"and the cost per line, which varied between pools companies and increased over the years; one winner, Viv Nicholson, gained notoriety by declaring she was going to ""spend, spend, spend"" after winning £152,319 in 1961. The story of her subsequent extravagance and eventual bankruptcy was eventually made into a musical named after her assertion. At the other extreme, payouts of less than a pound were quite common, as lower dividends when many entries won. Most players could expect to receive at least one low payout if they played for long enough. In its current form, the 'Classic Pools' game has"
"died. In 1978, Nicholson co-wrote an autobiography with Stephen Smith, entitled ""Spend, Spend, Spend"" which was dramatised for the BBC's ""Play for Today"" series by Jack Rosenthal. ""Spend, Spend, Spend"" (1977) was directed by John Goldschmidt (who won a BAFTA award for the filmed play) and stars Susan Littler and John Duttine. Nicholson died at Pinderfields hospital, Wakefield, aged 79, on 11 April 2015, after having had a stroke and was suffering from dementia. A photograph of Nicholson was used on the sleeve of The Smiths' single ""Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"". Previously Morrissey had borrowed a line from Nicholson's"
"comedies ""The Liver Birds"" and ""Porridge"", and prison drama ""Within These Walls"". More substantial roles came in ""Trinity Tales"" (1975), Alan Plater's contemporary reworking of ""The Canterbury Tales"" and marriage guidance serial ""Couples"" (1975–76). Between 1974 and 1981, Littler starred in four productions for the BBC's ""Play for Today"" anthology series, the best remembered being the Jack Rosenthal adaptation of the memoirs of pools winner Viv Nicholson"", Spend, Spend, Spend"" (1977). Nicholson, a Yorkshire housewife and mother, who had faced a constant struggle to keep her family's heads above water financially, won £152,316 on the football pools in 1961, but"
"September 1961. Nicholson and her husband's constant and lavish spending sprees (involving purchases of expensive and lavish sports cars, fur coats, clothing, home appliances, jewellery, vacation trips around Great Britain and abroad, etc.) over the next few years quickly depleted their fortune. By her own admission, she found it hard to cope with the psychological effects of the money Keith had won. Having no concept at how to manage and save money, Viv Nicholson admitted to becoming so consumed by spending money that she related to it at one point like an addiction to narcotics. Due to her out-of-control spending,"
"in England, Wales and Scotland. The roadshows were flamboyant, with Foster appearing on stage backed by music, often ABBA's ""Money, Money, Money"", presenting himself as a gambling expert who could deliver great profits to his investors from betting on soccer and horse racing. Foster claimed that for every £1 invested, he was earning £28.50, that he had already recruited 50,000 members, and that the scheme held assets of £203m. The highlight of Foster's presentations came when previous investors' names were drawn by lottery, with the lucky winners being paid their promised returns early, in front of the crowd. Further prizes"
"have no apologies to offer,"" Eden declared. At the time of his retirement, Eden had been short of money, although he was paid a £100,000 advance for his memoirs by ""The Times"", with any profit over this amount to be split between himself and the newspaper. By 1970, they had brought him £185,000 (around £3,000,000 at 2014 prices), leaving him a wealthy man for the first time in his life. Towards the end of his life, he published a personal memoir of his early life, ""Another World"" (1976). On 5 November 1923, shortly before his election to Parliament, he married"
"(for 10 pence in 1980 and 12 pence 13 years later), a total of 87,000 copies by February 1993, according to Carter. He sent copies to several public figures, including five British prime ministers, the Prince of Wales, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Pope Paul VI. The pamphlet argued that ""those who do not have to work hard with their limbs, and those who are inclined to sit about"" will ""store up their protein for passion"", making retirement, for example, a period of increased passion and marital discord. He left several unpublished manuscripts, including a novel, ""Behind the Veil: More"
