Legendary showbiz entertainer and TV favourite Lionel Blair has died, it was confirmed tonight.
He was 92 and passed away with his family at his side.
The dancer and Give Us a Clue star was a prominent figure on British TV screens since the 70s.
He died surrounded by his family, his management company said.
In recent years he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and The Real Marigold Hotel, reports the Mirror.
His agent said: “He got to a very ripe old age, he was loved by his family, and I think he died in their company, which is lovely.”
(Image: ITV)
Lionel was born Henry Lionel Ogus in Canada and moved to Britain when he was just two years old, with his family settling at Stamford Hill.
He began performing in plays when he was a child and attended the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford in 1944.
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The entertainer went on to work in the West End but decided to give up acting in 1947, during which he took up his stage name Lionel Blair.
Yet Lionel really shot into the spotlight in the 1960s by appearing on a number of variety shows as part of his dance troupe.
He also went on to star in a number of films such as 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night and The Beauty Jungle (1964).
In the 1970s, Lionel turned his hand to writing as he wrote a musical based on Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which toured around the UK for six months.
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