He sent a card to his 'Festive Road' Putney address every year
David McKee
|
David McKee, the man responsible for the Mr Benn series of books, has died aged 87 according to his publisher.
Andersen Press has released a statement to confirm the "beloved" author's death "with great sadness".
It continues, “All at Andersen Press hope his spirit lives on for many more generations through his joyful, heartfelt stories."
Born in Devon, the children’s author and illustrator, had lived in Putney and chose to base his character in Festive Road, the word ‘Festing’ being considered less appealing.
Every morning, Mr Benn would leave his house wearing a bowler hat and black suit and proceed to a costume shop where he would depart through a magic door for an adventure based on the outfit he chose.
The books were adapted for a hugely popular animated TV series originally broadcast by the BBC in the seventies.
When he was asked about the popularity of Mr Benn in an interview with the Radio Times in 2021 he said, “Mr Benn endures, I think, because people like the idea of being able to escape to another life. And at their heart they’re old-fashioned stories which last. The elements that make up the episodes – the voice, the music, the story – are all simple elements that endure.”
Up until this year, Hugh Thompson, the current owner of 54 Festing Road, the house where David McKee lived, received a New Year’s card from his current home in France.
David McKee's prophetic card to mark the beginning of 2022
The fiftieth anniversary of Mr Benn was marked last year and Hugh shared the hand drawn cards sent to him.
In all he sold 10 million books including of his creation Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, Spot the Dog books as well as King Rollo.
David's spookily accurate take on what 2021 had in store
He also illustrated books by other authors, including some of the later Paddington books and Forrest Wilson's Super Gran.
Value Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month . If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute . If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT . All payments are made through a secure web site. |
April 7, 2022
