He was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity.
He continued to tour the UK in 2018 with The Ken Dodd Happiness Show before pulling out of his tour due to health issues.
Kenneth Arthur 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.
He then attended Holt High School, a grammar school in Childwall, but left at age 14 to work for his father. Around this time he became interested in show business 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 26 when, in September 1954, he made his professional show-business debut at the now-demolished Nottingham Empire. 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, and in 1955 he appeared at Blackpool, where, in the following year, he had a part in "Let's Have Fun". His performance at the Central Pier was part of a comedy revue with Jimmy James and Company. Also on the same bill were Jimmy Clitheroe and Roy Castle.[7] Dodd first gained top billing at Blackpool in 1958. He has guested on innumerable television and radio shows and made many appearances on BBC TV's long running programme, The Good Old Days.
Dodd had been described as "the last great music hall entertainer". His stand-up comedy style was fast and relied on the rapid delivery of one-liner jokes. He said that his comic influences included other Liverpool comedians like Arthur Askey, Robb Wilton, Tommy Handley and the "cheeky chappy" from Brighton, Max Miller. He interspersed the comedy with occasional songs, both serious and humorous, in an incongruously fine light baritone voice, and with his original speciality, ventriloquism.
Dodd had many recording hits, charting on 19 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, 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 31 December 1976, a celebration of the key pop successes of the Queen's first 25 years as Britain's monarch.
Dodd was 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 entered the show in shifts.
Dodd appeared on many Royal Variety Performances. The last was in 2006, in front of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, at the London Coliseum. During this performance, he reprised some of his famous jokes, including those about tax accountants as well as singing his famous song - "Happiness".
In October 1987, Dodd officially opened the Arndale shopping centre in Accrington.
He had continued to tour and, despite his age, his shows frequently did not finish until after midnight. In 2012 at the age of 84, he played the Princes Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex on 7 July. Starting at 7.15 pm he continued until just before 9.00 pm when Sybie Jones took to the stage. Returning at 9.30 pm he continued until 10.00 pm. The second support act performed until Dodd's return just before 11.00 pm when he continued until 00.25 am. As of 2017, Dodd continued to tour the UK extensively, with his comedy, music and variety show.
The shows that Dodd has starred in are: The Ken Dodd Show (1959 - 1966), Doddy's Music Box (1967), Ken Dodd and the Diddymen (1969 - 1973), The Ken Dodd Show (1969), Ken Dodd in Funny You Should Say That (1972), Ken Dodd says Stand By Your Beds, Ken Dodd's World of Laughter (1974), The Ken Dodd New Year's Eve Special (1975), The Ken Dodd Show (1978), The Ken Dodd Laughter Show (1979), Dodd on his Todd (1981), Doddy! (1982), Ken Dodd's Showbiz (1982), Ken Dodd at the London Palladium (1990), An Audience with Ken Dodd (1994), Another Audience with Ken Dodd (2002), Ken Dodd's Happiness (2007), Ken Dodd: In His Own Words (2016).
Honours
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 New Year Honours for services to show business and charity and was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity.[14] The award was formally conferred by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 2 March 2017.
Dodd became one of the rare entertainers to be given a second show of An Audience with.... This show was entitled Another Audience with Ken Dodd originally broadcast in 2002.
In December 2004, Dodd was performing his comedy and music show to a sell out audience at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham to celebrate his 50 years in show business. He was presented with a framed playbill of his first professional performance - which was at the Empire Theatre, Nottingham in September 1954.
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. He was made an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University in 1997. A statue depicting Dodd with his trademark "Tickling Stick" was unveiled in Liverpool Lime Street railway station on 11 June 2009.
Dodd was inducted into the exclusive show business fraternity, the Grand Order of Water Rats.
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.
In 2016 Ken Dodd was awarded the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award, a recognition of his lifetime's contribution to the world of comedy. He received the award at an event hosted by Dr Matthew Sweet.
