Cabaret star dies in cancer battle

Oct 29 2008 By Mark Goode, Surrey Herald

A funeral service was held on Monday for a cabaret and TV star from Weybridge.

Peter Gordeno, of Old Avenue, was 69 when he passed away on October 18 at his St George's Hill home, after a long battle with liver cancer.

The funeral took place at Christ the Prince of Peace Church, in Weybridge.

His son, Jeremy Gordeno, said: "Born in Ragoon, Burma, dad was internationally known as one of the most progressive innovators in the world of dance and pioneered the modern dance movement in the early 1970s."

Peter's career was launched he landed a role in the original stage cast of West Side Story, at Her Majesty's Theatre, in London, from 1959 to 1961.

Jeremy said: "It was here that dad's singing ability was soon recognised and the combination of his strong voice and unique style of dance led to a recording contract with EMI records.

"This led to a long string of TV appearances essentially designed to promote his records, but he became a household name after appearing in many shows, including the series The Saturday Crowd.

He later appeared as Captain Peter Carlin in the cult TV series UFO in the late 1960s, which followed with him landing his own BBC special, The Peter Gordeno Show.

Jeremy, who is in his 40s and owns a club in the West End, said: "Behind the scenes, dad was a choreographer and would coach a number of artists including Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck.

"He was best known though for his live cabaret performances around the world and it was here he achieved his status throughout the industry and won several awards."

Before Peter passed away he was working on a stage show about his life.

Family friend Audrey Dobson, who lives in West Hampstead, said: "I met Peter at the club I promote for his son, my good friend, Jeremy Gordeno.

"Being an avid fan I knew everything about his celebrated career and was very excited to first meet him and as it turned out we had a lot to talk about. My last memory of him was dancing to a classic disco song at the club. I'll miss him dearly."

He is survived by wife Angela, children Jeremy, Peter, and Anji and grandchildren Elliot, Kai, Thalia, Miabella, and Jack.