He was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to comedy and entertainment.
He was one of the first comedians to realise the importance of records and released a whole series of 78s of his sketches that sold in the millions. Rather than take an outright fee he was canny enough to take a penny per disc.
Had a comic ventriloquist act in which the dummy fell apart.
Catchphrase: "Can you hear me, mother ?"
Gruff voice