In memory of Sid Roberson (1937-2016)
In this current social media era of PDGs (public displays of grief) I am a little apprehensive about joining the fold but Sid Roberson was a man who was just too fucking cool to go unmentioned.
Championship body builder, star of Strongbow campaign in 70s, art director, photographer, tv director, film director, socialist millionaire, political academic..he was all of these things and excelled at all of them but most importantly to me he was my friend & I loved hanging out with him. He was very funny, very intelligent and had the best stories of anyone I have ever listened to. There are way too many to go into and involve mostly unmentionable jaw-dropping tales of debauchery but one of my favourite was when he was personal trainer to Reggie Kray in the 60s (I shit you not) and he said he used to call Reggie a ‘fat fuck’ as he did sit-ups which would crack up his psycho bodyguard because there was no-one else on the planet who had ever spoken to Reggie like that. That was Sid all over. He didn’t give a fuck. This is me. You deal with it.
He actually got through life saying what the fuck he wanted to whoever he wanted, regardless of who they were or what they could do for him. He never looked up or down at anyone and never compromised himself ever and even though he was blunt as fuck to everyone in his life, people loved him for it. No-one has probably ever been ruder and more liked in history. He got away with it mainly because he wasn’t being malicious, he was just being straight up and took bare faced honesty to somewhat of an art form.
But one of the reasons he also got away with it is that he was as honest about himself as he was about others. Not even he escaped his own bullshit free observations. Sid was a major body builder back in the day and was built like a brick shit house most of his life. As he became more infirm his frame shrunk but he still always looked like he was carved out of granite. Even just a couple of months before he died he had a push up bar installed in his house and was still working out regularly.
But inside this fairly scary very tough exterior was hiding a very fragile man and as his illness & age swept away his physique it revealed more of this person. Even though few would ever have been aware of this he never tried to hide it from me which I considered a privilege. He was always very upfront about his anxieties and fears and he had in fact battled with them all his life but somehow revealing his true vulnerability just made him seem stronger to me.
I originally met Sid in the 90s as I got a job working for him but it was only in the last five years we became really close friends. He lived local to me and as he was essentially housebound, we hung out at his all the time and I always loved going round there. Being both photographers & directors as well as both being ardent atheists and socialists we had quite a lot in common and had great conversations & debates about a shitload of stuff. He was a very argumentative opinionated fucker which is probably why we got on so well.
As a person he taught me one very important thing. He taught me to just get on with it. Don’t talk about it. Just fucking do it. He was incredibly supportive and would do anything he could to help you. He helped me get my first film made. It simply wouldn’t have happened without him and this was while I was working for him. Who helps an employee kickstart a new career while they already supposedly have one on your payroll? Sid did and at his funeral yesterday, I spoke to other ex-employees, now devoted friends, who he had supported and inspired in equal measure.
When I told some people a friend of mine had died they looked horrified and sympathetic and when they asked how old they were, and I would tell them, nearly 80, you could see their face soften a bit as if it wasn’t so much of a tragedy. Good innings and all that shit but the truth is you don’t like someone more or less because of their age and you certainly don’t miss them any less. You are upset because you will not see or talk to them again, it doesn’t really matter whether they had a long or great life (of which he had both), there is now just a big hole where they were and that’s it. Whether it is someone’s time to die or not, it always hurts like fuck to those who were bound to them.
We form very strong emotional bonds with people, we intertwine ourselves with those we love and it is very difficult to unravel those connections without a lot of pain & that is why death is such a killer (no pun intended) but there is sadly no way round it. No-one gets out of here alive. The true irony of existence is that the one thing we all pretend is never going to happen is the one thing that is definitely going to happen. It is the one certainty of living and yet we can’t take it on board because to think of ourselves or our loved ones no longer being here is just to hard to bear so we don’t.
Sid Roberson rinsed life to the max and whatever came his way, he took it all on the chin. He really was a fucking legend. One of the greats. A true one-off. I can’t do him justice here but understand this, the world is a seriously duller place without him. This goes out to all those who will miss him, especially to his family, who he adored more than anything.
