Prince Charles and Princess Diana in the late 1980s.

Until her death in 1973 Savile lived with his mother Agnes, of whom he publicly referred to as "the Duchess" and whom he once described as the only true love of his life. According to his own statements, out of respect for her, he avoided bringing women home as overnight guests. As an alternative, however, he had a caravan nearby. After his mother's death, he spent five days with her body until the subsequent funeral. He later said in an interview that he enjoyed having her to himself during this time. In her memory, Savile left her bedroom unchanged for nearly four decades and made it a routine to have her clothes taken out of the closet and cleaned once a year. He remained unmarried all his life and stated that although he had had many fleeting love adventures, he had neither established a single partner relationship nor had a single complete night of love with one of his lovers.

Jimmy Savile's coffin laid out at the Queens Hotel, Leeds, on November 8th, 2011

After his death in 2011, Savile was laid out in a golden coffin and buried with great public sympathy in a grave site overlooking the sea in Scarborough . At the family's request, the Borough of Scarborough removed the tombstone with the epitaph “It was good while it lasted” a year later .

Savile's € 5.3 million assets have been frozen by the administrator, NatWest Bank.

Child abuse

Even before 1961, the police questioned Savile for the first time about allegations that he had had sexual intercourse with underage girls in the dance halls he ran at the time. In 1985, the now very prominent Savile told The Sun newspaper that he was protecting himself against possible suspicions arising from his regular dealings with children. “In a million years, he would never even dream” a child into his apartment or take it with him in the car without parental guidance. "You can't take the risk." In a newspaper interview for The Independent in 1990, journalist Lynn Barber approached him about rumors that Savile had an affinity for little girls. He replied that this was based on misperceptions by journalists who did not understand the pop business. He himself is completely unattractive for the girls who are really interested in the pop stars, with whom he inevitably has to do because of his job. In 2000, in a report about Savile produced for the BBC, the documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux confronted him for the first time in front of the camera with rumors about his pedophile tendencies, which he denied. At the same time, he said that a previous statement he made that he hates children was not true, but in his case worked perfectly at nipping suspicions of child abuse in the bud.

Police investigation

Savile successfully fended off press inquiries into his person until 2007, when police investigations into child sexual abuse cases in which he may be implicated in the 1960s and 1970s were finally opened. The investigation into him was closed in 2007 and 2008 due to lack of evidence. When asked by the tabloid The Sun about one of the crime scenes in question, the “Haut de la Garenne” children's home in Jersey , Savile had initially stated that he had never been there. Only after submitting a photo that showed him there did he admit the opposite.

The moderator usually immediately counterattacked allegations, such as an interrogation by two female detectives. In connection with their 2008 investigation, he threatened them:

“If [that] doesn't stop, my strategy will start working. I have an LLD , which is a doctorate in law, not an honorary title, but a real one. He creates friends for me [...] I have instructed my legal team to take action soon. And if we do that, ladies, you will end up at the Old Bailey , too , because then we will have you called as a witness. But apparently nobody really wants it to come to that. "

Because the pressure of the allegations persisted, Savile's tone was more moderate in a police interrogation a few months later, on October 1, 2009. Here, too, he vehemently and stereotypically denied all allegations with the exclamation “Out of the question. Not true, none of it. "(" No topic. Not true, none of it is true. "):

“I did the Top of the Pops show for 42 years, including the very first and the very last. I've been doing Radio One for 36 years [BBC] and if you're doing Top of the Pops and Radio One, one thing you aren't doing is harassing women. They are bothering you, that much is clear. You don't even have to touch her, because there are girls around you and in general. So, something like this is out of thin air and completely wrong. Point."

A year after his death, allegations were made that Savile had molested young girls for decades. That is why he was also observed by the police, but this did not result in any consequences. Around 80% of his victims were girls.

Since a report by Exposure magazine was broadcast on ITV on October 3, 2012, the number of witnesses and alleged victims (by December 2012) rose to around 450 who had to be questioned by the police. The information related to acts from the period 1959 to 2006. Around 82% of the alleged victims of abuse were female and 80% were children or adolescents at the time of the abuse.

In view of the massive allegations against him, various institutions and foundations that had previously adorned themselves with his name distanced themselves from Savile in autumn 2012.

In the course of the investigation, up to December 2012, the British police questioned seven people suspected of complicity, six of whom were taken into custody, including Max Clifford, comedian Freddie Starr , DJ Dave Lee Travis and the former TV producer Wilfred De'Ath and Gary Glitter , who all protested their innocence. Ultimately, there were six convictions in the course of Operation Yewtree (there was a parallel investigation); however, twice as many arrested were released and never charged. One of the wrongly accused was arrested four times. A previous police operation against child pornography ( Operation Ore 2002) resulted in 3,744 arrests. Investigative journalist Duncan Campbell found that many arrests (and removal of children from families) were based on the actual perpetrators using stolen credit cards, suspected of having been their rightful owners.

