Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Les Dawson

Leslie "Les" Dawson, Jr. (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.

Early life

Les Dawson was born in Collyhurst, Manchester, to Leslie Dawson, Sr. and Julia Nolan, who was of Irish descent. His first job was in the parcels department of the Manchester Co-op. He worked briefly as a journalist on the Bury Times.

Career

Dawson claimed in his entertaining but unreliable autobiography that he began entertaining as a pianist in a Parisian brothel. Making a living as a pianist evolved into comedy when he got laughs by playing wrong notes and complaining to the audience. He made his television debut on the talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967 and became a prominent comic on British television for the rest of his life.

His characteristic routines featured Roy Barraclough and Dawson as elderly women, Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebotham. Cissie had pretensions of refinement and corrected Ada's malapropisms or vulgar expressions. As authentic characters of their day, they spoke some words aloud but mouthed others, particularly those pertaining to bodily functions and sex. The characters were based on those Les Dawson knew in real life. He explained that this mouthing of words (or "mee-mawing") was a habit of Lancashire millworkers trying to communicate over the racket of looms, then resorted to in daily life for indelicate subjects. To further portray the reality of northern, working class women, Cissie and Ada would sit with folded arms, occasionally adjusting their bosoms by a hoist of the forearms. Many Cissie and Ada sketches were written by Terry Ravenscroft. This was also typical of pantomime dame style, an act copied from his hero, Norman Evans and his act Over the Garden Wall.

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Latest News for: les dawson

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Australia v Pakistan: first Twenty20 international – live

The Guardian 14 Nov 2024

As they hawkishly follow his unpredictable vocal phrasing and a piano style that’s simultaneously florid and ragged – Art Tatum by way of Les Dawson – he’s still capable of wrongfooting them ... ....

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Bob Dylan review – melancholy, reflective, but still utterly unpredictable

The Guardian 13 Nov 2024

Perhaps there’s something protective about this formation ... As they hawkishly follow his unpredictable vocal phrasing and a piano style that’s simultaneously florid and ragged – Art Tatum by way of Les Dawson – he’s still capable of wrongfooting them.

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Dear David Jason, might you be my biological father? As a young actor, the Only ...

The Daily Mail 05 Oct 2024

There's a photograph somewhere of the cast of a 1970s production of Under Milk Wood, at the Mermaid Theatre in London ... Yes, a cravat ... The letter went on ... Could it? ... Joyce Grenfell and Les Dawson, such was Ronnie's public standing at the end of his life ... .

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Ginger Johnson Blows Off! review – this crude, fart-fuelled comedy runs out of gas

The Guardian 30 Sep 2024

UK Drag Race champ Ginger Johnson’s latest may fall into the latter category ... Ginger’s brand of drag is closer to the end of the pier, to Les Dawson in a spangled catsuit, than to the sleek sass and glamour usually associated with the artform.

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Pregnant Charlotte Dawson shows off her baby bump as she joins Love Island winner Millie ...

The Daily Mail 27 Sep 2024

Ex On The Beach's Charlotte, 32, the daughter of the late comedian Les Dawson, looked every inch the doting mother as she cradled her growing baby bump on the red carpet.

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Ian Davidson obituary

The Guardian 24 Sep 2024

... biggest stars, including the Monty Python team, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker , Les Dawson, Dave Allen and Little and Large .

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More pests at the Beeb! BBC blasted for food hygiene after inspectors find COCKROACHES in canteen...

The Daily Mail 21 Sep 2024

Vernon Kay appears on an episode of Loose Women on September 10 2024 ... Coli ... One report stated ... The food from the BBC staff canteens is famously bad and has provided material for stars including Ronnie Corbett, Peter Sellers, Terry Wogan and Les Dawson ... .

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How King Charles was a personal friend of the

The Daily Mail 30 Aug 2024

The atmosphere was electric ... This week, 40 years after those Games were held right next to the pioneering hospital of the same name, the Paris Paralympics opened ... Read More ... Other guests at his birthday included comedians Les Dawson and Ernie Wise ... .

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Charlotte Dawson cradles her baby bump as she is seen for the first time since ...

The Daily Mail 27 Aug 2024

Charlotte Dawson celebrates son Jude's first birthday without her fiancé Matthew Sarsfield ... Pregnant Charlotte Dawson reveals major career change ... Pregnant Charlotte Dawson made fiancé Matthew Sarsfield apologise to her late dad Les.

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Pregnant Charlotte Dawson reveals quirky way she made fiancé Matthew Sarsfield apologise to her late...

The Daily Mail 24 Aug 2024

Pregnant Charlotte Dawson has revealed the quirky way she made her fiancé Matthew Sarsfield apologise to her late dad Les ... Pregnant Charlotte Dawson has revealed the quirky way she made her fiancé ...

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Charlotte Dawson reveals she is expecting her third child

AOL 24 Aug 2024

... shows Ex On The Beach and Celebs On The Farm, is the daughter of the comedian Les Dawson, who died in 1993 aged 62.

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Lynn Faces review – offbeat comedy pays punk tribute to Alan Partridge’s PA

The Observer 18 Aug 2024

Two best friends have been pressganged into taking part, and here we all are at their maiden gig ... As they used to say about Les Dawson, you have to be a good musician to make bad music funny, and I’m not sure that’s a trick Lynn Faces pulls off ... Share.

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Charlotte Dawson seeks comfort at late dad Les Dawson’s statue after fiance Matt moves out ...

The Sun 13 Aug 2024

CHARLOTTE Dawson today found comfort at her late dad Les Dawson’s statue ... But trying to find some comfort through her pain, she visited her late father Les' bronze statue in Blackpool - which is the place Matt proposed four years earlier.

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Peter Vincent obituary

The Guardian 11 Aug 2024

... scriptwriter who put words into the mouths of some of Britain’s biggest comedy names, including Tommy Cooper, Dick Emery, Jimmy Tarbuck, Les Dawson, Kenneth Williams and Russ Abbot.

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Charlotte Dawson admits she

The Daily Mail 05 Aug 2024

The daughter of late comic Les Dawson, who has been with Matthew for eight-years and recently returned from a family holiday in Mallorca, took to her Instagram Stories with a statement on Monday.

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Born: 1931-02-02

Died: 1993-06-10

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Latest News for: les dawson

Australia v Pakistan: first Twenty20 international – live

Bob Dylan review – melancholy, reflective, but still utterly unpredictable

Dear David Jason, might you be my biological father? As a young actor, the Only ...

Ginger Johnson Blows Off! review – this crude, fart-fuelled comedy runs out of gas

Pregnant Charlotte Dawson shows off her baby bump as she joins Love Island winner Millie ...

Ian Davidson obituary

More pests at the Beeb! BBC blasted for food hygiene after inspectors find COCKROACHES in canteen...

How King Charles was a personal friend of the

Charlotte Dawson cradles her baby bump as she is seen for the first time since ...

Pregnant Charlotte Dawson reveals quirky way she made fiancé Matthew Sarsfield apologise to her late...

Charlotte Dawson reveals she is expecting her third child

Lynn Faces review – offbeat comedy pays punk tribute to Alan Partridge’s PA

Charlotte Dawson seeks comfort at late dad Les Dawson’s statue after fiance Matt moves out ...

Peter Vincent obituary

Charlotte Dawson admits she

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