Born in
Coventry, the youngest of seven children, he made his first onstage appearance there at the age of ten, and sang with local dance bands. At first he worked in local factories, His comedy style was described as lugubrious, in the tradition of earlier northern English performers such as
Jack Pleasants,
Alfred Lester, and
George Formby Sr. He often described himself with the phrase "I'm not well, I'm proper poorly". He appeared in the 1953 comic film
Love in Pawn, and in 1955 starred in the film
No Smoking. He continued to work in clubs and
pantomimes, particularly in the north of England and the Midlands. He retired to
Bournemouth, where he died in 1984, at the age of 69. ==References==