Ken Dodd

Presenter0:00

This download is the only extract the BBC has of this edition of Desert Island Discs. The presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:08

You were born in Liverpool again. Was there any theatrical or musical background in your family?

Presenter0:13

Uh well my father

Ken Dodd0:14

My father's family, well, he came from a large family, they all played instruments, you know, and uh had musical evenings. Because I mean in those days people used to entertain themselves more. I had two aunts who were on the stage. Did you see a lot of theatre as a child? Yes, we used to go to the Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool. No, not they don't play Shakespeare, it's a variety theatre, or was, the Shaky, and also the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool. And actually I'm going back to that same theatre for the first time this coming Christmas in a show of my own.

Ken Dodd0:45

Was there any one

Presenter0:45

One performer or occasion that particularly inspired you as a child.

Ken Dodd0:49

Round

Presenter0:49

Yeah.

Presenter0:50

Uh

Ken Dodd0:50

You know, sometimes people say, Who is your favourite comedian? Well, my favourite comedian is my father.

Ken Dodd0:54

He makes me hook, makes me laugh and I get a lot of material from him and he

Ken Dodd0:59

He's my favorite comic, but uh uh years ago I used to admire Will Hay and uh I admire all the comedians today, I think they're very funny. As a youngster, did you entertain in the family circle?

Presenter1:09

Uh

Ken Dodd1:09

Yes, I used to do backyard concerts, you know, we used to charge two cigarette cards for admission.

Ken Dodd1:15

What did you do? Well, uh, Punch and Judy Show and Ventura

Presenter1:18

Soloquism. Pretty good two cigarette cards worth on that. How early did you have an ambition to be a professional?

Ken Dodd1:24

National Entertainment

Presenter1:24

Uh

Ken Dodd1:24

Uh I made my first appearance when I was about two. My aunt and uncle were singing at a concert, singing a romantic duet, and I wandered onto the stage without any trousers on.

Ken Dodd1:35

That was my first laugh.

Ken Dodd1:37

What was your first job when you left school? Uh I worked for my father. He was a coal merchant.

Ken Dodd1:42

And then I decided to do a bit of tycooning on my own. A bit later on, I bought a furniture van and I fitted it out with shelves and went round selling packets of soap powder and buckets and shovels and

Ken Dodd1:54

All sorts of things like that. Were you entertaining in the evenings as a part of the world? Yes, yes. As apart from being a tinker during the daytime, I used to do.

Presenter1:56

So blue.

Ken Dodd2:01

You know, Boilermakers hot pot suppers and concerts and

Presenter2:04

Yeah.

Ken Dodd2:05

What made you decide to be a full-time professional? Uh I always wanted to try my luck. There's a big slice of luck attached to it, of course. And uh.

Ken Dodd2:14

The money and uh no, I think it was to uh to try and do something, you know. What was your first professional engagement? Uh my very first professional engagement, I signed a huge contract. Must have been about seven pages in it, all on coloured paper and all with wonderful clauses, you know, that I mustn't appear within three hundred miles of this theatre.

Ken Dodd2:34

Ever again. And I've appeared at the Theatre Royal and Opera House, Stockport.

Ken Dodd2:42

Better

Ken Dodd2:43

The dressing room, you know, all the wallpaper was peeling off. There was a big brown stain on the ceiling. And that was the number one dressing room.

Presenter2:48

And his mouth.

Ken Dodd2:50

I got about uh I think about four pound ten for the week I think. How long ago was this? If I said last week, you

Ken Dodd2:56

No, it was about nine years ago. Nine years ago.

Presenter2:58

Uh

Ken Dodd2:59

At the start, what kind of act were you doing, Ken? Is it roughly what you were doing now? Oh, very roughly. Very roughly, yes. Er well, I was doing male impersonations and uh I was appearing as a burlesque singer. I used to style myself as Professor Yaffel Chuckabutty, operatic tenor and sausage knotter.

Ken Dodd3:18

After Stockport did work come fairly steadily.

Ken Dodd3:20

Um yes, oh yes, oh pr an avalanche of it. Some we'd do as many as seven days a year. It was too much, really.

Presenter3:28

Yes, of course. You were just in time to have the advantage of being able to learn your job in the music hall before it expired.

Ken Dodd3:34

Yeah, well I don't know about the music hall expiring. I think I always think it was assassinated, but that's another programme.

Presenter3:42

Uh

Ken Dodd3:42

Was it

Presenter3:42

Any one engagement that you look back on as as the big break?

Ken Dodd3:46

Uh the big break came Walton Jail nineteen

Presenter3:50

Have a

Ken Dodd3:51

There was one engagement, I played Wigan Hippodrome and uh it was a very nice theatre, before it was burnt down.

Ken Dodd3:57

And uh

Ken Dodd3:59

There I met the man who is my agent at the moment and uh that was well, I think I've had a lot to do with my suggestion

Presenter4:02

I think that well, I think I

Presenter4:05

And since then, what steady progress, summer seasons, variety. When did you start television?

