Death Wish of a Dandy ; a New Musical Celebrates the Life of Lionel Bart, Creator of Oliver! Here, a Friend Reveals the Truth About the Drink, Drugs and Hubris That Drove This Flamboyant Genius to Self-Destruct

Daily Mail › June 18, 2006

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Summary

THE MAN who lay in Hammersmith Hospital, fighting his last battle with chronic liver disease, was 68, but seemed years older. Bald, frail and ashen, he resembled a spectre, and had indeed been a showbusiness ghost for at least 30 years.

In his fabulous money-spinning heyday in the Swinging Sixties, he had been richer than The Beatles and as recognisable as the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. He had made millions and lost millions, much of it given away for sexual favours and to an army of hangers- on.

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Death Wish of a Dandy ; a New Musical Celebrates the Life of Lionel Bart, Creator of Oliver! Here, a Friend Reveals the Truth About the Drink, Drugs and Hubris That Drove This Flamboyant Genius to Self-Destruct

Once, he had lived like a king, with two homes in London, a castle in Tangiers, a beach house in Malibu and a hilltop retreat in Jamaica. Now, in April 1999, he eked out a modest and obscure existence in a small flat above a shop in Acton, West London.

Most people assumed he was broke, but his deep, dark-brown eyes gleamed with Fagin-like misch...

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