Classic tv personality, Lionel Blair has sadly died at the age of 92, his agent has said. With a career which spanned across seven decades, the all-round entertainer made appearances as an actor, tap dancer, presenter, and choreographer.
Lionel, who moved to the UK from Canada at the age of two, was best known as a team captain on the TV game show, Give Us A Clue. In recent years, the star made appearances on shows including Celebrity Big Brother and The Real Marigold Hotel.
Capable of turning his hand to almost anything, the seasoned performer was cast from the old mould of classic entertainers. Lionel is remembered by English actor, comedian, and presenter, Julian Clary as “a real showbiz trooper if ever there was”.
Further tributes poured out for the late star as broadcaster Danny Baker tweeted: “A true chum, an entertainer beyond compare, an archive of a golden era, an immeasurable talent. Impossible to think he won't be in some green room somewhere, dropping names and living out fantastic tales. A giant. Really.”
Piers Morgan tweeted: “RIP Lionel Blair, 92. A wonderful all-round entertainer and lovely man. Sad news.” With author, Emma Kennedy describing Blair as a “phenomenon...full of magical, fruity, end-with-a-wink anecdotes”.
Growing up in Stamford Hill, north London, Lionel was evacuated to Oxford during the war with his sister Joyce and his mother Deborah. The born entertainer gained his inspiration as a child from watching such greats as the dazzling Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Shirley Temple.
Lionel also had a career on the West End, playing such roles as the child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium. Lionel also worked alongside some of the biggest stars in Ella Fitzgerald and Liza Minnelli, as well as performing with the late great, Sammy Davis Jr.
However, Lionel’s biggest role indubitably came in the form of presenter on Give Us A Clue, which ran on ITV from 1979 to 1992, and screening as far away as New Zealand.