Just thinking about that amazing man Sid Roberson. We trained together at Reub Martin’s
gym in Tottenham. And then when I became partners with Reub in the west end,he looked
after our gym çalled Mayfair Gym. All the quotes above are true RIP mate,I’m at an old age
now so hope that gym in heaven,will be around for you to hand in a pair of dumbbells for me.
👍👍💕💕😎😎
I turned up at a casting for a Kwik fit euro commercial around 1984. I had just played two rounds of golf at Chingford, was ringing wet and looked like a piece of crap. Sid appreciated the effort and gave me the gig. We worked together a number of times and the likes of Sid are no longer around. I hope Suzie and the kids are well. Sid was a true legend of our business. RIP Mr Robeson.
Glyn G.
I met Sid quite late and never really had the time to know him in such a capacity as you all have. He was technically my boss, but he really was much more. I was one of his carers, however, I did spend a bit more time than he requested. He was a callous yet incredibly warm person. I loved sitting with him as he told me which books to read and which were just shit by his standards. He wasn’t like me and he knew that, I think that’s why he enjoyed the lingering company.
Time passed after I finished working for him and I kept in casual contact, very occasionally taking the time to cycle to him. I hadn’t called for a few months so when I’d finally reached out to him I had received a response from his family telling me of his departure. To this day I think of him as an essential part of my life, inspiring, sarcastic, cruel, but mostly full of so much love.
I am glad to see how loved he was because he told me how much he had changed.
Hi Mike, thanks for getting in touch and sharing your memories..love your story..classic Sid! No-one else could get away with that :) – he was a true one off. All the best…
I worked with Sid, Charlie Saatchi, Sue Larner at Benton & Bowled when I left art college in the 60’s. He was a foul mouthed larger than life hero. Sid and Sue Larner taught me to swear proper.
Fridays before a competition he would strip to the waist and go through his routine and he would get us to critique him! Fabulous memories.
Hi Stephen, always great to hear another story about Sid, he had a way of making a strong impact in a very short space of time and was always there to help people in need. Hard man on the outside, softy on the inside. One of a kind. It’s been 3 years since he died and still wish he was still here. So sorry you didn’t get to see him again but thanks for getting in touch…cheers babycakes
I had the pleasure of meeting Sid in the late sixties. I first met a woman on my flight to London who knew Sid. She contacted him when we arrived and he let us stay at his studio for a night and then at his house for a couple of nights. I took an immediate liking for him and we had some good political discussions. I returned to London at the end of the summer and contacted Sid who welcomed me into his house again. My Charter flight company defrauded me and many others so I had no money or a ticket back to the US. Sis welcomed me to stay as long as I needed. A few days later he returned home at the end of the day and told me of an American who was in town and buying tickets for people like me to return to the states. I left and did not stay in contact with Sid, although I never forgot him. I tried to find him when I visited London again a few years ago. The effort was unsuccessful. I just learned of his passing and feel very sad. He was a memorable man.
Ah, good to hear from you Patrick, would have loved to know him in that era, sure he was a lot of fun to be with, he lived in notting hill till the end and always loved the neighbourhood altho his love of fast cars had definitely waned by that point…when i first met him (in 90s) he was cruising around in a harley davidson, altho he didn’t travel very fast in that either as erred more on side of caution by then..;) All the best BCR
Sad news, I remember Sid from when I was a young teenager in the early 70s, we lived in Notting Hill at the time and our families socialised together, he was always great fun, I remember he loved his fast cars then, and would often take us for a wild spin around Hyde Park, happy memories!
Thanks for getting in touch, always good to hear from a friend of Sid’s. He left a great impression on us all and was a total legend. all the best!
Just found out he is gone :-(
Have you all beat, best of pals right out of school in Enfield, North London. Moved here to the U.S. in the 50s,
returned in 70s with my new wife and caught up for a while, he was still the same old Sid that I knew. Returned to the U.S. and lost touch. Now I find those memories flooding back…God Bless you Sid !!
R.I.P.
Love to all his Family !!
