Ken Dodd
Birth name	Kenneth Arthur Dodd
Born	(1927-11-08) 8 November 1927 (age 84) Knotty Ash, Liverpool, UK
Medium	Stand-up, television
Nationality	British
Years active	1954-present
Genres	One-liners
Influences	Arthur Askey Ted Ray Robb Wilton Tommy Handley Max Miller
Influenced	Joe Pasquale Harry Hill Peter Kay
Website	Ken Dodd - Official Website

Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE (born Liverpool, 8 November 1927) is a British comedian and singer-songwriter, famous for his frizzy hair or "fluff dom" and buck teeth or "denchers", his favourite cleaner, the feather duster (or "tickling stick") and his greeting of "How tickled I am!", as well as his send-off "Lots and Lots of Happiness!". He works mainly in the music hall tradition, although, in the past, has occasionally appeared in drama, including as 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 was such that he rivalled The Beatles as a household name.^[1]

Style, career and achievement[link]

Dodd's stand-up comedy style is fast and relies on the rapid delivery of one-liner jokes. He has claimed that his comic influences include other Liverpool comedians like Arthur Askey, Robb Wilton, Tommy Handley and the "cheeky chappy" from Brighton Max Miller.^[2] He intersperses the comedy with occasional songs, both serious and humorous, in an incongruously fine light baritone voice.

Dodd has had many recording hits, charting on nineteen occasions in the UK Top 40, including his first single "Love Is Like a Violin" (1960), produced on Decca Records by Alex Wharton, which charted at number 8 (UK), and his song "Tears" (Columbia), which topped the UK charts for five weeks in 1965, selling over a million copies. At the time it was the UK's biggest selling single by a solo artist,^[3] and remains one of the UK's biggest selling singles of all time. Dodd was selected to perform the song on A Jubilee Of Music on BBC One on December 31, 1976, a celebration of the key pop successes of Queen Elizabeth II's first twenty-five years as UK monarch.

Dodd is renowned for the length of his performances, and 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 at a Liverpool theatre, where audiences were observed to enter the show in shifts. More recently, Ken Dodd appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in 2006 in front of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, where he reprised some of his famous jokes, including those about tax accountants as well as singing his famous song "Happiness".

Early life[link]

Dodd was born on 8 November 1927 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, the son of a coal merchant, Arthur Dodd and wife Sarah. He had an older brother, William (1925–2011). He went to the Knotty Ash School, and sang in the local church choir of St Johns Church, Knotty Ash. At the age of seven, he was dared by his school friends to ride his bike with his eyes shut. He accepted the dare, crashed, and received facial injuries which resulted in his distinctive buck teeth.^{[citation needed]}

He then attended Holt High School, a Grammar School in Childwall, but left at age fourteen to work for his father.^[4] Around this time he became interested in showbusiness after seeing an advert in a comic: "Fool Your Teachers, Amaze Your Friends—Send 6d in Stamps and Become a Ventriloquist!" and sending off for the book. Not long after, his father bought him a ventriloquist's dummy and Ken called it Charlie Brown. He started entertaining at the local orphanage, then at various other local community functions.

He got his big break at age twenty-six when, in September 1954, he made his professional show-business debut at the now-demolished Nottingham Empire.^[5] 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, eventually topping the bill at Blackpool in 1958.

Honours[link]

In December 2004, Dodd was in Nottingham to be presented with a framed playbill after a sell out performance at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham to celebrate his fifty years in show business. Dodd's first professional performance was on stage at the Empire Theatre, Nottingham in 1954.

In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders to find 'The Comedian's Comedian', Dodd was voted amongst the 'Top 50 Comedy Acts Ever', ranked as number 36. He was made an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University in 1997. A statue depicting Dodd with his feather duster was unveiled in Lime Street Station, Liverpool on 11 June 2009.

Dodd 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.

Personal life[link]

Dodd has had two long-term fiancées, but has never married. A stalker, Ruth Tagg, who harassed Dodd and his girlfriend Anne Jones (who is also a current support act, named 'Sybie' Jones), sending threatening letters and a dead rat, attempted to burn down his house by pushing burning rags through the letterbox, in October 2001. Tagg pleaded guilty to harassment and arson at Preston Crown Court.^[6]

He underwent a hernia operation in late 2007, forcing him to cancel several performances, but was back on stage within a month. Dodd presented the History of Liverpool Comedians at St George's Hall on 1 and 2 April 2008.

Dodd is still touring and appeared at the Glasgow Pavilion in April 2009, playing to a sell-out crowd for over four hours. September 2010 saw Dodd perform at the Playhouse Theatre, Weston Super Mare (Somerset, UK), where he performed to a full house in a show that started at 7pm and finished well after midnight.^{[citation needed]}

He also played at Southport Theatre and Convention Centre, on Saturday November 20, 2010. Similar to the Glasgow Pavilion in April 2009, the show started at 7 pm and finished in the early hours of Sunday 21 November.

