Eric Clapton, (OBE), 1945- 1953-

British musician and composer

Clapton was born to an unmarried girl of 16 and a Canadian soldier, and raised by her parents.

His mother left home, returning in 1957, but for some years the fiction was maintained that they were brother and sister.

He got his first guitar when he was 14 and went on to become one of the world's greatest rock musicians, in the Yardbirds, Cream and Blind Faith. He is also the composer of the rock opera Tommy.

In 1998 Clapton learned his birth father's name and discovered his Canadian and American half-brothers and -sisters, but his father had died in 1985.
[Last updated: 8 April 1998]

References:
Coleman, Ray. Clapton!: An Authorized Biography. (New York: Warner Books, 1988)
Shumacher, Michael. Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. (New York: Hyperion, 1995)
Roberty, Marc. Slowhand: The Life & Music of Eric Clapton. (New York: Crown, 1993)
Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 2nd edition, edited by Colin Larkin. (Enfield: Guinness Publishing, 1995)
Gysin, Christian. "The Father I Never Knew Sounds Like a Great Guy Says Eric Clapton," Daily Mail [London], 30 March 1998, p. 11
"Eric Clapton." [Includes portrait]. Available at: http://www.netxn.com/~louise/eric.html [Last visited: 11 June 1999]

Barry Evans 1943-97

British actor

Brown was born into a poverty-stricken backwoods family in South Carolina (different sources give his year of birth as 1928 and 1933).

Evans was left at a Barnardos home when he was two months old and nothing is known of his family.

He went into show business at 17 and became famous as Dr. Michael Upton in the British television series Doctor in the House, Doctor at Large and also in Mind Your Language, as well as several feature films.

In the 1980s he abandoned show business and retired into obscurity.

In early 1997 his body was found in suspicious circumstances in his cottage in Leicestershire.
[Last updated: 20 October 1997]

References:
Barker, Dennis. "Forever Young," The Guardian [London], 13 February 1997
Swift, Greg. "Mystery as Police Find TV Doctor Barry Dead," Daily Mail [London], 12 February 1997, p. 5

Compiled by and copyright of Roger Fenton. Details of how to buy the compilation are available on Roger's website. Also available is Roger's e-book Adopting a Child in Britain

Roger is always on the lookout for new entries so if you come across them e-mail them to him.

See also