Platinum-haired Savile was one of the biggest stars on British radio and television from the 1960s to the 1980s and also raised huge sums for charity, while preserving an enigmatic private life.
His death came after he reportedly spent a spell in hospital earlier this month with suspected pneumonia.
Outside Savile’s flat in Leeds, northern England, his nephew Roger Foster said he would be “sadly missed by many people.”
“Jimmy was a wonderful man, his public face is well known but we knew him as much more than an uncle, he was a very good friend,” Foster said.
West Yorkshire Police said they had been called to a house in Leeds and found the body of a man in his 80s, adding that there were “no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.”A spokesman for Clarence House, the office of Prince Charles and his second wife Camilla, said they were “saddened to hear of Jimmy Savile’s death and their thoughts are with his family at this time.”
BBC director general Mark Thompson also paid tribute. “From Top Of The Pops to Jim’ll Fix It, Jimmy’s unique style entertained generations of BBC audiences. Like millions of viewers and listeners we shall miss him greatly,” Thompson said.