"in an advertising campaign for a universal remedy called ""Eclectica"": He improved his financial standing by selling his VC at auction in 1886 for £10. This was bought by Charles Winter, the newly appointed head of the Medal Department at Spink. The first sale at auction of a VC was in 1884. Towards the end of his life he lived in Great Homer Street Everton and had a deposit at Great Homer Street Post Office Savings Bank. He died on 31 December 1891 of bronchitis at the Johnson family's residence at 14 Westminster Road Kirkdale, Liverpool. He was 75 years"
"the original version of the musical ""Spend Spend Spend"", the story of the life of Viv Nicholson, the 1961 famous Pools winner and author of the book of the same name. The original, starring Rosemary Ashe appeared at the Playhouse before it went on to West End success starring Barbara Dickson. A typical season includes four or five major productions which run for three or four weeks, and a number of one-week or shorter runs which may be by visiting companies. A typical recent season (Autumn-Winter 2007) included: ""Casanova"" by Carol Ann Duffy and Told By An Idiot, with Lyric"
"to 1928, serving on its Council and Publications Committee from 1921 to 1927. She was a member of the Classical Association, the Historical Association, and the Cymmrodorion Society. In 1914 she was a recipient of the Henry Hutchison Medal, and the Gamble Prize for producing an essay on the works of Sir John Fortesque. She retired in 1929 to 34 Heald Crescent in Hendon, where, despite her significant wealth, she lived modestly. She died in February 1951, leaving an estate worth £269,386, of which a large sum was bequeathed to numerous Christian charities and Westfield College. The library at Westfield"
"job and married, against his parents' wishes, Audrey Russell whom he had known at medical school. After spending all his money, and failing another degree, Fry became a schoolteacher at Wallop School in Weybridge, Surrey. In 1954, Fry began study of law and history at St Catherine's College, Oxford. Needing more money, he twice took part in the television game show ""Double Your Money"", and won the jackpot of £512, making him something of a celebrity, and had his first book, ""Mysteries of History"", published, soon followed by a biography of Elizabeth I. This was the start of a successful"
"from competitive tennis and briefly took over the job of promoting the professional game. As a senior player in his 60s and 70s, Riggs won numerous national titles within various age groups. Singles : 3 titles, 2 runners-up Singles : 3 titles, 3 runners-up Riggs was famous as a hustler and gambler, when in his 1949 autobiography he wrote that he had made $105,000 ($ today) in 1939 by betting, in England, on himself to win all three Wimbledon championships: the singles, doubles and mixed doubles. At the time, most betting was illegal in England. From an initial $500 bet"
"1761. He was renowned for his heavy spending on his political pursuits and campaigns, ""indulging in the fiercely competitive and heinously expensive business of fighting elections to Parliament – which effectively meant bribing people to vote for his candidate rather than that of another magnate"". He spent £120,000 in one campaign alone and spent heavily on his estates, building Spencer House in London. He also wore expensive fashionable attire such as ""diamond-buckled shoes"". Althorp frequently hosted parties attended by the political and cultural elite, and it became known as a place of indulgence and festivities. At dinners and picnics in"
"name) into which he placed the initial advance and all future royalties from the Penguin (paperback) editions of his books. He was able to augment his personal finances by charging household items to the trust or selling his own possessions to it. Nonetheless, by 1960, shortage of money led him to agree to an interview on BBC Television, in the ""Face to Face"" series conducted by John Freeman. The interview was broadcast on 26 June 1960; according to his biographer Selena Hastings, Waugh restrained his instinctive hostility and coolly answered the questions put to him by Freeman, assuming what she"
"they live in west London with Cornelius's daughter Manon. Steve Brown (composer) Steve Brown is a British composer, lyricist, record producer and arranger. He co-wrote book and lyrics and composed the score for the West End musical ""Spend Spend Spend"" , starring Barbara Dickson, which chronicled Viv Nicholson's rise and fall after winning a fortune in the football pools in the early 1960s. The show won Best Musical in the 2000 Evening Standard and Critics Circle awards and subsequently toured the UK. With comedian Harry Hill he co-wrote ""I Can't Sing! The X Factor Musical"", which premiered at the London"
