Ethel and her cousin Richard Michael Collette Thomas (later a Lieutenant-Colonel killed in action in 1944, in France) were brought up together by their grandparents, Major John Cyril Collette-Thomas and Jessie Maud Scott-Brown, in Bude, North Cornwall.

[3] He joined the Ipswich repertory theatre group and taught himself guitar, but his main interest and most of his spare time was spent skiing.

[citation needed] After appearing in small roles in British films such as The Best of Enemies (1961), Hot Enough for June (1964) and Where the Spies Are (1965) Harrison left for the United States in 1965, working as a nightclub entertainer at such venues as the Hungry I in San Francisco, and at the Persian Room in New York City.

Two years later, he recorded "The Windmills of Your Mind", the theme tune from the film The Thomas Crown Affair,[1] which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1968, and was also a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart.

In 1968, Harrison played the male lead in The Fantasticks, in touring theatres in the round, including the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, Massachusetts.

He bought a farmhouse with 320 acres of farmland, and from there he commuted to Halifax where he hosted a show called Take Time for CBC Television.

[7] He subsequently built a new house from scratch with no electricity, inspired by the fashionable pioneers Helen and Scott Nearing and their self-help bible, Living the Good Life.

He also played Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, the part first performed by his father in the musical's original stage production and film version.

Other touring roles included King Arthur in Camelot, Baron von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, Brian Runicles in No Sex Please, We're British and Lloyd Dallas in Noises Off.

He continued to sing, appearing in occasional concerts to finance the recording and release of his self-produced albums, such as Hold Back Time.

The performance was televised by the British Broadcasting Corporation, including a backstage acoustic version of the song "The Windmills of Your Mind".

[8][9] Harrison died in hospital after suffering a heart attack at his Devon home, several hours after performing a concert locally on the evening of 19 October 2013.