Editing Les Dawson (section)

==Career==
Early in life, Dawson wrote poetry and kept it secret. It was not expected that someone of his [[working class]] background would have literary ambitions. In a BBC Television documentary, he spoke of his love for canonical figures in [[English literature]], in particular the 19th-century essayist [[Charles Lamb (writer)|Charles Lamb]], whose florid style influenced Dawson's. As a young man he appeared with The Nelson Players in [[Nelson, Lancashire]] as Mr Justice Wainwright and Carter, chief clerk to Sir Wilfrid Robarts QC in Agatha Christie's play ''[[Witness for the Prosecution (play)|Witness for the Prosecution]]'' in December 1956.

Dawson wrote in his autobiography that he had a job as a pianist in a [[Paris]]ian brothel.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/urban-myths-series-4-review-les-dawson-paris-brothel-steve-pemberton-682663 | title= Urban Myths: Les Dawson's Parisian Adventure, Sky Arts, review: A funny, but surprisingly touching, tribute to the comedian | work=inews.co.uk | first=Emily | last=Baker | date=7 October 2020 | access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref> Making a living as a pianist evolved into comedy when he got laughs from deliberately bad piano-playing by playing "all the wrong notes in exactly the right order"<ref>{{cite web | url= https://theartsdesk.com/node/88517/view | title= Edinburgh Fringe 2022 reviews: Les Dawson: Flying High / Boris III
 | work=The Arts Desk | first=Veronica | last=Lee | date=7 August 2022 | access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref> and complaining to the audience. He first rose to public prominence on the talent show ''[[Opportunity Knocks (British TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]'' in 1967 and worked as a comic on British television for the rest of his life.

Television series in which he appeared included the [[panel game]] ''[[Jokers Wild (TV series)|Jokers Wild]]'' (1969–73) hosted by [[Barry Cryer]], ''[[Sez Les]]'' (1969–76) and ''Dawson's Weekly'' (1975), all for [[Yorkshire Television]]. After joining the BBC, his TV projects were ''The Dawson Watch'' (1979–80), written by [[Andy Hamilton]] and Terry Ravenscroft, ''[[The Les Dawson Show]]'' (1978–89), written by Terry Ravenscroft, and the quiz show ''[[Blankety Blank]]'', which he presented from 1984 until its cancellation in 1990. Dawson starred in ''[[Listen to Les]]'' on [[BBC Radio 2]] in the 1970s and 1980s.

He made many appearances on BBC Television's variety show, ''[[The Good Old Days (British TV series)|The Good Old Days]]'', in the 1970s and 1980s. Dawson co-hosted [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Edward]]'s charity television special ''[[The Grand Knockout Tournament]]'' in 1987. When [[Richard Wilson (Scottish actor)|Richard Wilson]] turned down the part of [[Victor Meldrew]] in the BBC sitcom ''[[One Foot In The Grave]]'', writer [[David Renwick]] considered Dawson for the role, but Wilson changed his mind before it was offered.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/26/victor-meldrew-role-les-dawson-one-foot-grave-in-grave-richard-wilson|title=I don't believe it! Victor Meldrew role almost went to Les Dawson|first=John|last=Plunkett|date=26 July 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

In 1991, Dawson starred in the BBC television production of ''Nona'', an adaptation of the 1977 play ''La Nona'' ("Grandma") by [[Roberto Cossa]] for the ''[[Performance (British TV series)|Performance]]'' series. Performing in drag, he was cast as a 100-year old, compulsive eater in a [[Buenos Aires]] household.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7b749ff0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310074327/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7b749ff0|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 March 2017|title = Nona (1991)}}</ref>

Dawson was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (British TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' on two occasions, in December 1971 when [[Eamonn Andrews]] surprised him on ''Opportunity Knocks'',{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} and again 21 years later, in what would be one of his last television appearances, when he was surprised by [[Michael Aspel]] on stage at the [[Theatre Royal, Plymouth|Theatre Royal]], [[Plymouth]], at the curtain call of the pantomime ''Dick Whittington'' in December 1992.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} His final TV appearance was on the LWT series ''[[Surprise, Surprise (TV series)|Surprise, Surprise]]'' hosted by [[Cilla Black]], in which he sang a comic rendition of "I Got You Babe" with a woman from the audience who wanted to sing with him. The episode was aired shortly after his death.

Dawson was a heavy smoker and drinker. When not working he would often drink a bottle of whisky and smoke 50 cigarettes a day.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/sep/29/les-dawson-wife-daughter-joke-book | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Nick |last=McGrath | title=Looking after Les Dawson's legacy| date=29 September 2012|access-date=10 September 2013}}</ref> Dawson was initiated into the famous show business fraternity, the [[Grand Order of Water Rats]] and served as that order's "King Rat" in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Past King Rats 1966-2018 |url=https://www.gowr.co.uk/our-history/past-king-rats-1966-2018/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=www.gowr.co.uk}}</ref>

Dawson also wrote novels.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Dipper |url=http://www.gigglebeats.co.uk/2013/09/ray-peacocks-tribute-to-les-dawson/ |title=Ray Peacock's tribute to Les Dawson |date=9 September 2013 |work=Giggle Beats |access-date=10 September 2013}}</ref> He told his second wife, Tracy, "Always remind them – I was a writer too."<ref>"The Unforgettable Les Dawson", ITV, 11 December 2000</ref>

===Routines and image===
Dawson's style as a comic was world-weary, lugubrious and earthy. Some of his routines featured [[Roy Barraclough]] and himself as elderly Lancashire women, [[Cissie and Ada|Cissie Braithwaite and Ada Shufflebotham]]. Barraclough's character Cissie had pretensions of refinement and corrected Ada's [[malapropism]]s or vulgar expressions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interview: Steve Nallon #1 – "A celebration of Les"
|date=12 September 2013 |first=John-Paul |last=Stephenson |url=http://www.gigglebeats.co.uk/2013/09/interview-steve-nallon-1-a-celebration-of-les/|work=Giggle Beats}}</ref> 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]] [[Cotton mill|millworkers]] communicating over the loud noise of [[loom]]s, 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''. 

Dawson was portly and often dressed in [[John Bull]] costume. In his later BBC television shows he introduced a troupe of fat dancing ladies called the Roly Polys. 

He was a talented pianist but developed a gag in which he played a familiar piece such as [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Moonlight Sonata]]'' and then introduced hideously wrong notes (while keeping the tune recognisable) without appearing to realise, smiling unctuously and relishing the accuracy and soul of his own performance.

Having broken his jaw in a [[boxing]] match, he could pull grotesque faces by pulling his jaw over his upper lip. This is described in the first volume of Dawson's autobiography ''A Clown Too Many''.<ref name="jawbreak">{{cite book |last=Dawson |first=Les |author-link= |date=1985 |title=A Clown Too Many |url= |location= |publisher=Fontana/Collins |page=124 |isbn=0-00-637067-5}}</ref>