'An immeasurable talent': Tributes pour in for showbiz veteran Lionel Blair who dies aged 92

ITV News Arts Editor Nina Nannar reports on the spectacular career of the veteran TV presenter, actor and dancer

Tributes have poured in for showbiz veteran Lionel Blair who has died aged 92.

Across a seven-decade career, he worked on television as an actor, tap dancer, presenter and choreographer.

Blair died in the early hours on Thursday morning, his agent said.

Tributes have flooded in from across the worlds of entertainment and broadcasting paid for Blair, who in recent years appeared on shows such as Celebrity Big Brother and The Real Marigold Hotel.

Comedian and radio DJ Danny Baker tweeted: “A true chum, an entertainer beyond compare, an archive of a golden era, an immeasurable talent."

Stand-up comedian Ed Byrne tweeted: “One of the highlights of my short lived Saturday morning radio show on BBC London (which I co hosted with my mother) was when we had Lionel Blair as a guest. “Smoking fags and knocking back gin and tonics with us at 11am. We even got him to tap dance on a sheet of plywood. Legend,” he said.

Adding to the tributes, actress Bonnie Langford tweeted a picture of herself dancing with Blair, adding: “Dear Lionel. Privileged to have been your dance partner.”

The performer was born Henry Lionel Ogus in Canada in 1928 before moving to Britain at the age of two. He grew up in Stamford Hill, north London, and was evacuated to Oxford when war broke out, with his sister Joyce and mother Deborah.

His family were Jewish but not orthodox and their habit of eating bacon was frowned upon by their neighbours.

Blair cited Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Shirley Temple as figures who inspired him to pursue a life in showbusiness.

He began performing in plays as a child and attended the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford in 1944 before joining a touring company called the Savoy Players.

After a stint on stage in the West End, he decided to swap acting for dancing and took the stage name Lionel Blair.

His stage credits included Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, and had roles in Lady Be Good, Mr Cinders and Pageant.

Blair's career saw him engage in a dance-off against Sammy Davis Jr at the Royal Variety Performance in 1961, appear in the Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night and choreograph big screen features such as The Magic Christian.

He married Susan Blair six years later, who he went on to have three children with.

Blair later became a household name opposite Una Stubbs in the long-running Give Us a Clue.

He reprised the role in a 2011 Comic Relief special and was back on screens for Celebrity Big Brother in 2014.

"People still say, almost in a derogatory way, 'Oh, you're a dancer'. Or, 'You're so showbiz'," Blair is quoted as saying in 2018.

"Well what's wrong with that? I am. I love it. I'm thrilled to have been part of showbiz for so many years."

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