The late Paul O’Grady, who died aged 67 in March 2023 from sudden cardiac arrhythmia, refused a key operation shortly before his death, it has emerged.
The comedian ‘unexpectedly’ died at home with his husband, Andre Portasio, by his side, with tributes pouring from across the industry and beyond at the time.
Now, it has been revealed that, in the final few months of his life, he turned down an implantable defibrillator as he didn’t want to let anyone down over his work commitments.
At the time of his death, he was in the middle of the UK tour of Annie the Musical as Miss Hannigan and was filming his TV series, For The Love of Dogs, among other projects.
The Lily Savage star’s close friend and BBC Radio 2 producer Malcolm Prince explained to The Mirror: ‘He didn’t want to go back into hospital to have another procedure and then spend time recuperating.
‘He wanted to get on and live his life but also work. He didn’t want to let people down.’
His decision came after he spent a week in William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent.
It is understood he had messaged his daughter, Sharyn, at the time: ‘The cardiologist just wants me to have a defib. But no way am I having one of them. He’s being over cautious and besides, I’m nowhere near as bad as I was.’
Meanwhile, his manager Joan Marshrons, who had spoken about the potential life-saving procedure with him, added: ‘He was scared of losing control and I think that’s why he wouldn’t have the pacemaker because he didn’t want to be on camera or in front of an audience when the thing kicked in … he would have been embarrassed about it all.’
Prince goes into detail about O’Grady’s trailblazing life and those final months in a new book, Paul O’Grady – Not The Same Without You, which comes out on November 6.
Earlier this month, his headstone finally received the finishing touches after a two-year wait, with his favourite quote being engraved on it.
The quote, attributed to the hugely influential French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, reads: ‘The greatest thing in world is to know how to be one’s own self.’
In his caption revealing the news, Portasio wrote: ‘I am very pleased to share that, after two and a half years since Paul’s passing and a lengthy application process, we have finally placed the final design of his headstone at his grave.
‘My heartfelt thanks to the Commissary Court of the Diocese of Canterbury, the Parish of Bonnington, and the Church of St. Rumwold.’
He added: ‘I miss him dearly every day, but I am grateful that his resting place is now complete. I hope he would be pleased with the final design.’
The grave also pays homage to the Blankety Blank presenter’s long-term partner Brendan Murphy, who died in 2005 from an inoperable brain tumour.
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