Ken Dodd

Ken Dodd was born on November 8, 1927 in Knotty Ash, Liverpool, England as Kenneth Arthur Dodd.

In the 1960s, his fame in the United Kingdom was such that he rivaled The Beatles as a household name, with his recording of "Tears", a British number-one single, being Britain's third best selling single of the 1960s.

Dodd was a supporter of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher and campaigned during the 1979 General Election campaign, which first brought her to power. He presented her with a tickling stick when she opened a tea shop in Liverpool's Wavertree constituency, and introduced her at a Wembley Arena election rally.

Despite his very vocal support for Margaret Thatcher throughout the 1980s, Dodd remained popular in his home city of Liverpool, where Thatcher was generally unpopular.

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1982 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to entertainment and to charity.

He was a guest at the Royal Variety Performance. [1986]

The actual cause of his arrest, charge and trial for alleged tax evasion in 1988 came about when he was appearing in a charity show. He insisted on being paid cash only after his performance which aroused the suspicions of one of the organizers who was a retired tax inspector. A commonly held belief as to the principal reason for his eventual acquittal was that he was tried in his native Liverpool.

In 1989, he was charged with tax evasion. Thanks to the work of George Carman QC who defended him, he was acquitted. For a while afterwards, he used the experience in his stage acts, introducing himself by saying "Good evening, my name is Kenneth Arthur Dodd: singer, photographic playboy and failed accountant.".

He was a writer, known for Hamlet (1996), The Ken Dodd Laughter Show (1979) and Alice in Wonderland (1999). He was married to Anne Jones.

Dodd has had two long-term fiancées. 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.

Dodd became one of the rare entertainers to be given a second show of An Audience with... which he did in Another audience with Ken Dodd in 2002.

In December 2003, he was visiting theatres in the north of England as part of the Christmas leg of his 'Happiness Show' tour.

In a 2005 poll of comedians and comedy insiders to find the 'Comedians' Comedian', Dodd was voted amongst the 'Top 50 Comedy Acts Ever', ranked as number 36.

In 2006, Ken Dodd appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in front of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, where he reprised some of his famous jokes, including those about tax accountants as well as singing his famous song "Happiness".

A statue depicting Dodd with his feather duster was unveiled in Lime Street Station, Liverpool on 11 June 2009.

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.

In 2012 at age 84, he played the Princes Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex on 7 July. Starting at 7.15pm, he continued until just before 9.00pm when Sybie Jones took to the stage. Returning at 9.30pm, he continued until 10.00pm. The second support act performed until Dodd's return just before 11.00pm when he continued until 00.25am. As of 2016, Dodd continued to tour extensively.

He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2017 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Entertainment and charity in Liverpool, Merseyside, England.