I met Sid in the sixties when we both worked at Benton and Bowles and M WW. We would catch up every five years, lunch or by phone. He came with Suze to my end of year show at the Royal college in 1997. He always made time. He was the funniest most intelligent interesting fabulous man and it is difficult to try to describe his impact without his amazing conversational skill. I feel privileged to have known him.
Beautiful tribute. Sid gave me my first job out of college and he still ranks as the most fair and honest boss I’ve ever had (and there’s been a few over the past 3 decades). RIP Sid and much love to Family & Friends.
Sid gave me a break when I went Focus Puller in 1980 and was loyal to me for 9 years until I started screenwriting and bumped
my self up to DOP…
He was brilliant to me, and I will dine out on stories of our time together. I travelled around the world with him on Commercials in the golden age of huge budgets…
I we miss him, and I can only end this eulogy to a ‘one-off’ character with a message to try and cheer up Suze…”Lick the Brush’…(I still have the T Shirt!). Sid explained the meaning to his crew when we wrapped on a particularly surreal 3 week job around Europe… promise you Suze, your secret is safe with me!!
Goodbye you ‘one-off’ genius… RIP
Wonderful words for a wonderful man!
A wonderful obituary for a wonderful character.
I had the very good fortune of working with Sid on the WHSmith advertising featuring Nicholas Lyndhurst. Sid was a very funny man and a consummate professional, with everything being worked out to the finest detail.
Love and best wishes to the family. He will be sadly missed.
Sorry to hear of Sid’s passing – I worked with him on the WHSmith Nicholas Lyndhurst ad campaign. I was just the lowly agency account person but Sid treated everyone the same – He was the most approachable, honest director I ever worked with. His shoots were sheer joy – a right laugh from start to finish
Sascha
Sending love to the family.
Thank you to everyone who has left comments – it really means so much to hear from the people who he also meant so much to and who, in turn, meant so much to him – FOS (friends/family/fans of Sid) forever!l x
You did do him justice!
Miss him like mad!
Amazing tribute!
Thank you!
I’m very proud Sid was my uncle.xx
Beautifully written and bang on the nose. I first met him was when I was a suit at FGA at the pre-prod for a Schlitz commercial, that I think John Clive wrote. Straight talking to put it bluntly. Later on my career as a smudger I met him a few times… and huge fun those times were too. And the last time was at the lovely Judy Smith’s memorial. The same old Sid, just not a mobile. you led a great life fella and were an inspiration to many. x
lovely piece Jonboy x
Grear great guy. Fondest memory was when he arrived one morning on a shoot and asked me how i was !! Id just broke up with my wife so i started telling him. After id taken a while telling him he tufned to his producer and walking away loudly said ,iim not asking him that again.
Great Eulogy.
RIP Sid.
Great piece. I shared office space with him at Portland Mews a few years back and got to know some of him. Larger than life and very generous. As you say the world is a duller place without him.
I knew Sid well, not so much in his later years as i moved abroad. But i didn,t know him as well as you and that makes you the lucky one.
Thanks for that.
I loved working with Sid.
I loved lunching with Sid. Not often enough but often enough to make me sad at the fact that I’ve had my last lunch with him.
i’ll miss him but I’ll never forget him.
RIP Sid.
Worked with this magnificent man in the 80’s.
Everything you read above is so true.
That’s what made Sid Sid.
Sid.
What a lovely fella.
Never afraid to say what he thought. Never afraid to help you.
RIP ‘Uncle’ Sid.
We’ll miss you but we’ll never forget you.
Greg xxx
What a legend, a one off, and a truly kind man x
MY DAD
Perfect. Sid was a one off, 100% authentic. Will be missed.
I miss him so much .. I trained him and he was like a dad to me as you wrote that’s side for you. Very loving very caring !!!! Miss you My friend!!! :(
What a beautifully honest eulogy.
Lucky pair to have both been friends!
Heaven only knows what mischief you achieved x
You truly have echoed the feelings of many he knew,love and respected him…
Love this. Sid was a legend,
I loved him for al those reasons for over 40 years….that was beautiful and true – thank you
Brilliantly put x
Thanks for this Babycakes, it really strikes a chord. Sorry I never got to meet him.
Great article Babycakes.