482:. He later remembered that "sex, whether in company or not, has been the only department in life in which I have demanded from anyone taking part the very highest standards of seriousness." Donaldson's third marriage, in 1986, was to Cherry Hatrick, who survived him; they separated six months after their marriage.
51:
474:. He left Miles for Simon, whom he described as "the answer to any sane man's prayers; funny, quick, erotic, extravagantly talented", but this did not prevent him from jilting her while they were engaged and returning to Miles. In 1968, Donaldson inherited another fortune and married
240:, Berkshire. His father was Managing Director of the Glasgow-based family shipping line, Donaldson Line, which until its sale in the early 1960s, was one of the largest passenger lines in the world. He was educated at
340:, where he imprudently spent his last ÂŖ2,000 on a glass-bottomed boat. Before long he was scavenging for food on the beach. Returning to London, he found refuge with a former girlfriend who was running a
374:(volunteering his services owing to the "imminent outbreak of hostilities with the Soviets" and concluding "I'm on red alert here and can leave for my ship at the drop of a bollard")
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You Cannot Live As I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This: The thoroughly disgraceful life and times of Willie
Donaldson, Terence Blacker, Ebury Press, 2007, pp. 6, 204, 207
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The phenomenal success of the Henry Root books, especially the first, enabled
Donaldson to resume his earlier chaotic lifestyle, and in the mid-1980s he began using
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Terence
Blacker, 'Donaldson, (Charles) William (1935â2005)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Jan 2009; online edn, Jan 2011
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Terence
Blacker, 'Donaldson, (Charles) William (1935â2005)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2009)
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Donaldson also wrote under other names, including Dr Kit Bryson, Jean-Luc Legris, and Selina
Fitzherbert (who "together" wrote
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SW10, from which address all the Root letters were sent. Nearby, The Henry Root restaurant has been established in his memory.
236:
Son of
Charles Glen Donaldson (1904â1956) and Elizabeth (nÊe Stockley; d. 1955), Donaldson enjoyed a privileged upbringing in
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430:
Donaldson also wrote novels including the semi-autobiographical 'Is This
Allowed'. In the 1990s he also had a column in
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795:
You Cannot Live as I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This: The
Thoroughly Disgraceful Life and Times of Willie Donaldson
564:
You Cannot Live As I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This: The thoroughly disgraceful life and times of Willie
Donaldson
359:
made him a final fortune. Root's satirical lampooning of the rich, famous, and influential was published in the books:
871:
462:
Donaldson married Sonia Avory in 1957 and they had a son named
Charlie. He left her for Jacki Ellis, then the wife of
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861:
450:(1983) and other related books; Donaldson's co-author was Simon Carr, who would write an obituary of Donaldson for
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525:"Donaldson, (Charles) William [Willie] [pseud. Henry Root] (1935â2005), writer and impresario"
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505:"William Donaldson â Womanising satirist and novelist who squandered several fortunes on wild living"
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366:(1980) â with letters to, among others, famous football clubs, publishers, chief constables,
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In 1968, Donaldson received a substantial inheritance, and in 1971 he left Britain for
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On his return to civilian life, Donaldson became associated with the set surrounding
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427:(2002), has been described as "a breathtaking triumph of misdirected scholarship".
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Donaldson's biographical survey of roguish Britons through the ages,
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348:. His experiences there formed the basis of his first novel,
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Donaldson lived at 139 Elm Park Mansions on Park Walk,
617:"William Donaldson's Week: My old chums Tony and Dave"
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390:Henry Root's A-Z of Women: "The Definitive Guide"
775:. 26 June 2005 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
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210:(4 January 1935 â 22 June 2005) was a British
30:For other people named William Donaldson, see
313:(1963). The pair earned a weekly ÂŖ2,000 from
27:British satirist, writer, playboy (1935â2005)
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534:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
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283:of the early 1960s, as co-producer, with
424:Brewer's Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics
268:in the late 1950s, reaching the rank of
531:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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877:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
867:English theatre managers and producers
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277:Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
882:People educated at Winchester College
678:Hawtree, Christopher (24 June 2005).
597:Hawtree, Christopher (25 June 2005).
561:Blacker, Terence (29 February 2012).
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355:Donaldson's fictional letter-writer
907:20th-century English businesspeople
32:William Donaldson (disambiguation)
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711:June 22, 2005, January 4, 1935â.
378:The Further Letters of Henry Root
350:Both the Ladies and the Gentlemen
293:(1960), and of dramatisations of
169: 1968, divorced)
146: 1957, divorced)
682:– via www.theguardian.com.
454:), Talbot Church, and Liz Reed.
744:O'Hagan, Sean (13 April 2008).
715:– via www.thetimes.co.uk.
384:Henry Root's World of Knowledge
184:
166:
143:
478:. The couple epitomised 1960s
1:
680:"Obituary: William Donaldson"
548:UK public library membership
250:Magdalene College, Cambridge
218:and, under the pseudonym of
928:
29:
522:Blacker, Terence (2009).
208:Charles William Donaldson
48:
746:"When rock chicks ruled"
511:. London. 27 June 2005.
448:The Complete Naff Guide
333:were earning only ÂŖ75.
540:10.1093/ref:odnb/95873
364:The Henry Root Letters
225:The Henry Root Letters
118:The Henry Root Letters
317:while the performers
897:Pseudonymous writers
567:. Ebury Publishing.
310:The Bed-Sitting Room
244:(where he first met
773:"William Donaldson"
713:"William Donaldson"
599:"Guardian Obituary"
260:. He completed his
872:English socialites
661:"Is This Allowed?"
623:. 12 February 1994
408:Root about Britain
242:Winchester College
862:English satirists
804:978-0-09-191386-1
665:www.goodreads.com
574:978-1-4464-9174-4
546:(Subscription or
368:Margaret Thatcher
315:Beyond the Fringe
290:Beyond the Fringe
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78:(2005-06-22)
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902:Carly Simon
892:2005 deaths
887:1935 births
791:Blacker, T.
472:Carly Simon
468:Sarah Miles
346:Fulham Road
303:(1959) and
281:satire boom
238:Sunningdale
133:Sonia Avory
856:Categories
627:5 December
550:required.)
486:References
357:Henry Root
319:Peter Cook
266:Royal Navy
254:Ted Hughes
220:Henry Root
214:, writer,
93:Occupation
88:Henry Root
64:1935-01-04
823:The Times
752:. London.
721:cite news
605:. London.
509:The Times
793:(2007).
352:(1975).
212:satirist
198:Children
99:Satirist
85:Pen name
912:Hoaxers
344:on the
342:brothel
264:in the
216:playboy
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105:playboy
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410:(1994)
404:(1992)
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392:(1985)
386:(1982)
380:(1980)
248:) and
125:Spouse
102:writer
338:Ibiza
287:, of
183:(
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165:(
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142:(
138:
799:ISBN
731:link
727:link
629:2020
569:ISBN
470:and
329:and
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73:Died
58:Born
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