Comedian/actor.
Born in Manchester, 2 February
1931.
Manchester-born comedian, a former jazz pianist who
used his keyboard skills to great effect in his useless-pianist routine. Otherwise, Dawson was noted for his
dry, pessimistic delivery and his catalogue of mother-in-law and wife jokes.
Discovered on opportunity
knocks, he quickly moved on to star in his own YTV
series, Sez Les, in which he developed characters like
the seedy Cosmo Smallpiece, and perfected a gossipy
housewife double act (Cissie and
Ada) with Roy Barraclough. Taking over Blankety
Blank from Terry Wogan, he maintained the show's high ratings and, still
with the BBC, he also hosted The Les Dawson Show. His
career came full circle in 1990, when he became compere
of Opportunity Knocks, succeeding Bob
Monkhouse. One
of his most unusual roles was that of a
100-year-old woman in the straight drama, Nona, but his last
appearance came in the comedy-drama, Demob, in which he
took the role of comic Morton Stanley.