Dodd was a supporter of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher and campaigned during the 1979 general election campaign, which brought her to power. In the last rally, in Wembley Stadium, he introduced her on to the stage.

His first, and to date only, book, Look At It My Way, was published in November 2009. Ken Dodd: The Biography by Stephen Griffin was published on 15 September 2005 (ISBN 1-84317-123-6). In July 2010, the regional UK airline, Eastern Airways, named one of their Jetstream 41 aircraft after Dodd, in celebration of one year of scheduled services to Liverpool, and the support that Dodd shows for the region and in particular the airport.

Discography[link]

UK chart singles[link]

Other singles[link]

• "Where's Me Shirt" (1965)
• "You're My Best Friend" (1980)
• "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" (1980)
• "It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" (1980)

Tax evasion court case[link]

In 1989 Dodd was charged with tax evasion. The subsequent trial, with the prosecution case led by Brian Leveson QC, produced several revelations. The Diddy Men, who had appeared in his stage act, were often played by local children from stage schools, and were revealed never to have been paid. Dodd was also revealed to have very little money in his bank account, having £336,000 in cash stashed in suitcases in his attic. When asked by the judge, "What does a hundred thousand pounds in a suitcase feel like?", Dodd made his now famous reply, "The notes are very light, M'Lord."^[9]

Dodd was represented by George Carman, who in court famously quipped, "Some accountants are comedians, but comedians are never accountants".^[10] The trial lasted three weeks: Dodd was acquitted.^[10]

Despite the strain of the trial, Dodd immediately capitalised on his new-found notoriety with a successful season running from Easter to Christmas 1990 at the London Palladium. It was there he had previously broken the house record for the longest comedy season at the theatre, in 1965, with a residency lasting forty-two weeks. Some of his current material mocks the trial and tax in general. For a while he introduced his act with the words, "Good evening, my name is Kenneth Arthur Dodd; singer, photographic playboy and failed accountant!"^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ken Dodd

• Ken Dodd - Official Website
• BBC Comedy - Ken Dodd
• Review of Ken Dodd show in Bournemouth 2007
• The Ken Dodd Story
• Unofficial Ken Dodd site
• Ken Dodd at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ken Dodd

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Hugh Francis "Frank" Carson KSG (6 November 1926^[1] – 22 February 2012^[2]) was a Northern Irish comedian and actor, best known on television in series such as The Comedians and Tiswas. He was a member of the entertainment charity the Grand Order of Water Rats.^{[citation needed]}

Early life[link]

Carson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he attended St Patrick's Elementary School and worked as an electrician, and later plasterer, in the building trade.^[3] Carson's family were of Italian descent,^[4] with his grandmother hailing from Sicily.^{[citation needed]} He grew up in what was then the "Little Italy" area of Belfast, and was once a choirboy at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church on Donegall Street.^[5] Carson spent three years with the Parachute Regiment mainly in the Middle East in the late 1940s. During his service he assisted with the clear up after the King David Hotel bombing in Jerusalem and made 40 parachute descents.^[6][7]

Television career[link]

Carson became a popular performer on Irish television, before moving to England to work as a stand-up club comedian. He had success on the long running television music-hall revival show, The Good Old Days. He then went on to win the peak-viewing national favourite talent show Opportunity Knocks, presented by Hughie Green, three times. He was one of the more prominent acts on The Comedians alongside the likes of Charlie Williams, Bernard Manning, Mike Reid and Jim Bowen. The show consisted of 30 minutes of non-stop stand-up comedy from several comedians in each show, became a ratings hit in the United Kingdom and helped establish Carson's performing career.

Granada Television's The Comedians led to similar shows, such as The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, which was an attempt to bring the northern English working man's club show to television. Carson was a regular on television for a number of years after The Comedians, whilst also working as a stage entertainer and appearing before the Royal Family in shows. He is known for two catchphrases in live performances: "It's a cracker!" and "It's the way I tell 'em!". In 1975, Carson took the part of Paddy O'Brien, described as "an Irish Republican landlord and coalman", in The Melting Pot, a sitcom written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast.^[8]

When he had heart surgery in 1976 it was suggested this meant he would retire. However, he continued working and became a regular on the ATV children's series Tiswas. He began making acting appearances on television as well as in two cinema films in the 1990s. In 1998, he was the opening act for Mary Black's musical concert at the English Village in Dubai. In 2004, a planned appearance on the reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! was shelved by ITV executives due to prohibitive insurance costs given Carson's age.^[9]

Later life[link]

Carson was still working, making live appearances, in cabaret, pantomime and the summer season throughout the UK. He spent much of his time helping the needy which included raising £130,000 for the Royal Victoria Hospital Children's Cancer Ward in 1986.^{[citation needed]} He was also an outspoken supporter of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).^[10]

