21 Facts About Des O'Connor

Desmond Bernard O'Connor was an English comedian, singer and television presenter.

Des O'Connor was a long-time TV chat-show host, beginning with The Des O'Connor Show in 1963, which ran for ten years.

Desmond Bernard O'Connor was born on 12 January 1932 in Stepney, East London, to Maude, a cleaner, and Harry O'Connor, a dustman.

Des O'Connor's father was of Irish Catholic descent and his mother was Jewish, and he joked that he was the first O'Connor to have a bar mitzvah.

Des O'Connor had a brother, William, and a sister, Patricia, one year his junior.

Des O'Connor was evacuated to Northampton during the Second World War, where he worked in a shoe factory and was a schoolboy and reserves player with Northampton Town.

Des O'Connor appeared at the Glasgow Empire, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, the Opera House, Sydney, and the O'Keefe Centre, Toronto, and made more than one thousand solo appearances at the London Palladium.

In late 2011, Des O'Connor starred in Dreamboats and Petticoats at the Playhouse Theatre.

In May 2012, Des O'Connor replaced Russell Grant in the West End musical, The Wizard of Oz, at the London Palladium, as Professor Marvel, Doorman at the Emerald City, Tour Guide, and The Wizard.

Until 2019, Des O'Connor toured theatres around the UK with his one-man show.

Des O'Connor starred in mainstream television shows in almost every year from 1963 until the 2000s, a feat that only one other television personality has achieved worldwide.

Des O'Connor had a successful career as a singer, recording 36 albums, five of which reached the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart.

Des O'Connor appeared with Morecambe and Wise on several of their Christmas shows.

Des O'Connor worked with many pop stars, including Adam Faith, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, and Cilla Black.

Des O'Connor toured with Buddy Holly and Jason Donovan.

Des O'Connor recorded four top 10 singles, including "I Pretend" which topped the UK Singles Chart in 1968, and "The Skye Boat Song", a 1986 duet with Roger Whittaker.

Des O'Connor was the first subject of the second incarnation of the long-running television programme This Is Your Life, when the show returned to screens after a five-year absence, produced by Thames Television.

Des O'Connor was surprised live on the stage of the London Palladium by Eamonn Andrews in November 1969.

In 2001, Des O'Connor was presented with the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards for his contribution to television.

Des O'Connor was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 Birthday Honours.

On 14 November 2020, Des O'Connor died in his sleep in hospital, aged 88, following a fall at his home in Buckinghamshire a week earlier.