Ken Dodd4:09

Yeah.

Presenter4:09

Um I can tell

Ken Dodd4:11

For the date, it was March the 11th, eight years ago.

Ken Dodd4:14

And I I was on a programme called The Good Old Days for my friend Mr. Barney Colahan.

Presenter4:19

Yeah.

Ken Dodd4:19

I was appearing at the Leeds Empire and he asked me would I like to uh

Presenter4:25

Eventually that led to the Ken Dodd Show. Oh, yes. You talked about the difficulty of getting material. Where do you get it from?

Ken Dodd4:32

Uh well, uh I create a lot of it myself and I have the assistance of uh a writer.

Ken Dodd4:38

And uh we try to keep it all original and we don't uh do any old gags. Not that there's anything wrong with old gags, I

Presenter4:43

Not that there's anything

Ken Dodd4:45

A gag is as as good, you know.

Presenter4:47

Yeah.

Ken Dodd4:47

That's as many laughs as it gets.

Presenter4:48

Yeah.

Presenter4:49

Well so far again you haven't appeared in in in the centre of London.

Presenter4:53

Um where are we now?

Ken Dodd4:53

Where are we now?

Presenter4:54

No, but th this is unusual. To to be a a a national figure without having

Presenter5:00

Uh done a London seat.

Ken Dodd5:01

Well, I haven't played the West End of London. I've played the suburbs. I've played Chiswick and Finsbury Park.

Ken Dodd5:06

But I haven't played the West End because, well, there's only one vaudeville theatre in the West End now and either either they've got somebody else in or I'm somewhere else and but one of these days I'm determined they'll

Presenter5:16

Yeah.

Ken Dodd5:20

Uh

Presenter5:20

The conk

Ken Dodd5:20

You can't keep me out forever.

Presenter5:21

Uh

Presenter5:22

Can you take the business of of getting laughs very seriously? I believe the reaction to every gag in every show is registered.

Ken Dodd5:28

Yes, well we have a, you know, big sort of chart and we write a keyword down for each gag and then a little uh

Ken Dodd5:37

comment alongside it as to how when it went that particular performance from

Ken Dodd5:42

V G

Presenter5:43

Uh

Ken Dodd5:44

Yeah.

Presenter5:44

To dead flop. What happened to that one? So, this way you can gradually build up a performance of sure fire stuff. Yeah.

Ken Dodd5:52

Uh Do you find uh it's handy for you looking back, you see, on when you played that area before?

Presenter5:57

Yeah.

Ken Dodd5:58

Do you find many regional differences?

Ken Dodd6:01

There are yes, there are diff differences. For instance, you you I've always said you can tell a joke in Manchester and it won't get a laugh in London.

Presenter6:07

And vice versa. Well, they can't hear you.

Presenter6:10

Thank you. I I'll ask that question again. Uh do you find you have many regional differences?

Ken Dodd6:15

Yeah.

Ken Dodd6:15

Yes, there are a few.

Ken Dodd6:18

Uh

Ken Dodd6:19

For instance, uh

Ken Dodd6:20

I would say that a West End uh audience, a London audience, are uh they find humour in the comedy of manners, topicalities, name dropping and things like that. Rural areas would find their humour in basic things, you know, things which touch them, like living and dying and, you know, um

Ken Dodd6:41

Planting things and uh Lancashire, for instance, Lancashire humour is

Presenter6:44

In blank

Ken Dodd6:46

A little bit aggressive. Yorkshire humour is very, very friendly. They like, you know.

Ken Dodd6:51

Softy comedians. Uh Scots people well, Glasgow anyway, they like the American style wisecracker.

Ken Dodd6:59

These are only my own personal opinions uh and certain other areas like picture gags, you know, jokes which put a picture in your mind.

Ken Dodd7:07

whereas other places like Gags, which are plays, are words.

Presenter7:10

Hm. This is very interesting. So you change your act for every area in accordance with what you've got.

Ken Dodd7:14

Yeah, important.

Ken Dodd7:15

Registered from last time.

Presenter7:15

Right.

Presenter7:16

Yeah.

Presenter7:18

Uh

Ken Dodd7:18

I different show every night, sometimes not intentionally.

Ken Dodd7:21

Have you any one outstanding ambition, Ken?

Ken Dodd7:24

I just like to try and get to the top of my profession.

Ken Dodd7:27

I'd like to.

Ken Dodd7:29

Keep getting the laughs of a gambling.

Presenter7:31

For as long as I can.

Ken Dodd7:32

As long as I can.

Presenter7:33

One question, one rather personal question. These splendid dentures that are your trademark, they are indeed your own. Um.

Presenter7:41

Just give me a hand a moment, will you? Yes, all right, yes, there you go. I won't ask that question again.

Presenter7:48

Bad.