Roza leaves legacy to Dogs

10 Mar 09

Lita Roza, the singer of ‘How Much is that Doggie in the Window’ (which marked the first woman to hit the top of the UK charts), has bequeathed just under £200,000 to the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in her will. She died, aged 82, last August, leaving a total fortune of £992,836.

Although she is on record as not liking very much the doggie song for which she became famous, she did not forget to honour hounds in her last will and testament. Woof!

Famed for her glamour in the 1950s, the singer once described her 1953 hit as “rubbish” and never sang it after the recording.

When told it was Margaret Thatcher’s favourite song, she replied laconically: “Well I suppose she had to like something.”

In 2004 she told an interviewer she never wanted to record it, adding: “I sang it once, just one take, and vowed I would never sing it again. When it reached number one, there was enormous pressure to perform it but I always refused.”

Probate records show she left around £300,000 to 11 charities, £190,000 of which went to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the Cinnamon Trust. The rest of her wealth went to her friends and relatives.

After her “Doggie” hit, Roza of Wandsworth, South London, went on to star in cabaret and with the Ted Heath Band.

SuperWoof to Ms Lita!

Awoof! Archie - a doggie who was never in a window… or at least, not a retail window!