Maurice Woodruff (2 April 1916 – 28 January 1973) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

and astrologer, born and raised in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He achieved considerable fame in England. He presented his

predictions A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dicere'', "to say"), or forecast, is a statement about a future event or data. They are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge. There is no universal agreement about the exact ...

to the public via newspapers and also via stage, cabaret and television appearances. His claims were disputed by

skeptics Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

Biography

In addition to his appearances on British television, Maurice hosted the hour-long program, ''Maurice Woodruff Predicts'', on American TV for a short run in 1969. He authored several books including ''The Secrets of Foretelling Your Own Future'' (1969), ''Probing the Unknown: The Personal Experiences of a Psychic'' (1971), and ''Woody'' (1967), a biographical account of his mother's colourful life and career. He had a considerable number of private clients including several well-known celebrities. One of his most famous clients was the actor

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

. His mother was the clairvoyant Vera "Woody" Woodruff.Fritscher, Jack; La Vey, Anton Szandor. (2004). ''Popular Witchcraft: Straight from the Witch's Mouth''. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 96. Woodruff was open about his homosexuality and had a long-term relationship with his manager Harry Arnold. He died in January 1973 after suffering a heart attack, aged 56, on a lecture tour in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. His ashes were returned to Britain where they were interred at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

. A memorial plaque was erected in the West Courtyard at the end of the columbarium there. Woodruff was portrayed by

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

in the 2004 film ''

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' is a 2004 television film about the life of English comedian Peter Sellers, based on Roger Lewis's book of the same name. 1108 pagesPublished in the U.S. via Applause BooksA very comprehensive biography, w ...

''.

References

External links

* * 1916 births 1973 deaths English astrologers English spiritualists Television personalities from London Clairvoyants British gay writers Gay entertainers English LGBT people 20th-century LGBT people {{England-bio-stub