Les Dawson
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== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
| - | Lancashire-born comedian who will always be remembered for playing the piano wrong and jokes about the mother-in-law. After appearing on [[Opportunity Knocks]] in 1967, he never looked back. | + | Lancashire-born comedian who will always be remembered for playing the piano wrong and jokes about the mother-in-law. After appearing on [[Opportunity Knocks]] in 1967, he never looked back. (He even returned to host that show in 1990!) |
He died in 1993 after a heart attack. | He died in 1993 after a heart attack. | ||
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Before he became famous as a comedian, Dawson used to write poetry. | Before he became famous as a comedian, Dawson used to write poetry. | ||
| - | He broke his jaw in a boxing match, thus being able to pull grotesque faces by pulling his jaw above his upper lip. | + | He broke his jaw in a boxing match, thus being able to pull grotesque faces by pulling his jaw above his upper lip. No doubt he would have shone in the gurning competition, held annually in the Cumbria town of Egremont! |
He began his entertainment career as a pianist. | He began his entertainment career as a pianist. | ||
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| + | His last-ever television role, which was screened posthumously, was in ITV's 1993 comedy-drama "Demob", alongside Griff Rhys-Jones and Martin Clunes. Dawson played the wartime comedy legend Morton Stanley. He had also played a 100-year-old woman in a BBC drama a few years earlier. | ||
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| + | Dawson's first wife tragically died during his time on "Blankety Blank". He later remarried and had a daughter by his second wife, although he sadly died soon after that. | ||
== Books / Tapes == | == Books / Tapes == | ||
Revision as of 11:05, 5 July 2009
Biography
Lancashire-born comedian who will always be remembered for playing the piano wrong and jokes about the mother-in-law. After appearing on Opportunity Knocks in 1967, he never looked back. (He even returned to host that show in 1990!)
He died in 1993 after a heart attack.
Trivia
Before he became famous as a comedian, Dawson used to write poetry.
He broke his jaw in a boxing match, thus being able to pull grotesque faces by pulling his jaw above his upper lip. No doubt he would have shone in the gurning competition, held annually in the Cumbria town of Egremont!
He began his entertainment career as a pianist.
His last-ever television role, which was screened posthumously, was in ITV's 1993 comedy-drama "Demob", alongside Griff Rhys-Jones and Martin Clunes. Dawson played the wartime comedy legend Morton Stanley. He had also played a 100-year-old woman in a BBC drama a few years earlier.
Dawson's first wife tragically died during his time on "Blankety Blank". He later remarried and had a daughter by his second wife, although he sadly died soon after that.
Books / Tapes
No Tears for the Clown (biography, hardcover) (paperback)
