Ken Dodd



Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE (8 November 1927 - 11 March 2018) was an English comedian and singer and actor, whose recordings have sold over 100 million copies, his buck teeth, frizzy hair, feather duster (or "tickling stick"), and his catchphrases, often playing on the 'tickled' motif, e.g. "How tickled I am!". 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.

Quotes

 * Laughter is the greatest music in the world and audiences come to my shows to escape the cares of life. They don't want to be embarrassed or insulted. They want to laugh and so do I - which is probably why it works.
 * Quoted in Manchester Evening News, Dodd's Bolton bonus, Natalie Anglesey. (2008-04-28)


 * Did you know that a laugh is something that comes out of a hole in your face? Anywhere else and you're in dead trouble!
 * Quoted in Manchester Evening News, Dodd's Bolton bonus, Natalie Anglesey. (2008-04-28)


 * I had an idyllic childhood and when my parents bought me a Punch and Judy Show and a ventriloquist's dummy, I'd perform anywhere, anytime. My parents were wonderful when I told them I wanted to be an entertainer.
 * Quoted in Manchester Evening News, Dodd's Bolton bonus, Natalie Anglesey. (2008-04-28)


 * Comedy should never be over-analysed. It's either funny or it isn't. There's a subtle difference between those who say funny things and those who say things funny.
 * Quoted in Manchester Evening News, Dodd's Bolton bonus, Natalie Anglesey. (2008-04-28)


 * Television is like a great monster, eating your gags as fast as you say them.
 * Quoted in Manchester Evening News, Dodd's Bolton bonus, Natalie Anglesey. (2008-04-28)


 * My dad knew I was going to be a comedian. When I was a baby, he said, 'Is this a joke?


 * I haven't spoken to my mother-in-law for 18 months. I don't like to interrupt her.


 * You think you can get away, but you can't. I'll follow you home and I'll shout jokes through your letterbox.


 * So it turns out that if you bang two halves of a horse together, it doesn't make the sound of a coconut.


 * I think it would a good idea now if all the ugly ones came and sat down near the front! You have!  Good!