Another Spreader of Happiness

Another notable English happiness-spreader died on this day in 1996 - Willie Rushton. He was one of those people who wear their talents - of which he had plenty, as his Wikipedia entry makes clear - lightly, and scatter them around prodigally, none too fussy about what they do with them (note the reference to Rushton's being a guest on 'countless TV shows of varying quality'). However, his work (it hardly seems a fitting word) on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue lifted that show to heights of comic inspiration it might not have achieved without him in the line-up, and he has, rightly, never been replaced. Rushton also drew the superb illustrations for Auberon Waugh's Diary, the two published volumes of which amount to a masterpiece of sustained satirical comedy. So, in the end, he brought much solid and enduring mirth into the world - and anyone who does that deserves all the tributes going.