William Hooper Frank John Dainty was a British comedian, dancer, physical comedian and pantomime and television star.
11 Facts About Billy Dainty
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Billy Dainty's father kept a shop at the front of the family home.
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Billy Dainty made his stage debut as the only boy dancer in a troupe of girls.
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Billy Dainty then won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he trained as a comedian.
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Billy Dainty spent the next two decades in variety theatre, before getting his TV break on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in the late 1950s.
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Billy Dainty was proclaimed as "one of the last of the genuine music-hall performers" and as "one of the outstanding artists of his generation".
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Billy Dainty had a large following of radio listeners, who tuned-in to his shows, including Stick a Geranium in Your Hat.
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On 14 January 1979, Billy Dainty taped a guest spot on Star Turn, a BBC children's programme, on which one of the other guests was Kenneth Williams.
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Billy Dainty was known for his impersonations of fellow stars, including parodies of Shirley Bassey, Fred Astaire and a ballet dancer, whom he called Rudolph Nearenough, based loosely on Rudolph Nureyev.
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Billy Dainty was notably successful in Royal Variety shows and was reputed to be a particular favourite of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
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Billy Dainty died on 19 November 1986, aged 59, of prostate cancer at his home Cobblers in Godalming, Surrey.