A stalker, Ruth Tagg, harassed Dodd and his partner, Anne Jones, in October 2001, by sending them threatening letters, a dead rat, and also attempted to burn down their house by pushing burning rags through the letterbox. Tagg pleaded guilty to harassment and arson at Preston Crown Court.
Dodd married his partner of 40 years, Anne Jones, on Friday 9 March 2018 at their home in Knotty Ash, Liverpool two days before his death. prior to his death he was recently released from hospital after 6 weeks of treatment for a chest infection.
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."
Dodd was represented by George Carman QC, who in court famously quipped, "Some accountants are comedians, but comedians are never accountants". The trial lasted three weeks: Dodd was acquitted.
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 42 weeks. Some of his subsequent material mocked 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!"
Discography
UK chart singles
Title Release date Chart position
UK Singles Notes
"Love Is Like A Violin" 7 July 1960 8
"Once In Every Lifetime" 15 June 1961 28
"Pianissimo" 1 February 1962 21
"Still" 29 August 1963 35
"Eight By Ten" 6 February 1964 22
"Happiness" 23 July 1964 31
"So Deep Is The Night" 26 November 1964 31
"Tears" 2 September 1965 1 Sold over 1.5 million copies;
33rd best-selling single of all time in the UK
"The River (Le Colline Sono In Fiore)" 18 November 1965 3 (Angiolini, Shuman) with Geoff Love and his Orchestra
"Promises" 12 May 1966 6
"More Than Love" 4 August 1966 14
"It's Love" 27 October 1966 36
"Let Me Cry On Your Shoulder" 19 January 1967 11
"Tears Won't Wash Away These Heartaches" 30 July 1969 22
"Brokenhearted" 5 December 1970 15
"When Love Comes Round Again (L'arca di Noe)" 10 July 1971 19
"Just Out Of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)" 18 November 1972 29
"Think Of Me (Wherever You Are)" 29 November 1975 21
"Hold My Hand" 26 December 1981 44
Other singles
"Where's Me Shirt?" (1965)
"The Same Mistakes"/"Call Me Mister Sunshine" (1967)
"You're My Best Friend" (1980)
"Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" (1980)
"It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" (1980)
The River
Ken Dodd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
on it's journey to the sea
So still beats my heart for
you're far so far away from me
So still runs the river
while I wait upon the shore
Amore retornae for my love
goes on forever more
Like the river forever more
I threw a pebble in the river
We watched the ripples flow
Beside my darling
see my darling
That's just the way
our love will grow
And then I kissed you
how I remember
But oh I never knew
That like the ripples
on the water
Your love would
soon be fading too
So still runs the river
on it's journey to the sea
So still beats my heart for
you're far so far away from me
So still runs the river
while I wait upon the shore
Amore retornae for my love
goes on forever more
Like the river forever more
Like the river forever more...
The song "The River" by Ken Dodd is a beautiful and wistful ballad about lost love. The opening lines "So still runs the river on its journey to the sea, so still beats my heart for you're far so far away from me" perfectly convey the sense of melancholy and longing that permeates the lyrics. Just as the river flows inexorably towards its destination, the singer's love for the object of his affection endures even though she is far away.
The song also features a poignant reflection on the nature of love and the inevitability of its passing. The line "But oh I never knew that like the ripples on the water, your love would soon be fading too" captures the sadness of suddenly realizing that a once-bright relationship is now irretrievably slipping away.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of yearning underscored by the river's constant flow, a natural motif that perfectly captures the ebb and flow of human emotions. The singer's persistence in waiting upon the shore, for his lost love's return, a beautiful metaphor for a person's holding on to hope, even in the face of sadness.
Overall, "The River" by Ken Dodd is a moving and bittersweet song about the pain of lost love, the power of memory, and the persistence of hope.
Line by Line Meaning
So still runs the river
The river flows quietly, never pausing or changing direction, always moving forward in its journey towards the sea.
on it's journey to the sea
The river's ultimate destination is the sea, the place where it will finally find peace and rest after its long and winding journey.