"Independent, coming fourth. She wrote the book ""On the Gallows"" in 1937 as part of her efforts to eradicate the death penalty. In the same year she published a collection of 13 ghost stories, ""The Torture Chamber and Other Stories"". Her campaigning, her behaviour, and unsuccessful political career reduced her fortune, forcing her to sell her house and move to a flat in Knightsbridge, London, in 1959. Largely forgotten, she died in a nursing home in Ticehurst, Sussex, on 30 April 1966, aged 84; her wealth reduced to ₤15,528, having seen the abolition of capital punishment for murder in Britain"
"Susan Littler Susan Littler (31 December 1947 – 11 July 1982) was an English actress who appeared in many television and stage productions in the 1970s and early 1980s, before her career was cut short by her premature death. A versatile and respected actress, Littler is perhaps best remembered for her BAFTA-nominated role in the 1977 BBC ""Play for Today"" production ""Spend, Spend, Spend"" (1977), directed by John Goldschmidt. Her film career included roles in the 1973 film version of ""The Lovers"", and ""Rough Cut"" (1980) starring Burt Reynolds. Born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, Littler trained at the"
"(plus costs) at an appeal hearing in 1965. In 1971, Baker's chauffeur Noel Moncaster absconded with £2,500 of her cash. Moncaster was arrested three months later, by which time only £45 of the money remained, after he had used it to travel to France, Spain and Africa. At his trial, Blackpool Magistrates ordered Moncaster to pay Baker £400 (the maximum the magistrates could award) and committed him for later sentencing by Blackpool's quarter session court. Baker lived the life of a star, dressing in furs and keeping monkeys as pets. She annoyed her neighbours with loud parties at her Blackpool"
"McDermott became sober. He gave up drinking in 1991 when he and his wife won $7 million in the Arizona Lottery. Five years later, his wife, Betty, died of breast cancer. McDermott's health was not much better, as he went on to have a defibrillator and pacemaker surgically installed. He wrote a memoir of his playing (and non-playing) days called ""A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cooperstown"", in which he blamed his health problems on his heavy drinking. McDermott lived long enough to see his book published. It was released in April 2003, and he died on August"
"House, Warwick Road, Coventry, and was appointed the Chairman of British Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturers Association in 1960 at age 57. He died in 1980 in Warwickshire, England. In 1961, Coventry Climax was dominating the British Formula One field with the successful FPF and FWMV engines, but FWMV's initial selling price (3,000 Pounds), though considerably higher than the selling price of FPF (2,250 Pounds), did not cover the development cost and the mounting maintenance cost as more and more teams wanted to run it. He announced that the situation is the equivalent of his company subsidising the teams, so that"
"for the last time, Newell brought out ""The Life and Confessions of Newell, the Informer"" (his autobiography), which was claimed to be printed in London but was really printed in Belfast in private by a printer John Storey. Newell's autobiography was written during his hiding out period in Doagh, a few miles from Belfast. Newell claimed that he £2,000 was given to him as a reward causing 227 innocent men to be confined to cells, bastilles, or tender holds many of which died in confinement. He also acknowledged, that one of his victims, the Rev. Sinclair Kelburn, was barely known"
"rest of his life as a tax exile on the French Riviera, and on the island of Jersey at his mansion Melbourne House. Hornby Castle, bar one gutted wing, was demolished in 1931. Bibulous and self-centred, he had no interest in living up to his title, and dissipated much of the family's remaining wealth, although enough remained for his sole child Lady Camilla to inherit, in addition to an allowance, £1,000,000 () lump sum from the family trust in 1971. In 1965 he sold a Goya portrait of the Duke of Wellington at auction for £140,000 (). It was subsequently"
"to quit drinking. His other lifelong addiction was gambling, at which he lost £500,000 by his own estimate and £250,000 by third-party estimates. Later in his life, when asked if earning the huge incomes of footballers in later decades would have made a difference, he replied, ""Aye, I would have gambled £50,000 a week on the horses instead of £100."" In February 2001, Baxter was diagnosed as suffering from cancer of the pancreas, and he died at his home on Glasgow's South Side on 14 April 2001, with his partner Norma and his sons Alan and Steven at his bedside."
