Rolf Harris death: Cause of death revealed as entertainer passes away at the age of 93

Australian television personality and convicted s*x offender Rolf Harris has passed away at the age of 93. As per Press Association, the disgraced entertainer died on May 10 and his death was confirmed by a registrar in England's Maidenhead Town Hall. Reportedly, Harris died from neck cancer and old age.

In a statement issued to BBC, Harris' family said:

"This is to confirm that Rolf Harris recently died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest. They ask that you respect their privacy. No further comment will be made."

As per The Guardian, speculations that Harris had neck cancer started making rounds in October 2022. Because he was treated like a social pariah, Harris did not have an agent at the time of his death to confirm the news of his passing on May 10.

His death was formally documented on May 23 in the morning, according to Windsor and Maidenhead Council, and the certificate specified that he will be cremated.

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Brief background on Rolf Harris and his career

Born on March 30, 1930, Rolf Harris was a native of Perth, Western Australia. He shifted to London in the early 1950s to study art. He was hired by television soon after, teaching kids how to create cartoons before going on to other kid-friendly programs like Jigsaw and Whirligig.

His popularity in the United Kingdom kept growing, and he started getting jobs like commentating on the Eurovision Song Contest for the BBC and hosting The Rolf Harris Show, which aired on the BBC every Saturday night and was probably his most famous job. In his later years, he was the host of shows like Animal Hospital and Rolf on Art.

Aside from hosting, he also launched a career in music and released singles like Jake the Peg, Two Little Boys, and Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport. In 2006, Rolf Harris was granted access to paint a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to commemorate her 80th birthday.

However, in 2014, Harris was found guilty of s*xually assaulting 12 girls, two of whom were young teens and one of whom was his daughter's friend. The time period in question was between 1968 and 1986. On appeal, the verdict of an eight-year-old girl was lifted, but the other charges stayed the same.

He was sentenced to six years in prison, but only served three and was released in 2017.

He was given an OBE, an MBE, and a CBE by the Queen. In 2012, he also got a BAFTA Fellowship, but all of these were taken away after he was convicted.

Harris' crimes were made into a two-part series ITV documentary, Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight, which was streamed on ITVX.