Des O'Connor

Early life

Desmond Bernard O'Connor was born on 12 January 1932 in Stepney, East London, to Maude (née Bassett), a cleaner, and Harry O'Connor, a dustman. His father was of Irish Catholic descent and his mother was Jewish, and he joked that he was the first O'Connor to have a bar mitzvah.

In his childhood, he had rickets and was later badly injured in a hit-and-run car accident which meant he had to be in an iron lung for six months.

After completing his national service in the Royal Air Force, he worked as a Redcoat at Butlin's holiday camp in Filey, where he met his first wife Phyllis, and as a shoe salesman at Church's in Northampton, and for the bus company United Counties, both on the road and in the office, before entering show business. Prior to his break on television, his first fully professional stage appearance in variety was in a Newcastle theatre. Later, while in Leeds, he invited the Welsh singer Shirley Bassey out on two dates. In 1958, when Buddy Holly toured the UK, O'Connor was the show's compère for which he was paid £100 per week.

In 1950 and 1952, he collaborated in songwriting with British singer Sam Browne and Australian pianist and composer Ray Hartley. The team produced hit songs "Let's Do It Again", "Start Singing A Song", "Yes! Yes! Yes! (I Like Good Old Melody)" and "Why Do I Love You?". O'Connor and Hartley also created the hit song "My Baby Told Me She Loves Me".

Career

Stage

O'Connor appeared at the Glasgow Empire, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, the Opera House, Sydney, and the O'Keefe Centre, Toronto, and made more than one thousand solo appearances at the London Palladium.

In late 2011, O'Connor starred in Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Playhouse Theatre.

In May 2012, O'Connor replaced Russell Grant in the West End musical, The Wizard of Oz, at the London Palladium, as Professor Marvel, Doorman at the Emerald City, Tour Guide, and The Wizard.

In October 2015, O'Connor and Jimmy Tarbuck starred in their own one-off show at the London Palladium to raise money for the new Royal Variety Charity. Due to the success of this show, they toured the country in 2016 from April to October. The venues they visited were (in chronological order), the Southampton Mayflower Theatre, Leeds Grand Theatre, Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Bristol Hippodrome, Bournemouth International Centre, and Milton Keynes Theatre.

In 2017, O'Connor and Tarbuck toured the UK again from May to December. The venues they visited included Theatre Royal, Norwich, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Blackpool Opera House, Princess Theatre, Torquay, The Hexagon, Reading, Theatre Royal, Newcastle and Grand Theatre, Swansea.

Until 2019, O'Connor toured theatres around the UK with his one-man show.

Television

O'Connor starred in mainstream television shows in almost every year from 1963 until the 2000s, a feat that only one other television personality has achieved worldwide (U.S. game show host Bob Barker, who hosted mainstream television shows from 1956 until 2007, with 1966–1972 being in syndication).

• Between 1963 and 1971 O'Connor hosted The Des O'Connor Show, a British variety show, for eight series on ITV. This was followed by Des O'Connor Entertains, a show which ran for two series between 1974 and 1976 and featured singing, dancing, and comedy sketches. In 1969, thirteen editions of the show were sold to NBC in the United States, as a summer replacement for the network's Kraft Music Hall. The series was broadcast in more than forty countries.
• Between 1977 and 2002, O'Connor presented his own chat show series entitled Des O'Connor Tonight which lasted for seven series on BBC Two and later seventeen on ITV.
• From 1992 to 1998 O'Connor presented the game show Take Your Pick! where he met fourth wife Jodie Wilson. In 1995 and 1997 O'Connor compèred the Royal Variety Performance.
• In January 2001 ITV aired An Audience with Des O'Connor.
• From 2002 to 2006 O'Connor co-hosted Today with Des and Mel opposite Melanie Sykes. The show was a lunchtime light entertainment programme aired on ITV. On 12 May 2006, the channel announced that the show would be one of a number to be axed in a "painful, but utterly necessary" move.
• In January 2007, O'Connor replaced Des Lynam as co-presenter of the Channel 4 game show Countdown with Carol Vorderman. He left the show in 2008 to spend more time on theatre and entertainment-based projects. In 2009, O'Connor was replaced by sports presenter Jeff Stelling.
• In April 2012, ITV aired The One and Only Des O'Connor, a one-off show that celebrated O'Connor's 80th birthday, with guests including Katherine Kelly, Olly Murs, Robert Lindsay, and Melanie Sykes.

