Tarbuck was born in
Wavertree,
Liverpool, on 6 February 1940, son of Ada (née McLoughlin) and bookmaker Joseph Frederick Tarbuck. Joseph Tarbuck had been at school with
Ted Ray. Jimmy had a brother, Kenneth, and a sister, Norma; another older brother had died at 18 months old. Jimmy was a friend of
Dave Morris. He attended
Dovedale Primary School in Liverpool, where he was a schoolmate of
John Lennon. In April 1960, at the age of 20, he was convicted of stealing a diamond-encrusted cigarette holder from the dressing room of comedian
Terry-Thomas, and was placed on probation for two years. For a period, he worked in a ladies' hairdresser with
Mike McCartney (brother of
Paul) and
Lewis Collins. His first television show was ''It's Tarbuck '65!
on ITV in 1964, though he had been introduced on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in October 1963 by Bruce Forsyth. He then replaced Forsyth as the last original host of the show from 1965 until it was axed in 1967. He has also hosted numerous quiz shows, including Winner Takes All (1976-1986), Old Flames
(1991), Full Swing (1996), and Tarby's Frame Game (1987-1989). In the early 1970s he hosted a variety show Tarbuck's Luck'' on the BBC. In the 1980s, he hosted similar Sunday night
variety shows, ''
Live from Her Majesty's, Live from the Piccadilly and finally Live from the Palladium'', which were produced by
London Weekend Television for ITV. He appeared on the fourth series of
BBC One's
Strictly Come Dancing in 2006, but was forced to pull out due to high blood pressure, and needed surgery to fit stents in his heart. In 2008, he returned to a variety format on television screens when he co-hosted, alongside
Emma Bunton, an edition of
ITV1's variety show
For One Night Only. He appeared on ''
Piers Morgan's Life Stories'' on 25 May 2012, while on 3 December that year he was invited to celebrate 100 years of the
Royal Variety Performance along with
Bruce Forsyth,
Ronnie Corbett and
Des O'Connor. Tarbuck made a
Comedy Playhouse pilot for the BBC in 1967, acting in
Johnny Speight's
To Lucifer, A Son alongside
John Le Mesurier and
Pat Coombs, but a series was not commissioned. His only other acting credit was in a 1993 episode of police comedy
The Detectives, playing the straight role of Johnny McKenna, an international arms dealer who liked to conduct his business on the
golf course. In October 2015, Tarbuck and
Des O'Connor starred in their own one-off show at the London Palladium to raise money for the new
Royal Variety Charity. During the following two years they toured clubs and theatres around the UK with his comedy show. Tarbuck was a close friend of actor and singer
Kenny Lynch. In 2026, Tarbuck starred in horror short
A Hand to Hold, opposite
Frances Barber,
Murray McArthur and
Shane Casey, playing a catholic priest. ==Personal life==