Desmond O'Conor

Desmond Bernard "Des" O'Connor, CBE (born 12 January 1932) is an English comedian and singer. A former chat show host, he was the presenter of the long-running Channel 4 gameshow Countdown for two years. He has also recorded 36 albums and has had four top-ten singles, including a number-one hit with "I Pretend", with global sales of more than ten million records.

Early life
O'Connor was born in Stepney East London to Maude (née Bassett) and Harry O'Connor. O'Connor has a sister, Patricia, who is one year his junior. He was evacuated to Northampton during the Second World War and was briefly a professional footballer with Northampton Town. After completing his National Service in the Royal Air Force, he worked as a shoe salesman before entering show business. Before his break in television, his first theatre appearances were in variety, where he appeared in venues throughout the country.

Career
On stage, O'Connor has starred at the Glasgow Empire, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, the Opera House, Sydney and the O'Keefe Centre, Toronto, and has made more than 1,000 solo appearances at the London Palladium.Citation needed|date=January 2011

O'Connor has worked with many famous people, from rock and pop stars, actors and TV performers, to politicians, princes, to luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Adam Faith, Sean Connery, Liberace, the Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Cilla Black, Tony Blair and members of the Royal Family.Citation needed|date=January 2011 Des pretended to faint at The Glasgow Empire theatre to get off the stage early as the audience was less than impressed by his act.

He has toured with Buddy Holly (during Holly's 1958 stay in Britain) and Jason Donovan.

O'Connor was the first special guest on the second incarnation of the long-running TV show This Is Your Life.

O'Connor replaced Russell Grant in the West End musical The Wizard of Oz as Professor Marvel, Doorman at the Emerald City, Tour Guide and the Wizard.

Television
O'Connor has starred in a mainstream television show in almost every year since 1963, a feat that only one other television personality has achieved worldwide (US game show host Bob Barker, who hosted mainstream television shows from 1956 until 2007, with 1966–1972 being in syndication).

Source @ Wikipedia