For 24 years, Savile was the patron of Stoke Mandeville Hospital, northwest of London, where, according to a posthumous (2015) report, he sexually assaulted at least 60 people, including employees, visitors, volunteers and, most importantly, patients. Savile regularly roamed the hospital corridors, choosing his victims at will while the staff looked away. In 1977, for example, he raped an 11-year-old girl who had been admitted for skin cancer treatment. In some cases, victims reported the abuse suffered to staff or parents; Because of the prominence of Saviles, nothing was done against the showmaster at the time.

Cover-up and inaction by the BBC

The BBC hindered disclosure of the extent of child abuse in-house. At the end of 2011, she stopped the broadcast of a critical obituary on the Newsnight program . This became known at the end of September 2012. Peter Rippon, the Newsnight program director, vacated his post on October 22, 2012. The former head of the BBC, Mark Thompson , and his successor George Entwistle also came under fire. Entwistle apologized to the public and announced an independent investigation into what was going on at the BBC at Savile's time. On November 10, 2012, Entwistle resigned after it was discovered that a former top politician had been falsely accused of abuse in a BBC broadcast, while it could also happen that Savile actually happened to be on the BBC's premises Committed abuse.

The television journalist Nick Pollard submitted a first detailed investigation report into the role of the BBC in the abuse scandal in December 2012. His research showed u. a. that the BBC had tried to pressure journalists who were investigating the BBC's cover-up.

In February 2016, the second investigative report into the role of the BBC, prepared by an independent commission headed by former judge Janet Smith, was published. As a result, those in charge of the BBC had systematically looked the other way. An “atmosphere of fear” and a “sexist macho culture” would have ensured that Savile's crimes were not exposed.

Honors and awards (selection)

In 1972 Savile was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). At the honors in 1990 on the birthday of the Queen of England, he was knighted ( Knight Bachelor ) for his social commitment ("for charitable services") .

In the same year 1990 the Catholic Savile was appointed Knight of the Order of Gregory by Pope John Paul II . At the end of October 2012, the head of the Catholic Church in England turned to Pope Benedict XVI with a request . to reverse the award.

Until his death, Savile was an honorary doctorate from the University of Leeds and the University of Bedfordshire .

Myths

More or less truthful myths grew around Savile. The New York Times listed some of the most famous:

  • He was the first DJ to use two turntables to play music without interruption (doubtful, as there were advertisements for such turntables as early as the 1930s).
  • He participated in more than 200 marathons, most recently with 78 (true), and he was also a wrestler (true: out of a hundred fights he won seven).
  • He spent eleven Christmas evenings with Margaret Thatcher (wrong).
  • After his mother's death, he kept watch over her body for five days in the shared apartment (true).

Fonts (selection)

  • As it happens. Jimmy Savile, OBE His autobiography . Barrie & Jenkins, London 1974.
  • God'll fix it . Mowbrays, London 1979, ISBN 0-264-66457-4 .
  • (with Tony Jasper): Nostalgia book of hit singles . Frederick Muller, London 1982, ISBN 0-584-11037-5 .