"horse betting. In the first year he had a small annual turnover of £18,000, three years later that figure grew to £3.5 billion. He became United Kingdom's 57th richest man. His alleged peak net worth was approximately £150 million. Between 1984 and 1987 his knowledge of horse racing and the Japanese market made him a fortune. By 1986 he was worth over £100 million. He owned several houses including one in Los Angeles, and over 100 horses. That same year he placed a £500,000 wager on his own horse Mr. Snugfit in the Grand National. Mr. Snugfit came in 4th"
"dramatist and moved to London, where he became part of the city's dramatic and literary culture. The following year he moved to Paris where he started to write a novel entitled ""Life"". During the summer of that year he developed viral pneumonia in Venice and moved back to Manchester where he died in December from meningitis. He was cremated in Manchester crematorium, leaving an estate of £5,488. He was unmarried. In 1915 a memorial tablet was unveiled in the Manchester Reference Library. Houghton was influenced strongly by Ibsen, yet he wrote no propagandist plays other than ""Independent Needs"". His plays"
"his home at Linton Spring, Wetherby. He was a prominent racehorse owner and in 1918 acquired from Alec Taylor, Jr. the famous Manton training establishment near Marlborough in Wiltshire. and spent £30,000 on yearlings. In 1921 he won The Oaks with Love in Idleness, and the Grand Prix de Paris, the world's richest racing prize (400,000 Francs), with ""Lemonora"" which also had gained third place in the Derby that year, all ridden by jockey Joe Childs. He was termed by the racing press Mr ""Lucky"" Watson. In 1921 Watson donated £50,000 to the Leeds General Infirmary, of which he was"
"and that he had dressed up as each one behind the cabinet. The British medium William Roy earned over £50,000 from his séance sitters. He confessed to fraud in 1958 revealing the microphone and trick-apparatus that he had used. The automatic writings of the Irish medium Geraldine Cummins were analyzed by psychical researchers in the 1960s and they revealed that she worked as a cataloguer at the National Library of Ireland and took information from various books that would appear in her automatic writings about ancient history. In 1960, psychic investigator Andrija Puharich and Tom O'Neill, publisher of the Spiritualist"
"caustically in his diary for 25 February 1828: “And what are the agents who have produced such an effect? A man of ruined fortune and doubtful character, whose life has been spent on the race-course, at the gaming-table, and in the green-room, of limited capacity, exceedingly ignorant, and without any stock but his impudence to trade on, only speaking to serve an electioneering purpose, and crammed by another with every thought and every word that he uttered.” Duncombe was returned in 1830 and again in 1831. Over the course of these contests he spent an estimated £40,000; a fact he"
"several times. Many of his stories were published in Blackwood's Magazine and heard on BBC Radio. The ""£200 Pound Millionaire"" (1931) explains how to live cheaply on a yacht, and a follow-up essay, ""Five Hundred Pound Millionaires"" (1957) describes how to do the same on canals and inland waterways. Inspired by the Bermuda Race, he helped create the Fastnet Race in 1925. Weston Martyr was also a keen archer, writing about his hobby for Blackwood's and other publications. His wife Nora shared the hobby, in 1938 becoming the World Champion. Weston Martyr Joseph Weston Martyr (1885 – 27 March 1966),"
"of Social Science, and held the position till she married, in May 1866, her cousin, John Knox, an iron merchant of London. In 1858 she won with a resonant ode a prize of £50 offered at the Crystal Palace for a centenary poem on Burns. There were 621 candidates, among them being Frederic William Henry Myers, Gerald Massey, and Arthur Joseph Munby. After her marriage she contributed occasionally to ""Fraser"", ""Good Words"", and the ""Quiver"", edited the ""Argosy"" for a short time, and published some volumes of poems and juvenile histories. She died at Brockley, Suffolk, in December 1903. According"
"$2,150 ($ when adjusted for inflation) was given out to the winner of the race while last place paid out $150 ($ when adjusted for inflation) for only fifteen laps of work by driver G.C. Spencer. When all the winnings for this racing event are consolidated together, the total prize purse was $13,485 ($ when adjusted for inflation). The transition to purpose-built racecars began in the early 1960s and occurred gradually over that decade. Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the ""strictly stock"" vehicles of the 1950s; most of the cars were trailered"
"at the age of 58, a few hours after completing a performance in the run of ""King's Rhapsody"". He was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium, and his ashes are buried beneath a lilac bush and marked with a plaque that reads ""Ivor Novello 6th March 1951 'Till you are home once more'."" He left an estate worth £160,000 (£ when adjusted for inflation). Only a few weeks before Novello's death, Coward had written of him: ""Theatre – good, bad and indifferent – is the love of his life. For him, other human endeavours are mere shadows. ... The reward"
"Burns. By 1862 he was living in Motherwell. In this year his ""Poems and Songs"" (1862) was published by William Blackwood, favourably reviewed, then followed by ""Annie Weir"" (1866). After this he studied at the Glasgow School of Mines, became a colliery manager, and devoted his increased leisure to study and further literary work. ""Lily Neil"" appeared in 1879, and was followed by another volume of ""Poems and Songs"" (1883). In 1882 he was granted a civil list pension of £50 per year. A collection of his work came out in 1890 as ""Selected Poems"". He is buried in Motherwell."