The veteran entertainer Max Bygraves, whose catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story" endured for more than six decades, has died at his home in Australia. He was 89.
As a crooner, comedian and variety performer, he often appeared at the London Palladium and became one of the first entertainers to gain a mass audience through regular appearances on television. His long career brought him riches but also attracted critics who ridiculed his distinctive style as dated.
Johnny Mans, his agent, said: "We have lost one of the best entertainers that Britain has ever produced. He was a friend to everyone – there were no airs and graces."
He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease and had been cared for by his daughter Christine in Queensland since the death of his wife, Blossom, in May last year. The couple emigrated from Bournemouth to Australia in 2005. "He had become quite confused and often wasn't sure where he was. He was in good health otherwise," said Mans.
His son Anthony Bygraves, 61, who had visited his father a fortnight ago, said that, while he was frail, he had hoped to see his 90th birthday. "It wasn't to be. He just slipped away. Although his death isn't unexpected, it has still come as a shock. We are all terribly sad. Until last year he could still sing along with his old CDs. He knew all the words and even which track was coming up next."
He last appeared in public in the UK in 2006 with revival shows in London and Blackpool. But by then his old-fashioned demeanour attracted as much mockery as it did praise.
Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck paid tribute to his friend: "He was one of the greats. I have nothing but lovely memories of him. He was a big, big influence on me. He had the audience in the palm of his hand quicker than any other comedian I have seen. They loved him and you don't get that love very often. He could be very cheeky – he was a rascal.
"He would stroll on and just wow them. He was one of the all-time greats – a king of the Palladium. He would have them roaring with laughter, singing along and with a tear in their eye."
Comedian Les Dennis tweeted: "So sad to hear that Max Bygraves has died. A great performer and a gentleman. Very gracious when I took over Family Fortunes. RIP."
Ed Stewart, the radio presenter, who was a close friend, said: "He as a person never dated. He was a unique talent, and everything he sang and everything he did, just about, made money for him and the family.
"There were one or two others at the time but Max was the doyen of them all. This likeable lad was on everybody's radio sets in the days of the BBC when you only had the live programmes."
Born in London in 1922 to an East End boxer and given the name Walter, he was one of nine children in a Roman Catholic family. He gained Max as a nickname from his impersonation of the comedian Max Miller on the first night of service after joining the RAF during the second world war. Having won a school talent competition at 13, he first appeared in public as a chorister singing Handel's Largo from the opera Xerxes, in Westminster Cathedral.
His career began in earnest just after the war, when he appeared on stage with Frankie Howerd, Benny Hill, Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan. But it was radio that first saw him bring the music hall tradition to a wider audience when he appeared in, and wrote, Educating Archie with his friend Eric Sykes.
A show with Judy Garland at the London Palladium led to a five-month stint on Broadway. His fame grew and soon he was inviting audiences to "SingalongaMax", which they did through 30 gold discs and 20 royal variety shows.
He appeared in the films A Cry from the Streets (1958) and Spare the Rod (1961). By the time he hosted the TV quiz show Family Fortunes in the 80s, his hits, including You Need Hands and Tulips from Amsterdam, and his ownership of the rights to Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!, had made him a multimillionaire.
