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)
They Didn'T Believe Me
Ken Dodd Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like to watch you all the day,
And it cer-tain-ly seems fine
Just to think that you'll be mine.
When I see your pret-ty smile
Makes the liv-ing worth the while,
So I've got to run a-round
And when I told them
How beau-ti-ful you are
They did-n't be-lieve me!
They did-n't be-lieve me!
Your lips, your eyes, your cheeks,
Your hair are in a class be-yond com-pare,
You're the lov-li-est girl that one could see!
And when I tell them,
And I cert-n'ly am goin' to tell them,
That I'm the man whose wife one day you'll be.
They'll nev-er be-lieve me,
They'll nev-er be-lieve me,
That from this great big world
You've cho-sen me!
Don't know how it hap-pen'd quite,
May have been the sum-mer night,
May have been, well, who can say!
Things just hap-pen an-y way.
All I know is I said "Yes!"
Hes-i-tat-ing more or less,
And you kissed me where I stood,
Just like an-y fel-low would.
And when I told them how won-der-ful you are
They did-n't be-lieve me! They did-n't be-lieve me!
Your lips, your eyes, your cur-ly hair
Are in a class be-yond com-pare,
You're the lov-li-est thing that one could see!
And when I tell them,
And I cert-n'ly am goin' to tell them,
That I'm the girl whose boy one day you'll be,
They'll nev-er be-lieve me,
They'll nev-er be-lieve me,
That from this great big world
You've cho-sen me!
Ken Dodd's 1964 song "They Didn't Believe Me (Tonight's the Night)" is a romantic ballad that tells the story of a man who can't contain his joy over finding the woman of his dreams. The opening verses describe the man's admiration for the woman, noting her "cut-est little way" and how he loves to "watch [her] all the day." He declares that it seems "fine" to think that she'll be his. The chorus reveals the problem: when the man tells others how beautiful his lover is, they don't believe him. The second verse recounts how the couple got together. The singer explains that it may have been a summery night or any fateful event that brought them together, but that after hesitating for a moment, the woman kissed him where he stood, "just like any fellow would." The final chorus echoes the first, with the man telling his doubters that he's the one she's chosen to be with.
The lyrics of this song are straightforward in their depiction of a man's love for a woman and his desire to convince others of her beauty and character. However, the repetition of the phrase, "they didn't believe me," highlights the theme of disbelief or the idea that the man's happiness and newfound love are being questioned or doubted by outsiders. The woman in the song is not given a voice, as the focus is on the man's perspective and his quest to prove that their love is real. Nevertheless, the song remains popular for its emotional resonance and catchy melody, and it continues to be covered and performed by artists today.
Line by Line Meaning
Got the cut-est lit-tle way,
I love the adorable way you carry yourself, it steals my heart.
Like to watch you all the day,
I could stare at you forever because you bring me so much joy and pleasure.
And it cer-tain-ly seems fine
It feels great to be with you and I can't imagine being without you.
Just to think that you'll be mine.
Knowing that you will be by my side always makes me feel happy and fortunate.
When I see your pret-ty smile
The sight of your beautiful smile makes my life worth living and fills my heart with happiness.
Makes the liv-ing worth the while,
Being with you makes all the struggles and challenges of life worth facing; you light up my world.
So I've got to run a-round
I can't resist the urge to tell everyone about how amazing you are and how much I love you.
Tell-ing peo-ple what I've found.
I want everyone to know about the love of my life and how lucky I am to have found you.
And when I told them
When I shared the news with my friends and family
How beau-ti-ful you are
How stunningly gorgeous you are
They did-n't be-lieve me!
They couldn't comprehend how lucky I am to have you and the depth of your beauty and charm.
Your lips, your eyes, your cheeks,
Your lips, your eyes, and your cheeks are flawlessly beautiful
Your hair are in a class be-yond com-pare,
You have a unique and incomparable beauty, unlike anyone else.
You're the lov-li-est girl that one could see!
You are the most gorgeous and lovely girl that anyone could behold and I am lucky to be with you.
And I cert-n'ly am goin' to tell them,
I won't hold back in telling everyone about how lucky I am to have you by my side!
That I'm the man whose wife one day you'll be.
I can't wait for the day when we will be together forever as man and wife; it would be the happiest day of my life.
They'll nev-er be-lieve me,
No matter what I say, they will always be amazed by your beauty and all that you mean to me.
That from this great big world
From so many people in the world
You've cho-sen me!
You chose to love me and be by my side, I count myself fortunate, and I can't thank you enough.
Don't know how it hap-pen'd quite,
I don't have words to describe how our love story began or how it transpired, but I'm grateful for it all.
May have been the sum-mer night,
Maybe it was a beautiful summer evening that brought us together as our love sparkled and blossomed.
May have been, well, who can say!
I can't say for sure what brought us together, but I'm grateful for every moment spent with you.
Things just hap-pen an-y way.
Love is unpredictable and sometimes it just happens without any explanation or reason.
All I know is I said 'Yes!'
All I know is that when you came into my life, I said yes to a future with you, without regrets.
Hes-i-tat-ing more or less,
I might have had some reservations or doubts, but I took the chance on you because my heart knew you were the one for me.
And you kissed me where I stood,
You showed me your love with that beautiful, unforgettable kiss, telling me that I was the one for you.
Just like an-y fel-low would!
You made me feel valued and loved like any man would want to feel, and it made me commit to you entirely.
Contributed by Blake J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.