Engelbert Humperdinck Reflects on Sanatorium Experience
Engelbert Humperdinck recently shared some memories from his time in a sanatorium back in 1961, during an episode of his podcast, “The Engelbert Humperdinck Show.” The famed British singer, now 90, revisited a challenging period at Leicester’s Groby Road Hospital after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Humperdinck recounted the tough treatments he faced, mentioning how he had to lie on his back for what felt like eternity—well, about eight weeks—without sitting up or engaging in any strenuous activity. Every morning, he received a rather painful injection, which, he humorously described, was quite large and administered right in his backside.
“There was this one nurse,” he recalled with a hint of frustration. “I don’t think she liked me that much. Every time she gave me the injection, it hurt like crazy. I mean, I literally screamed at her, pleaded for someone else to do it, but they wouldn’t budge.” The result? “I ended up with big blue marks,” he explained.
His thoughts turned mischievous when he resolved to get back at the nurse. “When I’m feeling a bit better, I’m going to do something,” he remembered thinking. He conspired with a friend in the next bed, “Let’s get some rope,” he recalled saying. So, with that plan, they tied the nurse up and placed her in the empty bed nearby, covering her with sheets.
When the doctor came for rounds, he seemed to know what had happened but just walked on by, ignoring the situation entirely. Humperdinck chuckled about his adventurous spirit, admitting he got into trouble for it later but never again had that nurse give him an injection.
After all those painful injections, he finally requested a male nurse instead, which he found much more bearable. Humperdinck spent six months at the sanatorium, initially starting treatment after he coughed up blood during a concert in Manchester. His mother was not convinced by the doctor’s initial diagnosis of just a bad throat infection, insisting on an X-ray. It turned out to be tuberculosis, and he had to prepare for serious treatment shortly thereafter.
After about eight weeks of treatment, he learned he was negative for the disease. When his mother visited him, he asked whether the place was nice. To his shock, she revealed that the priest who had visited him—someone he thought was just providing comfort—was actually giving him last rites, as he had been just days away from death.
Humperdinck, whose real name is Arnold George Dorsey, shot to fame in 1967 with his hit “Release Me,” which topped the charts in the U.K. His career is impressive, with more than 140 million records sold worldwide, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe, and even a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