In 1987 his dedication to charity was recognised by the Roman Catholic Church when he was awarded a papal knighthood of the Order of St. Gregory by Pope John Paul II.^[11]

On 2 September 2009, aged 82, Carson returned to the stage appearing at the North Pier Theatre midweek season run of The Comedians in Blackpool, where he lived.^[12] On 30 October 2009, he appeared at the Velvet Hall in Paphos, Cyprus.^[13]

Personal life[link]

Carson was a Catholic.^[14] He lived in Layton, Blackpool,^[15] where he attended Blackpool F.C. matches at Bloomfield Road.^[16] He was a director of Staffordshire football club Chasetown F.C.^[17] and in the 1970's and 1980's he was appointed a Director and Vice President of Newport County football club in South Wales in order to raise the profile of the club. ^[18].

In 2009 Carson took part in the TV show Cash in the Celebrity Attic to raise money for a local hospice, raising over £900 in the process. Carson lived for many years in Balbriggan in north County Dublin, and served two terms as mayor of the town.^[19]

Health problems[link]

After a routine hernia operation left Carson, who had a heart pacemaker, seriously ill, he underwent a knee replacement operation in July 2009.^[12] Subsequent x-rays, 14 days after being discharged from hospital, showed that he had a previously undetected cracked rib, which may have been the cause of the hernia. In August 2011, Carson had an operation to remove a malignant tumour from his stomach.^[20]

Death[link]

Carson died on 22 February 2012, aged 85, at his Blackpool home. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, daughter Majella, and sons Tony and Aidan.^[21] His funeral was held on 3 March 2012 at St Patrick's Church, Donegall Street, Belfast where he had married his wife Ruth over 60 years earlier. Mourners included Stan Boardman, Dennis Taylor, Eamonn Holmes, Martin McGuinness, Lenny Henry, Dana, Roy Walker and a large crowd of fans.^[22]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Frank Carson at the Internet Movie Database
• Comedy CV - Frank Carson

The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. Please help to establish notability by adding reliable, secondary sources about the topic. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. (August 2008)

Joan Hinde (born 21 October 1933) is a British trumpeter and entertainer.

Life[link]

Joan Hinde was born in Eckington, Derbyshire. At the age of six she began receiving cornet lessons from her uncle, who was the conductor of a local brass band. Joan took to the instrument almost immediately and needed no coaxing to practise for several hours per day. By the age of twelve she had won over fifty competitions. In 1966 she married Kenneth Hopson and in 1967 gave birth to her daughter, Claire. She and her husband currently reside in Felpham, Bognor Regis, West Sussex and remain close to their daughter and son-in-law who live nearby. Ms. Hinde still makes regular stage and concert appearances. She is perhaps the UK's oldest working female trumpeter, and is proud to have been a lifelong member of the very excluside Grand Order of Lady Ratlings.

Works[link]

Joan Hinde's showbusiness career began on the BBC radio programme, Children's Hour when very young in the early 1940s. In her teens she progressed to regular and legendary appearances on BBC Variety Bandbox, holding her own against fellow performers such as Billy Ternent and Eddie Calvert. It was during this period that she was the only female trumpeter in the world to broadcast Haydn's famous Trumpet Concerto. This record has only been broken in more recent years.

At the time when her contemporaries were breaking into the new medium of television, Joan never did, most likely due to ineffective management. Instead, Joan Hinde forged a sparkling reputation on the live variety stage becoming a regular fixture with artistes such as Elsie and Doris Waters, Jimmy James and Co., Gladys Morgan, The Black and White Minstrel Show, Max Bygraves, Sir Harry Secombe and Ken Dodd. It was with the aforementioned Sir Harry that she travelled far and wide entertaining the British armed forces during various conflicts, including the Falklands and Aden.

Passing years have not seen any deterioration in the brilliant technical mastery of the trumpet, her enviable tone or her innate ability to entertain. Her current repertoire still includes "The Flight of the Bumble Bee", "Haydn Trumpet Concerto", and Leroy Anderson's "Bugler's Holiday". The staple of her workload these days is The Ken Dodd Laughter Show, but still appears in cabaret and as a guest soloist in light music concerts by larger orchestras.

In 2002 she made her first television appearance in many years on LWT's Another Audience with Ken Dodd. She appeared as the Lady Mayoress who joined in - apparently uninvited - with Dodd's singing of "The Very Thought of You". Afer the show was broadcast, LWT's switchboard was jammed with calls enquiring as to who the lady trumpet player had been and where recordings of her could be obtained. This might have made LWT think that Joan Hinde would be a useful artiste to include in a mainstream entertainment show; it didn't.

External links[link]

• The Official Joan Hinde Website
• Joan Hinde's Credits at the IMDB
• The Grand Order of Lady Ratlings