Engelbert Humperdinck, the 90-year-old British singer, recently shared memories of his stay in a sanatorium in 1961 on an episode of The Engelbert Humperdinck Show. The singer was diagnosed with tuberculosis and admitted to Leicester’s Groby Road Hospital Sanatorium.
Humperdinck described his treatment, revealing he had to remain on his back for about eight weeks and endure painful daily injections. He recalled a particularly harsh nurse who administered these injections, leaving him with bruises.
There was one lady nurse who was, I don’t think she liked me very much because of the injection that she gave me, she really hurt, and I used to scream at her and I used to ask for somebody else.
Determined to respond to the nurse’s treatment, Humperdinck orchestrated a prank with a fellow patient. They tied the nurse to an empty bed as a playful form of retribution, although he faced consequences afterwards.
The ordeal prompted the hospital to replace the nurse with a male nurse, improving Humperdinck’s experience. He had been hospitalized after coughing up blood at a concert, initially misdiagnosed with a throat infection.
His mother insisted on a more thorough examination, leading to the tuberculosis diagnosis. He recalled an emotional moment during his hospitalization when he realized the seriousness of his condition.
Humperdinck reflected on that time, sharing that he was near death and had received his last rites from a priest without his knowledge.
Born Arnold George Dorsey, Humperdinck’s music career took off in 1967 with his hit song, Release Me, reaching No. 1 in the UK. Over his career, he has sold over 140 million records, received four Grammy nominations, and earned a Golden Globe and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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