Biography
Des O'Connor emerged as one of Britain’s most cherished and enduring all-round entertainers, releasing a series of successful singles toward the close of the 1960s that included the chart-topping “I Pretend” in 1968. Born in Stepney, East London, on January 12, 1932, he spent part of the Second World War evacuated to Northampton. A short spell as a professional footballer with Northampton Town preceded his national service in the Royal Air Force. Once discharged, he worked briefly as a complaints clerk at a boot and shoe factory before securing a position as a Butlin’s redcoat entertainer. Appearances in variety theaters across the country led to his first television opportunity in the late ’50s presenting the ITV interlude Spot the Tune.
In 1963 he launched his own variety program, The Des O Connor Show. Recording sessions began in 1967; although he issued comic novelties in the manner of his contemporary Ken Dodd, it was romantic ballads that brought him chart recognition, starting with “Careless Hands” and the number-one single “I Pretend.” Close friends Morecambe & Wise often teased him about his unassuming, relaxed manner, yet he accepted their barbs with characteristic good humor. His strongest album performance came with the 1969 release also titled I Pretend, which reached number seven early that year; across a career that encompassed 34 albums he sold more than 15 million records.
One of his most popular television vehicles was the daytime magazine and talk show Today with Des & Mel, co-hosted with Melanie Sykes and broadcast from 2002 to 2006. At the start of 2007 he assumed the role of host on the long-running daytime quiz Countdown. By then he had appeared at the London Palladium a record 1,220 times and played to capacity crowds at major international venues that included the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, the Opera House in Sydney, the Concert Hall in Auckland, the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto, and the Arts Centre in Ottawa. Between 1963 and 2007 he fronted a mainstream television program each year. On September 23, 2007, he married his longtime fiancée, Australian singer Jodie Brooke Wilson, in his fourth marriage. Des O’Connor died on November 14, 2020, at the age of 88 after a fall at his home in Buckinghamshire, England.
In 1963 he launched his own variety program, The Des O Connor Show. Recording sessions began in 1967; although he issued comic novelties in the manner of his contemporary Ken Dodd, it was romantic ballads that brought him chart recognition, starting with “Careless Hands” and the number-one single “I Pretend.” Close friends Morecambe & Wise often teased him about his unassuming, relaxed manner, yet he accepted their barbs with characteristic good humor. His strongest album performance came with the 1969 release also titled I Pretend, which reached number seven early that year; across a career that encompassed 34 albums he sold more than 15 million records.
One of his most popular television vehicles was the daytime magazine and talk show Today with Des & Mel, co-hosted with Melanie Sykes and broadcast from 2002 to 2006. At the start of 2007 he assumed the role of host on the long-running daytime quiz Countdown. By then he had appeared at the London Palladium a record 1,220 times and played to capacity crowds at major international venues that included the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, the Opera House in Sydney, the Concert Hall in Auckland, the O’Keefe Centre in Toronto, and the Arts Centre in Ottawa. Between 1963 and 2007 he fronted a mainstream television program each year. On September 23, 2007, he married his longtime fiancée, Australian singer Jodie Brooke Wilson, in his fourth marriage. Des O’Connor died on November 14, 2020, at the age of 88 after a fall at his home in Buckinghamshire, England.
Albums
