View source for Ken Dodd

[[File:Ken dodd december 2007.jpg|thumb|Ken Dodd in 2007]]

'''[[w:Ken Dodd|Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd]]''' [[w:Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (8 November 1927 - 11 March 2018) was an [[England|English]] [[w:comedian|comedian]] and [[w:singer|singer]] and [[w:actor|actor]], whose recordings have sold over 100 million copies, his buck teeth, frizzy hair, [[w:feather duster|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 [[w:music hall|music hall]] tradition, although, in the past, has occasionally appeared in drama, including as [[w:Malvolio|Malvolio]] in [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' on stage in [[w:Liverpool|Liverpool]] in [[1971]]; on television in the [[w:cameo role|cameo role]] of 'The Tollmaster' in the [[1987]] ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''[[w:Delta and the Bannermen|Delta and the Bannermen]]''; and as Yorick (in silent flashback) in [[w:Kenneth Branagh|Kenneth Branagh]]'s film version of Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]'' in [[1996]].

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==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, [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/s/234/234894_dodds_bolton_bonus.html]''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, [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/s/234/234894_dodds_bolton_bonus.html]''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, [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/s/234/234894_dodds_bolton_bonus.html]''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, [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/s/234/234894_dodds_bolton_bonus.html]''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, [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/s/234/234894_dodds_bolton_bonus.html]''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?<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43370741|title=Ken Dodd: 17 of his funniest one-liners|work=BBC News|date=12 March 2018|accessdate=12 March 2018}}</ref>

*I haven't spoken to my mother-in-law for 18 months. I don't like to interrupt her.<ref name=bbc/>

*You think you can get away, but you can't. I'll follow you home and I'll shout jokes through your letterbox.<ref name=bbc/>

*So it turns out that if you bang two halves of a horse together, it doesn't make the sound of a coconut.<ref name=bbc/>

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{wikipedia-inline}}
*{{commonscat-inline}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Ken}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:Actors from England]]
[[Category:Comedians from England]]
[[Category:Stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:People from Liverpool]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from England]]
[[Category:Musicians from England]]