So still beats my heart for
My heart continues to beat with the same steady rhythm, aching for the one I love who is far away and inaccessible.
you're far so far away from me
Distance has separated us and created a void between us that cannot be filled, no matter how much we might long for it.
while I wait upon the shore
I am like a lonely spectator standing on the shoreline, watching the river go by and waiting for my love, hoping that they will come back to me one day.
Amore retornae for my love
The love I have for my beloved is unyielding and everlasting, never growing weak or fading away with time or distance.
goes on forever more
My love for my beloved will never diminish or wane, but will continue to grow stronger and deeper with time, just like the river flows endlessly towards the sea.
Like the river forever more
My love for my beloved will be like the river, steady, constant, and never-ending, flowing towards its ultimate destination with quiet perseverance.
I threw a pebble in the river
I threw a small stone into the river, watching as the ripples it created moved outwards in ever-widening circles, undulating on the surface of the water.
We watched the ripples flow
Together we watched as the ripples created by my stone flowed outwards, thinking about how our love might also grow and expand in ever-widening circles.
Beside my darling, see my darling
Next to you, my love, I see nothing but beauty and perfection, and I feel deeply grateful to have you by my side.
That's just the way our love will grow
Like the ripples on the water, our love will grow and expand, with each moment building on the one before it, creating something wider and deeper than we ever thought possible.
And then I kissed you, how I remember
I remember fondly the time we shared together when we kissed, savoring the memory of that moment and the love we shared in that instant.
But oh I never knew
Despite the beauty of that moment, I had no idea what the future would hold, or how our love might change and evolve in ways neither of us might expect.
That like the ripples on the water
Just as the ripples created by my stone eventually fade away and are swallowed up by the river's flow, our love might also fade and change over time, no matter how much we might wish it to remain unchanged.
Your love would soon be fading too
Despite how strongly I might feel in the moment, your love might also grow weaker and less intense over time, just like the ripples on the water slowly fading away.
Contributed by Dominic G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@margaretgaskell4958
(Le Colline Sono In Fiore)~~~~~~ by Ken Dodd
So still runs the river
on it's journey to the seaSo still beats my heart for
you're far so far away from meSo still runs the river
while I wait upon the shoreAmore retornae for my love
goes on forever more
Like the river forever moreI threw a pebble in the river
We watched the ripples flowBeside my darling
see my darlingThat's just the way
our love will growAnd then I kissed you
how I remember
But oh I never knewThat like the ripples
on the waterYour love would
soon be fading tooSo still runs the river
on it's journey to the seaSo still beats my heart for
you're far so far away from meSo still runs the river
while I wait upon the shoreAmore retornae for my love
goes on forever more
Like the river forever more
Like the river forever more...
@nicholc7300
I miss him, such a beautiful underrated singing voice he had, I miss him and love him but I guess that heaven needed him more, Thank You Sir Ken Dodd for all the laughter and happiness you brought me over the years 🙏❤️
@AndyClarkson66
This was one of the songs in my parents' record collection when I was growing up. A wonderful voice from a wonderful man who was the master of his craft and never forgot his Liverpool roots. RIP Sir Ken - you made us feel tattyfilarious.
@rhannay39
Brilliant song. We just played this at my father's funeral to say goodbye, as Ken Dodd was his favourite performer. Goodbye dad.
@nicolmackay4225
King of comedy. And what a singer too. Allways remember you Ken.
@maryanchong3719
I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it in the sixties. It still thrills me to listen to it. God bless you Ken Dodd.
@mozz58
He is a beautiful man. Our generation is lucky to have him, God bless him
@rolthesole
R.I.P. mister Dodd. An immaculate entertainer. The last of the great variety acts. Switch the lights out on your way out Doddy.😢
@mickhorrocks3644
true and kind words
@thomasduffmcgready4169
He just has that special voice.
A true man idolised and loved world wide by many millions.
@john111257
3 and a half hours in Blackpool..i was a 10/11 year old and loved it...watching Mum roll with laughter..RIP DODDY AND MUM