Ken Dodd
| Sir Ken Dodd OBE |
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|---|---|
Dodd in December 2007
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| Birth name | Kenneth Arthur Dodd |
| Born |
8 November 1927 Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Medium | Stand-up, television |
| Nationality | British |
| Years active | 1954–present |
| Genres | One-liners |
| Website | www |
Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd, OBE (born 8 November 1927) is an English comedian, singer-songwriter and actor, identified by his unruly hair and protruding teeth, his red, white and blue "tickling stick" and his upbeat greeting of "How tickled I am!". He also created the characters of the Diddy Men ("diddy" being an informal British word for "small").
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 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. As of 2016 he continues to tour with his comedy and music show.
Dodd was born on 8 November 1927 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, 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. 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 sustained facial injuries which resulted in his distinctive buck teeth.
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