THE broken-hearted friends and family of a well-known theatre impresario have described how “life will never be the same” without him.

David Marcus died at 8.20am this morning on Ward 6 at Furness General Hospital. The former Walney South Conservative councillor had been battling Parkinson’s disease for several years.

Fellow former Barrow councillor, Ray Guselli, was among a group of close friends who visited him in his final moments yesterday evening.

Mr Guselli said: “It was both lovely to be able to say goodbye but also very upsetting, awful when you’ve seen someone like that that you’ve known for so many years. It’s come as a shock to everyone that’s known him, because I think we were expecting him to come out of hospital brighter and better.

“He’d been quite bright and cheerful, but he suddenly deteriorated and they couldn’t get him back. They’d been wonderful at FGH, they’d done everything they possibly could, but he wasn’t responding to the treatment.”

Having served alongside each other during their years on Barrow Borough Council, Mr Guselli and Mr Marcus had been good friends since the 1990s. Mr Guselli described his fellow Conservative as “a really good councillor”, explaining how important it was to have someone like Mr Marcus on his team.

He added: “David was such a big inspiration to many in local theatre, people forget the work he did as a councillor. He really did a lot of hard work to the point where, I know someone who is a staunch, staunch Labour supporter, who always voted for David, because his work was so good locally. That was the measure of what David was.”

As alluded to by Mr Guselli, Mr Marcus’ main love in life was treading the boards.

Mr Guselli added: “You could say that theatre was David’s life. He loved, he slept, he ate theatre. He was totally committed to it.”

David's niece, Lottie Clay, 21, also shared fond memories of her beloved uncle. She said: "I could not be any more proud of my uncle David. He's been my best friend ever since day one and has done so much for me in his lifetime, which I will forever be truly grateful for.

"It's such a shame we cannot do the things we had planned for the future but we have the most amazing memories which I will treasure forever. He has touched so many people's lives through his work in theatre and it's been so lovely to see all the kind comments since his passing.

"I'd like to thank the staff at the hospital who've been so brilliant with him, and I'd also like to thank all of his close family and friends for all their support over the last few weeks - he was surrounded by loved ones and was never alone. I'll never forget you, uncle David, and how much you loved me and how proud you were of me. I will miss and love you forever and always."

Such was Mr Marcus’ inspiring nature that his love of music infected everyone around him. Today, tributes continue to pour in from those whose musical and theatrical careers he has had an influence on.

One came from Terence Russell, a pianist who credited him with becoming his musical mentor after they met at The Queens in Biggar Village many years ago. Meanwhile, Mr Marcus’ Walney Musical Theatre Company co-director and close friend, John Edwards, paid a long and heart-felt tribute to a man he considered “family”.

The 20-year-old said: “I’m so proud to have had the opportunities I’ve had to work with him and to continue producing his pantomimes when he became unwell. He was a true inspiration and fantastic friend with a tremendous wit and sense of humour.

“It was an honour to be with him at the end, seeing him surrounded by his loved ones - he's loved by so many. David may not have been a blood relation, but he was certainly family to me.”

No-one understood Mr Marcus’ love of the theatre better than his close friend, well-known former Barrow bookmaker, Cath Rigg.

Mrs Rigg, Mr Marcus’ longest-standing friend in Barrow, described how they met 46 years ago. Having moved to his home in Biggar Village, Mr Marcus got involved in designing the Chas Kendall float for Barrow carnival.

She said: “He came bounding into the office, and proceeded to take over, organising the best float they’d ever had in Barrow. There were the original costumes from my fair lady, there were horses, the lot.

“That was David.”

The first production Mr Marcus organised on Walney was West Side Story , and his involvement in local theatre continued until as recently as last year. A Walney Musical Theatre Company stalwart, he also ran his own stage company, Pumpkin Productions and Mrs Rigg describes him as “the best pantomime dame she’s ever seen”.

His hugely successful career saw Mr Marcus direct shows in Barbados, meet numerous stars of stage and screen and bring Prince Edward to Barrow. He remained involved in theatre to the last, helping co-direct Walney Musical Theatre Company’s hugely well-received Made in Dagenham production in November last year. Always one for sharing his skills with others, Mr Marcus was a drama teacher at Chetwynde School for around five to six years, during which time he staged outdoor productions including Alice in Wonderland and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Outside of their work on the local stage scene, Mr Marcus and Mrs Rigg also travelled the world together, going to London to see shows, on holiday to Portugal and meeting and keeping contact with families in Egypt. They often spent time in Florida, where Mr Marcus would indulge a life-long love of all things Disney.

The pair are so close that he became like a grandfather to Mrs Rigg’s own grandchildren, and as recently as last year he sang at her birthday party. Now preparing to organise Mr Marcus’ funeral, Mrs Rigg said she has been “inundated” with calls all day.

She added: “He really was very special to everybody. He was a very private person in lots of ways, a really very intelligent man, but a simply lovely person.

“A lot of people in Barrow owe their careers, owe everything to David. He was one of those, he knew a vast number of people, so I think I was one of the privileged to know the whole circle.

“He’s just given me such a wonderful love of life, of theatre, of travel. I’ll miss him so much, life will never, never be the same. It really won’t.”

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