Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE (8 November 1927 – 11 March
2018)
Ken Dodd has been described as "the last great music
hall entertainer", and was primarily known for
his live stand-up
performances. Today, 11th March 2020 is the second anniversary of his death.
Kenneth Arthur Dodd was born on 8 November 1927 in
Knotty Ash,
Liverpool, and Lancashire, the son of a coal merchant, Arthur Dodd, and wife
Sarah (née Gray). He had an older brother, William (1925–2011) and a younger
sister. He went to the Knotty Ash School, and sang in the local church choir of
St John's Church, Knotty Ash.
A lifelong resident of Knotty Ash he died in the house he
was born in and shared with his partner Anne Jones, a former Bluebell dancer who
appeared in his shows playing the piano, guitar, flute and singing. He asked
Anne to marry him just two days before he died.
Sir Ken Dodd's career as an entertainer started in the
mid-1950s. Identified by his unruly hair and protruding teeth, his red, white
and blue “tickling stick" and his upbeat greeting of "How tickled I
am!" Ken was a family favourite for many years.
At the age of 7, Doddy was dared by his school friends to
ride his bike with his eyes shut. He accepted the dare, crashed and sustained
facial injuries which resulted in his distinctive buck teeth.
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| Ken Dodd's first business card |
He got his big break at age 26 when, in September 1954, he
made his professional show-business debut at the now-demolished Nottingham
Empire. A nervous young man, he sat in a local milk bar for most of
the afternoon, going over and over his lines before going to the theatre. He
later said, "Well at least they didn't boo me off". He continued to
perform, and in 1955 he appeared at Blackpool, where, in the following year, he
had a part in "Let's Have Fun". His performance at the Central Pier
was part of a comedy revue with Jimmy James and Company. Also on the same bill
were Jimmy Clitheroe and Roy Castle. Ken Dodd first gained top billing at Blackpool
in 1958. He was a guest on innumerable television and radio shows and made many
appearances on BBC TV's long running programme, The Good Old Days.
His theatre performances would run for many hours,
frequently past midnight leaving members of the audience exhausted with
laughing. During the 1960s he earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records
for the world's longest ever joke-telling session: 1,500 jokes in three and a
half hours (7.14 jokes per minute), undertaken in Liverpool, where audiences
were observed to enter the show in shifts.
He interspersed the comedy with songs, both serious and
humorous, and with his original ventriloquism featuring ‘Dicky Mint’. Ken had
several hit singles primarily as a ballad singer in the 1960s these included,
Happiness, Tears, So Deep Is The Night and Eight By Ten.
He occasionally appeared in dramatic roles, including
Malvolio in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night on stage in Liverpool in 1971; on
television in the cameo role of 'The Tollmaster' in the 1987 Doctor Who story
Delta and the Bannermen; and as Yorick (in silent flashback) in Kenneth
Branagh's film version of Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1996.
In the 1960s his fame in the UK was such that he rivalled
the Beatles as a household name, with his recording of "Tears" being
the UK's third-best-selling single of the 1960s. His records have sold millions
worldwide.
Ken Dodd has appeared on many Royal Variety Performances. The
most recent was in 2006, in front of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, at
the London Coliseum. In 2012 at the age of 84, he played the Princes Theatre in
Clacton-on-Sea, Essex on 7 July. Starting at 7.15 pm he continued until just
before 9.00 pm when Sybie Jones took to the stage. Returning at 9.30 pm he
continued until 10.00 pm. The second support act performed until Dodd's return
just before 11.00 pm when he continued until 00.25 am.
Ken Dodd became one of the rare entertainers to be given a
second show of An Audience with.... This show was entitled Another Audience
with Ken Dodd originally broadcast in 2002.
He was made an honorary fellow of the University of Chester on
4 November 2009, having been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters
at a graduation ceremony in Chester Cathedral. His doctorate was presented by
Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster. He was awarded a Doctorate of
Letters at Liverpool Hope University on 25 January 2010 during the university's
Foundation Day celebrations.
In 2016 Ken Dodd was awarded the Aardman Slapstick Comedy
Legend Award, a recognition of his lifetime's contribution to the world of
comedy. He received the award at an event hosted by Dr Mathew Sweet.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in 1982 for services to show business and charity and was knighted in the
2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity. The award was
formally conferred by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in a ceremony at
Buckingham Palace on 2 March 2017.
Sir Ken Dodd continues to spread happiness two years on from his death, with murals in his memory unveiled in his home city of Liverpool.
The two paintings, by artist Paul Curtis, were unveiled on poster panels outside the Royal Court Theatre on Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of his death.
His wife, Lady Anne Dodd, said: “Ken would have felt humbled – he would have said it was tattyfilarious, plumptious and ‘I’m totally discomknockerated’.”
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| Lady Anne Dodd unveils the mural of Ken Dodd Photo - Peter Byrne, Press Association |
The two paintings, by artist Paul Curtis, were unveiled on poster panels outside the Royal Court Theatre on Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of his death.
His wife, Lady Anne Dodd, said: “Ken would have felt humbled – he would have said it was tattyfilarious, plumptious and ‘I’m totally discomknockerated’.”
Rest In Peace Doddy!
Bob Edwards
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