bernie clifton

Jimmy was among those to pay tribute to his friend and fellow entertainer Sir Ken when he was honoured with a lifetime achievement award in October.

Sir Ken received the accolade in front of a star-studded audience at the British Music Hall Society event at the Lansdowne Club in central London.

He was famous for his very long stand-up shows, which sometimes lasted until the early hours of the morning, along with his Diddy Men from Knotty Ash and his tickling stick.

The son of a coal merchant, Sir Ken had been a comedian since 1954 and made it into the Guinness Book of Records for telling 1,500 jokes in three-and-a-half hours.

He was famous for his very long stand-up shows, along with his Diddy Men from Knotty Ash and his tickling stick.

Signature song

The son of a coal merchant, Sir Ken had been a comedian since 1954 and made it into the Guinness Book of Records for telling 1,500 jokes in three-and-a-half hours.

Sir Ken was also a ventriloquist and an established singer.

He had many recording hits, charting on 18 occasions in the UK Top 40.

His version of Bill Anderson’s Happiness, which reached 31 in the charts in 1964, became his signature song.

He was famous for his very long stand-up shows, which sometimes lasted until the early hours of the morning, along with his Diddy Men from Knotty Ash and his tickling stick.

The son of a coal merchant, Sir Ken had been a comedian since 1954 and made it into the Guinness Book of Records for telling 1,500 jokes in three-and-a-half hours.

Sir Ken was also a ventriloquist and an established singer. He had many recording hits, charting on 18 occasions in the UK Top 40, and his version of Bill Anderson’s Happiness, which reached 31 in the charts in 1964, became his signature song.

‘Absolutely amazing’

His recording of Tears topped the UK singles chart for five weeks in 1965, becoming the biggest hit single in Britain that year and selling more than a million copies in the UK alone, where it was the third best selling song of the 1960s and is the 39th top selling single of all time.

His recording of Tears topped the UK singles chart for five weeks in 1965, becoming the biggest hit single in Britain that year and selling more than a million copies in the UK alone, where it was the third best selling song of the 1960s and is the 39th top selling single of all time.

Sir Ken was also a ventriloquist and an established singer. He had many recording hits, charting on 18 occasions in the UK Top 40, and his version of Bill Anderson’s Happiness, which reached 31 in the charts in 1964, became his signature song.

His recording of Tears topped the UK singles chart for five weeks in 1965, becoming the biggest hit single in Britain that year and selling more than a million copies in the UK alone, where it was the third best selling song of the 1960s and is the 39th top selling single of all time.

His publicist Robert Holmes said: “To my mind, he was one of the last music hall greats. 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.”