'Art' outside Carnegie Hall.
It is with sadness that we have learnt of the death of Arthur Rugg. Arthur, or ‘Art’ as he was affectionately known by his family and friends, was one of Dame Shirley’s greatest American fans. He was well known by many fans from around the world. He ran the unofficial fan club ‘The Shirley Bassey Collector’s Club’ for a number of years which kept fans informed of what had happened in Shirley’s career. He used to send out magazines to the club members which included fans from all over the world. Unfortunately in the ’80′s he had to discontinue it for various reasons. Many fans still remember it with fondness.
A selection of covers from 'The Shirley Bassey Collector's Club'
Art still continued to follow Shirley’s career with both enthusiasm and loyalty. He adored her. I also know he was an avid collector of her recorded material and memorabilia. He continued to keep in contact with fans and also posted messages on the ‘Message Board’.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Art’s family and friends at this very sad time.
Just for you Art …. RIP
Arthur’s Theme (1987 Live)
Click here for the interview with Arthur outside of Carnegie Hall in 1997 (From the DVD ‘Divas are forever’)
11 Comments
I AM SO VERY SAD TO HEAR ABOUT ARTHUR. THROUGH MY LATE SISTER, JEAN, I MET ARTHUR AND MADELEINE (THE LADY PICTURED WITH ARTHUR) WHEN WE WENT TO NEW YORK AND ATLANTIC CITY TO SEE DAME SHIRLEY. ARTHUR WAS A FOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE WHERE THE DAME WAS CONCERNED AND, INDEED, I STILL HAVE MANY, MANY COPIES OF THE MAGAZINES HE ISSUED. MY THOUGHTS AND SYMPATHIES GO TO ARTHUR’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS, REST IN PEACE ARTHUR AND WHEN YOU MEET UP WITH JEAN, WHAT A GREAT TIME YOU WILL BOTH HAVE REMINISCING.
Art I knew only via email, but a nicer person you could not find, you will be sadly missed by so many DSB fans and friends, but YOU ARE ONLY A WHISPER AWAY, my sincere condolences to all of Art’s family and friends.
Denis Lownds
Very sad news indeed. Rest in Peace Art for you will not be forgotten.
I used to chat with Art in the 90′s when I was first “discovering” Shirley. He was always so kind and knowledgeable. RIP
I was deeply saddened to hear of Arthurs passing, he e-mailed me very recently. He was a lovely gentleman. I had known him since 1999 when he wrote me a very long hand-written letter. He was a great DSB fan. I guess our Jean has a friend joining her now…come to think of it…they will have some of the greatest entertainers up there with them! RIP dear Arthur.
Love and Respect, Neil
I too have been a devoted fan of Shirley since I saw her at the Liverpool Empire in 1972, I knew of Arthur through another friend of mine on facebook and that he was a devoted fan of Dame Shirley, I regret I did not talk with him at length about the Concerts in London,New York etc, personally I have seen Shirley 44 times and I am hoping for 1 more to make it 45 next year if the Dame has a 75th Tour,i am sure Arthur will have equalled or surpassed me at Concert attendances,what a true and amazing Fan it would have been a pleasure to meet him had our paths crossed at a Concert
R.I.P. Arthur
David Stokes (London UK)
Been very busy lately and finally got a chance to learn of the sad passing of Mr. Arthur Rugg. Although I didn’t know him as well as many other fans , I truly can say based on warm conversations I had with him from South Carolina concerning the fan club, he was quite a gentleman. I’ve very fond reflections of him indeed. Once on a trip back to New York to take of business and family, I even met him after a Bassey performance. He was a wealth of information on her and others too. Plus a generous soul. He actually sent me a copy of her song “La Passione” which I can only imagine how long it would’ve been before I’d found out about it back in the early 90.s . After all Shirley music isn’t very popular down here. But from his inspiration I sure tried to turn the tied by having a popular easy listening station calle “Sunny 100″ play her material. Not to mention get a couple decent dance clubs to play “History Reapeating”. Again that was inspired by him. Arthur told me about the treasure chest of “Footlight” records up there compared to “J&R music”. Much condolences to his family, and may JAH and his son Christ Jesus bless you Arthur Rugg and those you’ve left behind for now. So from now on Shirley’s ” Sometimes” will be prayfully reflected of you. See you in paradise brother.—–Emmit.
Farewell Arthur ,
My connection to Art began in the seventies when a friend found an add he had placed in a magazine offering to swap Shirley Bassey items . You could say he helped start my rather full collection to this day .Neil wrote of the long hand written letters I remember the Yellow paper and still have them in my files .
Years later with his collectors club mags I got the chance to really return a Bassey favour by contributing to an issue about Shirleys final New Zealand concert in 1996 .
More recently in the internet era I caught up with him again and he was kind and generous of thought
best wishes and peace
Carl .
I didn’t know Art for very long, but felt very fortunate for his friendship. He was always a great cheerleader for his friends. He will truly be missed and never forgotten. See you later friend! Peace be with all of you! Ruth Judy from Kentucky USA
I was so shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Arthur Rugg. When I came to look for Shirley Bassey info online in 2007, I found him through the Internet Movie Data Base on the message boards and started e-mailing questions to him about Shirley.
As you might expect, he had a whole wealth of knowledge given his fan club background and extensive attendance at Shirley’s concerts throughout the years.
I’ll never forget my favorite story he told on the Bassey Blog message boards:
One time, before or after seeing Shirley at Carnagie Hall, he went into one of the restaurants and discovered that Shirley had just eaten there. He went to the table she’d just left and asked the waiter for her fork or spoon, and paid him for it. He told us that he still had the silverware in a plastic bag somewhere.
Upon hearing his silverware story, I wrote: “OMG! DNA! LOL!” ……….Arthur laughed at my post, as did our late friend Cindy B., who also passed away around 2 years ago……..
Anyway, there are indeed several Shirley fans in heaven ready to welcome Arthur back home……..My sincere condolences to his family and friends……..See you later, Arthur, thanks for all your help.
I knew Arthur from many of the concerts I attended at Carnegie…….
He was always there in the front row cheering her on!
I would love to see another fan newsletter started again!
Ed Abramowitz