Served with the Royal Air Force as a flight sergeant, based in the Middle East.
He was made an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the 1976 Queen's New Year Honours List for services to entertainment.
Had an operatic bass-baritone voice
Studied singing in Italy for three years and first appeared on stage as a stand-up comedian at London's Windmill Theatre.
At 14 worked in Petticoat Lane in London.
British comic actor and entertainer, on the variety stage from 1946.