Cheryl Barrymore
| Cheryl Barrymore | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Cheryl Carlisa Cocklin 22 March 1950 London, England, UK |
| Died | 1 April 2005 (aged 55) St John's Wood, London, England, UK |
| Cause of death | Lung cancer |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Dancer, talent manager |
| Years active | 1976–2005 |
| Spouse(s) |
Michael Barrymore (m. 1976–1997, divorced) |
Cheryl Barrymore (born Cheryl Carlisa Cocklin, 22 March 1950 – 1 April 2005) was an English dancer and talent manager, most famous as the ex-wife of Michael Barrymore.
A trained dancer she took work in the publicity department of EMI records between shows, where she met young PR man and lifelong friend Max Clifford. After her first marriage to Greg Smith failed, Cheryl took part in several West End theatre shows; during one of which she met entertainer Michael Barrymore in 1974. They married two years later.
Cheryl and Michael married in 1976 although not until after Barrymore had paid off his mother who threatened to reveal a previous 18-month-long gay love affair. She later claimed, without contradiction from her estranged husband, that they had had a "full" marriage, including connubial relations. With Cheryl as his manager and the mastermind behind Barrymore's meteoric rise, he won a 1979 edition of New Faces. He later became a panelist on Blankety Blank and the warm-up man for Larry Grayson on the Generation Game.
From there Barrymore rose to fame presenting ITV entertainment show Strike It Lucky from 1986, followed by Kids Say the Funniest Things and My Kind of Music. Barrymore was voted the UK's favourite TV star several times, and became one of the highest-paid stars on TV. She later revealed that Barrymore had problems with alcohol and depression. As a result of her husband's physical assault on her at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, California, she was placed by British police on the "at risk" register.
At the height of his popularity, Michael Barrymore suffered increasing alcohol problems. He claimed that he had wanted to seek help, but that his wife told him: "No, you’re not (alcoholic). Don’t be stupid."
...
Wikipedia