literature

in order of appearance

Web links

Commons : Jimmy Savile  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The colleagues looked away: Report on the BBC abuse scandal involving Jimmy Savile . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 26, 2016, p. 6.
  2. ↑ a b c Jimmy Savile abuse: Number of alleged victims reaches 450.BBC News, December 12, 2012, accessed December 12, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Savile allegedly responsible for 200 crimes , Spiegel Online , December 12, 2012.
  4. ↑ Times television program of July 13, 1965. 9:25 pm, BBC 1 television, title: “A documentary about ten days in the life of Britain's No. 1 DJ. "
  5. ↑ The New York Times, November 2, 2011.
  6. ↑ In January 1982, Jim'll fix it was ranked 3rd most popular show on BBC 1, after Dallas . See article in English Wikipedia
  7. ^ The Guardian : Sir Jimmy Savile, 1926-2011. A look back over the life of the veteran radio and TV personality, who campaigned and raised money tirelessly for charity , October 29, 2011.
  8. ^ The Guardian: Jimmy Savile caused concern with behavior on visits to Prince Charles , October 29, 2012, accessed October 30, 2012.
  9. ↑ Neil Tweedie and Tom Rowley: Jimmy Savile: a strange and sordid life unravels after death , in: The Telegraph, October 26, 2012, accessed November 16, 2012.
  10. ↑ a b c Simon Hattenstone: In bed with Jimmy ( Memento of August 22, 2001 in the Internet Archive ). In: The Guardian, April 11, 2000, accessed November 16, 2012.
  11. ↑ How Jimmy Savile revealed all in the psychiatrist's chair , in: Channel 4 News, November 2, 2012, accessed November 16, 2012.
  12. ↑ Savile was devoted to his mother, The Duchess , in: The Times, October 19, 2012, accessed November 16, 2012.
  13. ^ Cole Moreton: Jimmy Savile, the big fixer , in: The Telegraph, October 30, 2011, accessed November 16, 2012.
  14. ↑ Savile's headstone removed by family , Irish Times , October 10, 2012.
  15. ↑ The estate of former BBC presenter Savile frozen , in: Die Welt , November 1, 2012, accessed on November 2, 2012.
  16. ↑ Jason Lewis and Claire Duffin: Jimmy Savile gave job to chief porter who had keys to the wards , in: The Telegraph, November 4, 2012, accessed November 18, 2012.
  17. ↑ a b Lynn Barber: I was nervous when I told Jimmy Savile, 'People say you like little girls' , in: The Independent, October 2, 2012, accessed November 16, 2012.
  18. ↑ BBC probe on Jimmy Savile , in: The Sun, October 5, 2012, accessed November 16, 2012.
  19. ^ The Independent, January 12, 2013, front page translated from English
  20. ↑ Police protocol, transcript of the tape recording of the interrogation of Saviles on October 1, 2009 in his office, p. 7. Published a. a. by The Guardian on October 16, 2013.
  21. ↑ Suzanne Moore: Liking young girls is not a preference, it's a perversion . In: The Guardian, October 3, 2012.
  22. ^ Jimmy Savile abuse scandal , Spiegel Online , October 25, 2012.
  23. ↑ Dave Lee Travis arrested on suspicion of sexual offenses. November 15, 2012, Retrieved November 17, 2012 .
  24. ↑ Q&A: Jimmy Savile allegations , in: BBC News, October 27, 2012, accessed November 20, 2012.
  25. ↑ The Independent: Fry criticises Operation Yewtree in dinner party rant calling for tougher laws to deter false sex abuse allegations .
  26. ↑ The Guardian: Operation Ore , November 10, 2010, accessed August 4, 2015.
  27. ↑ Martin Evans: Jimmy Savile scandal: report finds DJ abused at least 60 people at Stoke Mandeville hospital , according to a report by the Telegraph on February 26, 2015.
  28. ↑ Gina Thomas: Abuse scandal at the BBC. The dead don't speak , at FAZ-net, October 22, 2012.
  29. ↑ Dan Sabbagh and Josh Halliday: Jimmy Savile: Newsnight editor blocked airing of sexual assault story . In: The Guardian, October 1, 2012, accessed March 6, 2016.
  30. ↑ Jimmy Savile: BBC Newsnight editor steps aside over claims. BBC News, October 22, 2012, accessed October 29, 2012 .
  31. ↑ Rowena Mason: BBC's Jimmy Savile probe to be led by Harold Shipman inquiry judge. The Telegraph, October 16, 2012, accessed October 29, 2012 .
  32. ↑ John F. Burns and Ravi Somaiya: BBC Director Quits in Furor Over Coverage of Sexual Abuse . In: The New York Times, November 10, 2012, accessed November 16, 2012.
  33. ^ Nick Pollard: The Pollard Review
  34. ↑ John F. Burns and Stephen Castle: BBC's Leaders Faulted as Lax in Handling Sex Abuse Crisis . In: The New York Times, December 19, 2012, accessed March 6, 2016.
  35. ↑ London Gazette (Supplement), No. 45554, December 31, 1971, p. 12.
  36. ↑ London Gazette , No. 52173, June 15, 1990, p. 2.
  37. ↑ Joan Clifford: Faith Alive. Stories of Christians at work in the world today . National Christian Education Council, Redhill 1983. The award ceremony took place on October 23, 1981. See the Times of October 22, 1981.
  38. ↑ Jimmy Savile: Catholic Church In England Wants BBC Presenter's Papal Knighthood Removed , in: Huffington Post, October 27, 2012, accessed November 16, 2012.
  39. ↑ Quoted from the New York Times on November 2, 2011.
personal data
SURNAME Savile, Jimmy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Savile, Sir James Wilson Vincent
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British disc jockey and television presenter
DATE OF BIRTH October 31, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Leeds
DATE OF DEATH October 29, 2011
Place of death Leeds