Freddie Starr, comedian and 'I am a Celebrity' star, dies at the age of 76
Comedian Freddie Starr was found dead at his Spanish residence on May 9. His body was discovered on the floor of his Costa Del Sol apartment reportedly by his carer following which the police and an ambulance arrived. The star who rose to fame in the '70s with the TV show 'Opportunity Knocks' and the 'Royal Variety Performance' was 76 years old.
According to a report in the Mirror, a neighbor was quoted as saying, "Police arrived first and then later an ambulance arrived and he was taken away. His next door neighbor who is a nurse said he was definitely dead. She said she thinks he may have suffered a heart attack."
Another neighbor was also quoted as saying, "He’s been quite ill ever since he moved in and has barely left his apartment since moving in a couple of years ago. He would just sit indoors all day long and he never had any visitors. It’s so tragic."
A source in the local paramedics said, “We received a call from the carer of a 76-year-old man around 5.10 p.m. this afternoon local time from an address in a residential area known as Urb. Mijas Golf. She said she had found him and she was looking after him because he had been ill and could be dead. Medical responders were dispatched but I do not know what happened subsequently at this stage and if the man was confirmed dead at the scene or not." The police have not made an official statement about the death as of now.
Starr was one of the highest paid television stars in the '70s and '80s alongside other comics including Frank Carson, Benny Hill, Bernard Manning, and Jim Davidson. He also made many headlines during this time.
One time the comedian was accused of eating a live hamster. The Sun headline on March 13, 1986, had read, "Freddie Starr ate my hamster." Addressing the allegation in his autobiography titled 'Unwrapped', the comedian wrote, "I have never eaten or even nibbled a live hamster, gerbil, guinea pig, mouse, shrew, vole or any other small mammal."
His career, however, took a nosedive in the '90s, which was when he made a comeback with 'I am a Celebrity'. In fact, the comedian hit headlines when he was removed from the show after passing out as producers were worried about his health. He had appeared on the show just a year after going through a quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack.
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