Les Dawson
Birthday: Born in 1931-02-02 in Collyhurst, Manchester, England, UK
Deathday: 1993-06-10
Les Dawson (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, who is best remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.
TV Credits
Blankety Blank
Character: Self - Presenter
Blankety Blank is a British comedy game show based on the 1977–1979 Australian game show Blankety Blanks. The British version ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC One, hosted first by Terry Wogan and later by Les Dawson. Regular members of the celebrity panel on this version included Kenny Everett, Lorraine Chase, Gareth Hunt, Gary Davies, and Cheryl Baker. A revival fronted by Lily Savage was produced by the BBC from 26 December 1997 to 28 December 1999, followed by ITV from 7 Jan...
Sez Les
Character: Self / Various Characters
Sez Les was a British comedy sketch show that starred Les Dawson, produced by Yorkshire Television, airing on ITV from 1969 to 1976. Roy Barraclough also joined from series four and would go on to become Dawson's most recognisable sidekick. The two most notably appeared together in drag as characters Cissie and Ada. John Cleese, who had quit the Monty Python team's television series, was also present from 1974 in two complete seasons. Other cast members included Norman Chappell, Brian Glover, Br...
Sykes
Character: Self
Classic sitcom starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques as brother and sister twins who have to tackle the trials and tribulations of suburban life....
Seaside Special
Character:
A BBC light entertainment show broadcast from 1975 to 1979, filmed in a big top at various British seaside resorts. Originally the big top belonged to various circuses, but in later seasons, the BBC bought its own to be the venue. The programme was developed by producer Michael Hurll....
Dawson's Weekly
Character:
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The Dawson Watch
Character:
Comedy show set in its own headquarters from which it offers advice, via Les, to the general public on numerous topics including; entertainment, the environment, love and marriage, the media, health, crime, education and much more....
The Les Dawson Show
Character:
A variety show featuring sketch and stand-up comedy as well as guest appearances, dance numbers and musical performances....
Summertime Special
Character:
A BBC light entertainment holiday series, following on from the success of their Seaside Special shows, featuring comedy, music and variety guest stars....
Opportunity Knocks
Character:
A radio, and later television, talent show originally hosted by Hughie Green, with a late-1980s revival hosted by Bob Monkhouse, and later by previous winner Les Dawson....
Dawson And Friends
Character:
Series of 4 hour-long comedy specials with a variety of sketches, songs and stand-up routines....
Les Dawson's Christmas Box
Character:
A seasonal offering from one of Britain’s most missed comics first seen in 1974 featuring sketches, songs, music and dancing....
Cilla
Character: Self
A mostly live weekly entertainment show starring Cilla Black and her special guests....
An Audience with...
Character: Self (archive footage)
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by London Weekend Television, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style....
Wogan
Character: Self
Chat show hosted by Terry Wogan, featuring live studio interviews with famous and notable personalities....
Going Live!
Character: Self
Going Live! was a Saturday morning magazine show, broadcast on BBC1 between 1987 and 1993. It was presented by Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene. Other presenters included Trevor and Simon, Peter Simon, Emma Forbes, and puppet Gordon the Gopher. The show was broadcast during the autumn to spring seasons, with other shows such as the 8:15 from Manchester and Parallel 9 taking over during the summer months. It was preceded by Saturday Superstore, and succeeded by Live & Kicking. In 1988, when ...
Performance
Character: Nona
An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances....
Movie Credits
The Best of Les Dawson
Character:
Les Dawson made the mother-in-law joke his stock-in-trade, but this master of stand-up comedy would play his audience with a rich array of comic talents. His deadpan "northern" delivery, a rubber-like miserable face (which he himself described as resembling "a sack of spanners"), his fishwife impersonations, comic monologues and a unique talent for just-off-key piano playing would leave them screaming for more. His sour, downturned grin, his cheeky flash of the eyes and an audience in uncontrol...
Dawson's Electric Cinema
Character:
A comedy set in the 1920s with Les Dawson (as his own grandfather) and family running a flea-pit cinema....
Sounds Like Les Dawson
Character:
Les Dawson invites some familiar friends to join him in this one off special in which he performs sketches and musical numbers. Watch out for a rare clip of Les actually playing the piano properly....
When Comedy Changed Forever
Character: Self (archive material)
The history of British comedy from the 1970s to today, showing how the work of Reeves and Mortimer provided a link between old-style acts such as Bernard Manning and modern phenomena like Little Britain....
Les Dawson: 30 Funniest Moments
Character: Archive Footage
A celebration of the comedian’s career that includes tales about shaggy dogs, vintage sketches, and his partnerships with famous people like Roy Barraclough, Shirley Bassey, and John Cleese....
Les Dawson Lost Tapes
Character: Self (Archive)
Through previously unseen footage and clips, we reveal a very different side to the late comedian Les Dawson's public persona and discover the real Les away from the spotlight....