Guest appearances

• O'Connor appeared as a guest on The Morecambe and Wise Show a number of times. He was the butt of many a joke by Eric Morecambe, being referred to as "Des – short for 'desperate", and "Death O'Connor". One line, sung to the tune of "Crazy Words – Crazy Tune" was, "Roses are red, violets are blue, Des can't sing, we know that's true!". (O'Connor was actually an old friend of the duo, and even participated in writing many of the "put-downs".)
• In May 2012, O'Connor took part in the TV game show Would I Lie to You?.
• In December 2012, O'Connor was invited to celebrate 100 years of the Royal Variety Performance with Bruce Forsyth, Ronnie Corbett, and Jimmy Tarbuck.
• In December 2012, O'Connor partnered Lee Mack in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
• In December 2013, O'Connor appeared in a celebrity edition of The Chase.
• In October 2014, O'Connor was a panellist on an episode of Through the Keyhole.
• In April 2017, O'Connor was on the panel of Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule.

Singing

O'Connor had a successful career as a singer, recording 36 albums, five of which reached the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart. O'Connor appeared with Morecambe and Wise on several of their Christmas shows.{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/still-bringing-us-sunshine-eric-ernies-best-moments/ |title=Still Bringing Us Sunshine: Eric and Ernie's best moments |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location= London |date=23 December 2016 |access-date=15 November 2020}} He worked with many pop stars, including Adam Faith, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand and Cilla Black. He toured with Buddy Holly (during Holly's 1958 stay in the UK) and Jason Donovan.

He recorded four top 10 singles, including "I Pretend", which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1968, and "The Skye Boat Song", a 1986 duet with Roger Whittaker.

His singing ability was often parodied on The Morecambe & Wise Show, with O'Connor taking part in the sketches.

Awards and honours

O'Connor was the first subject of the second incarnation of the long-running television programme This Is Your Life, when the show returned to screens after a five-year absence, produced by Thames Television. He was surprised live on the stage of the London Palladium by Eamonn Andrews in November 1969.

In 2001, O'Connor was presented with the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards for his contribution to television.

In 2002, his autobiography, Bananas Can't Fly!, was published.

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.

A month after his death, ITV aired a tribute, titled Des O'Connor: The Ultimate Entertainer, on 13 December 2020.

Personal life

O'Connor was married four times:

• Phyllis Gill (married 1953, divorced 1959; one daughter)
• Gillian Vaughan (married 1962, divorced 1982; two daughters)
• Jay Rufer (married 1985, divorced 1990, one daughter)
• Jodie Brooke Wilson (married September 2007; one son)

Death

On 14 November 2020, O'Connor died in his sleep at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, aged 88, following a fall at his home in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, a week earlier. The episode of Countdown broadcast on 16 November 2020 was dedicated to his memory.

Selected discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

References

1. (13 June 2008). "Profile: Des O'Connor". BBC.
2. Leigh, Spencer. (2024). "O'Connor, Desmond Bernard [Des] (1932–2020), comedian, singer, and television host".
3. Jeffries, Stuart. (15 November 2020). "Des O'Connor obituary". The Guardian.
4. "Book Des O'Connor – Celebrities from The Mcleod Agency". The Mcleod Agency.
5. Cleaveley, Caroline. (2010). "Memories of United Counties Part 1: Northampton". Silver Link Publishing.
6. [http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Confirmed-Des-OConnor-to-Make-Musical-Debut-as-The-Wizard-in-THE-WIZARD-OF-OZ-from-May-22-20120509 "Confirmed: Des O'Connor to Star as The Wizard in THE WIZARD OF OZ from May 22; Show to Close in September"], BroadwayWorld, 22 May 2012, accessed 21 February 2021
7. (12 May 2006). "ITV swings axe to revive channel". BBC News.
8. (23 July 2008). "Des O'Connor to leave Countdown". BBC News.
9. (19 March 2012). "The One and Only Des O'Connor".
10. (5 December 2014). "Des O'Connor – Half the things you worry about aren't going to happen". Belfast Telegraph.
11. "2012 – London Royal Albert Hall". Royal Variety Charity.
12. (23 July 2008). "Des O'Connor to leave Countdown". BBC News.
13. Young, Graham. (1 February 2009). "How Des O'Connor will never forget Buddy Holly".
14. (15 November 2020). "Des O'Connor's prolific career in music". The Irish News.
15. (15 November 2020). "'Ultimate entertainer' Des O'Connor dies aged 88". BBC News.
16. (15 November 2020). "Des O'Connor: From Butlin's to chat show king".
17. (30 January 2019). "Bananas Can't Fly!". Headline.
18. {{London Gazette. (14 June 2008)
19. (January 12, 2021). "Des O'Connor had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease before his death".
20. Roberts, David. (2006). "British Hit Singles & Albums". Guinness World Records Limited.
21. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
22. "RPM Top 30 Adult Contemporary – February 21, 1987".