his band's recordings, in addition to work as a vocalist on recordings that did not feature his band. As a racing driver, he raced at Brooklands between the wars but his finest moment came in 1949 when he finished fourth in the 1949 British Grand Prix, sharing an English Racing Automobiles car with David Hampshire. Personal life Cotton married Mabel E. Gregory in 1921. They had two sons, Ted and Bill Cotton, who later became the BBC's managing director of television; despite this, he had an affair with one of his band's singers (Doreen Stephans) and moved into a flat with her in the early 1950s. In 1962, Billy Cotton suffered a stroke. He died in 1969 while watching a boxing match at Wembley Arena. Billy Cotton was the great-great-uncle of TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton. Selected filmography The First Mrs. Fraser (1932) Variety (1935) Music Hall Parade (1939) Bibliography I Did It My Way, Autobiography, 1970, Publisher: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. SBN 245 59941 x. The Greatest Billy Cotton Band Show, John Maxwell, 1976, Publisher: Jupiter Books (London) Ltd. SBN 904041 31x. References External links 1899 births 1969 deaths Wimbledon F.C. players Billy Cotton Band Show Brentford F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I Dance band bandleaders English bandleaders English racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Footballers from Lambeth Royal Fusiliers soldiers Royal Flying Corps officers Musicians from London 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English musicians Association footballers not categorized by position English footballers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force officers