Comedian and TV legend Paul O’Grady was buried after a “moving” but “jolly” service that included a eulogy from actor Julian Cleary.
A private funeral, led by the Reverend Canon Roger Martin, was held at St Rumwold’s Church in the village of Bonnington, Kent, on Thursday afternoon, before mourners departed for Port Lympne Safari Park.
The service included a number of personal tributes to the entertainer, including a bronze bust of his beloved late dog, Buster, placed on a leopard print throw, reports RTE.
A photo of a smiling O’Grady was placed in front of the parish church surrounded by Lilly’s arrangement for Lilly Savage’s alter ego.
Mr Martin also spoke about the malfunction of the church’s organ, which has to be pumped by hand, during a song and said he made it a “moment of fun”, reports RTE.
Mr Martin, who has known O’Grady since 2011, praised him as “community minded” and a “very humble chap”, reports RTE.
Mourners enter the church to You Gotta Get a Gimmick from the 1993 Bette Midler musical Gypsy.
The service included reflections on his friendship with O’Grady from Chad Rogers, who produced the television shows Blankety Blank and Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs.
Musical selections included Meditations from the British TV series Upstairs Downstairs, Looking for Trouble by Elvis Presley and the opera Thiès by French composer Jules Massenet.
Children from Aldington Primary School showed their respect with collages of pictures and images of dogs, reports RTE.
O’Grady’s widower Andre Portasio was emotional as he boarded a hearse pulled by two black horses adorned with a wreath for his late dog, Buster, with Conchita, one of his other dogs, on his lap.
O’Grady, who rose to fame as Lily Savage before hosting a series of television shows, died “unexpectedly but peacefully” at his home on March 28 at the age of 67, reports RTE.
He was born in Birkenhead on Wirral, Merseyside and later adopted Kent as his home for more than 20 years.
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