Wilfred De'ath

This article is about the journalist. For the Blackadder character, see The Black Seal.

Wilfred De'Ath /dɨˈɑt/ (born August 1937) is a British author and journalist who worked for the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s and writes a column in The Oldie.

Early life

Wilfred De'Ath grew up in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England in a mixed German–British family as his mother was German. De'ath said his German heritage was a problem during and after World War II. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth's, Barnet and Oriel College, Oxford University. Between 1963 and 1977, he was married and had two children. He lives in Oxford.

BBC career

De'Ath started working for BBC Radio as a producer in 1960. During this period, he produced and interviewed celebrities such as Auberon Waugh, Judi Dench, John Wells, Caryl Churchill and Daphne du Maurier. In 1965 he interviewed John Lennon. As the producer of Midweek in 1964, he arranged for the broadcast of "The Maurice Cole Quarter of an Hour Show" – the first radio appearance of Kenny Everett. In the filmed biography of Everett – Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story — the part of De'Ath was played by actor James Wilby. In the 1960s, De'ath also produced Teen Scene for BBC Radio and worked with Jimmy Savile.

In the 1970s, he reported on the counterculture for the BBC Radio 4. He first investigated it in London districts like Notting Hill, presenting it as an American import. He then went to San Francisco, home of the Hippie movement, and then finally returned to Britain to report on experiments in communal living. A libel suit pursued by nine colleagues brought an end to his career at the BBC.

Post-BBC era

Sometime after his marriage ended, De'Ath lived as a homeless person in France, and since 1993, De'ath has appeared in court over 30 times and was sent primarily by remand to prison between 4 and 6 times for petty thefts, by his own admission. He also wrote about staying in expensive hotels for long periods of time without paying. The experiences of these years provided De'ath with both his public persona, as both a "gentleman" and a "scrounger", and the material for his column in The Oldie. He has also written his column from the perspective of a prisoner.

On 11 November 2012, De'ath was arrested as part of Operation Yewtree in an alleged connection with the Jimmy Savile–BBC sex scandal; he was later released without charge after the complainant withdrew her statement. De'ath was later told that he would not face any charges, and said that the police action had been "overzealous".

Bibliography

He has written the following books:

• Barbara Castle: A portrait from life, 1970
• Down and Out: The Collected Writings of The Oldie Columnist Wilfred De'Ath, 1970, ISBN 0233000569

First edited collection of the columns of Wilfred De'Ath, regular columnist with monthly mag the "Oldie" with an introduction by Melvin Bragg

• Just Me and Nobody Else [The Autobiography of an Anonymous Delinquent, as Related to W. De'ath], 1966
• Museums are all about life, 1970