Ken Dodd: Light has gone out of our lives, says Shropshire superfan
A Ken Dodd superfan from Shropshire was among those paying tribute to the comedian today following his death.
The Liverpool star died aged 90 yesterday. Sir Ken was renowned for his shows, which would see the comedian perform for hours regardless of his age.
He had a loyal army of superfans, and considered many of them friends, regularly swapping letters.
They included Rosemarie Jones, from Atcham, who attended his final stand-up performance in Liverpool.
She today summed up much of the national feeling, saying: “I am devastated and very, very sad.”
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Rosemarie was one of Sir Ken’s most loyal fans.
The first programme the Liverpool comic signed for her was back in 1958 and she added: “He has signed the same one since, as well as numerous other programmes bought at show after show."
Over the years, Rosemarie has been to literally hundreds of Doddy appearances all over the country and went to a Doddy Do party in London to mark his 90th birthday.
She says: “I went to his very last one between Christmas and New Year in Liverpool and he didn’t look at all well then. And now a light has gone out of all our lives, a big one.”
During that time, Rosemarie has collected so much memorabilia and says: “My bedroom wall is absolutely covered with pictures of Ken. I loved him dearly and feel very, very privileged to say that I knew him.
“I also have other, very precious memories which I wouldn’t share with anyone.”
Farewell our Ken, born to spread happiness
Ken Dodd had one mission in life.
The comedian spoke to the Shropshire Star last year in the midst of a tour that led to marathon appearances at Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn and Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre.
He was full of beans as always, delighted to outline the philosophy that maintained his enthusiasm as he approached his 90th birthday.
“My job isn’t to educate people or even do politics,” he said. “ I’ve got to make people feel good, I want to make them happy.
“I will never retire. It takes it out of you – believe me you know when you’ve done a show, it takes a day or two to recover.
“I don’t feel 89. But what would I do if I retired? Oh God, no. You couldn’t find anything as fascinating as this – maybe, the only thing I could think of that would be as good as this would be gardening; the secret of happiness is to plant a seed and see it grow; the secret of keeping going is to feel that you’re necessary; to feel that you’ve some use in life.
"To feel completely useless, that’s awful I couldn’t sit on a beach – oh no, that wouldn’t be me. I suppose I could sit on a beach and write but no, I’ve got to take part . . .”
Doddy was a friend to Shropshire and Mid Wales. Over the years he has appeared at its main theatres and many social clubs that are no longer running. He was scheduled to appear at Hafren in Newtown this spring, but never made it.
The much-loved star, famous for his epic stand-up shows, his tickling sticks and Diddy Men, died on Sunday in the home he was born in, in the Liverpool suburb of Knotty Ash.
His wife was at his bedside.
The Liverpool comedian left hospital on February 27 at the end of a six-week stay for a chest infection.
He wed Anne Jones, his partner of 40 years, on Friday and an announcement was due to go out later this week about the marriage.
His publicist Robert Holmes said: “To my mind, he was one of the last music hall greats. There is no-one else that comes close. He passed away in the home that he was born in over 90 years ago. He’s never lived anywhere else. It’s absolutely amazing.
“With Ken gone, the lights have been turned out in the world of variety.
“He was a comedy legend and a genius.”
Sir Ken, known for his unruly hair and teeth, performed his very last show just months ago, at The Auditorium in the Liverpool Echo Arena, in his native city, on December 28. But all 2018 dates had to be cancelled due to his illness and subsequent hospital stay.
Holmes said: “He’s not been well this year. Anne was in the process of cancelling all of his dates because when Ken goes on stage he’s up there for about four hours. It’s been my privilege to have looked after him for 47 years. I’m privileged to have been there for him and he for me.
“This time last year I was by his side when he got his knighthood and he was so very proud then. I shall really miss him.”
Over the 1960s, he entered the Guinness Book of Records for the longest joke-telling session ever – 1,500 jokes in three-and-a-half hours.
His TV shows included The Ken Dodd Show, Beyond Our Ken and Ken Dodd’s Laughter Show, and he entered the big time in 1965 with the longest-ever run at the London Palladium – 42 weeks. He was also a well-known singer.
He was acquitted following a five-week trial, accused of tax fraud, in 1989 and would later joke about the case.
