On this date in 1929, the comedian Ken Dodd was born. 10 facts about him:
His interest in show business was sparked by an advert in a magazine. It read: “Fool your teachers, amaze your friends – send 6d in stamps and become a ventriloquist!” The stamps got him a book on ventriloquy, and his father bought him a dummy which he named Charlie Brown. His first gigs were with the dummy at a local orphanage.
He made his professional debut in 1954 under the name Professor Yaffle Chuckabutty, Operatic Tenor and Sausage Knotter.
As a boy, he sang in the church choir, and maintained a Christian faith all his life. He attended church regularly and would say a prayer before each performance.
He was known for marathon performances, 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. Audiences were brought into the show in shifts so he wouldn’t be talking to a tired audience. That said, some of his regular performances were even longer and could last as long as five hours. Fellow comedian Bernie Clifton joked that at his age, he doesn’t go and see a Ken Dodd show without putting his affairs in order.
He could do more than just tell jokes. He was a singer and an actor as well. His first single, Love Is Like a Violin reached No 8 in 1960, and his single Tears, released in 1965, was the third biggest-selling single of the decade. As for acting, He played Malvolio in a production of Twelfth Night at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1971, played The Tollmaster in the 1987 Doctor Who story Delta and the Bannermen, and voiced millionaire Sir Fitz-Patrick Flush in the 1996 TV version of Dennis the Menace.
He devised a ‘giggle gazetteer,’ inspired by the records he would keep of customer purchases when he was helping in the family business, selling coal door to door. He’d note down which jokes went down well with different audiences, and would adapt his act accordingly.
He didn’t invent the Diddy Men – they are a long-standing part of Merseyside mythology, and had been referenced by Arthur Askey previously. His 'ticking stick' is said to be a throwback to the old jesters’ marotte, the prop sticks the medieval entertainers used to carry.
When on tour, he preferred to drive home afterwards. If he had to stay overnight somewhere, he would prefer to use Travelodge hotels because they were dog friendly, since his poodle, Pippin George, went everywhere with him.
Honours he received in his lifetime include not only an OBE and knighthood but also an honorary fellowship from the University of Chester and induction into the Grand Order of Water Rats, the exclusive British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation. He was also a patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
Dodd died aged 90 on 11 March 2018 at his home in Knotty Ash, the house he was born in and had lived in all his life. Two days earlier he’d married his partner of 40 years, Anne Jones.
NEW!!
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment