Chat show host Simon Dee, one of the biggest stars on British TV in the 1960s, has died at the age of 74.Dee, real name Nicholas Henty-Dodd, presented the Dee Time programme on BBC TV in the late 1960s.
He was synonymous with the spirit of the Swinging Sixties and rubbed shoulders with many of the biggest stars of the day.
His daughter Domino Henty-Dodd said he had bone cancer. "He was dearly loved by his family," she told BBC News.
Dee started his career on pirate radio, and was the first voice to be broadcast from Radio Caroline in 1964.
He then moved to the BBC, where he was among the launch line-up for Radio 1.
Dee Time, his pop music show, ran on TV from 1967-69.
Mrs Henty-Dodd said he was diagnosed with bone cancer a matter of weeks ago and could not be treated.
"It happened very, very quickly," she said.
Dee disappeared from public view at the start of the 1970s, as quickly as he had shot to fame in the previous decade.
"He was huge in his day," his daughter said. "Before celebrity became such an everyday thing, he was a celebrity in the real sense.
"He was one of the first to become famous so quickly." She added that he loved the music acts he worked with in the '60s.
Dee was married three times and is survived by four children and four grandchildren.
― Mark G, Sunday, 30 August 2009 12:22 (sixteen years ago)