Danny O'Dea(1911-2003)
- Actor
- Writer
Danny O'Dea was a British funnyman born out of the finest Music Hall tradition, left a legacy which spans eight decades and reads like the history of British comedy. He performed alongside some of the biggest names in the business including Arthur Askey, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, John Inman and Cilla Black, entering showbiz at an early age thanks to a enviable pedigree and working until he was 90, most recently enjoying popularity as long-sighted Eli Duckett in Last of the Summer Wine.
He was the nephew of music hall comedians Morney Cash and Archie Glen and was related to beautiful actress Kay Kendall, granddaughter of musical comedy star Marie Kendall and daughter of vaudevillian Terry Kendall. Kay, who married Rex Harrison, had a brief, very glamorous career but died from leukaemia in 1959, aged 33.
Danny began his epic career in the theatre, appearing in hundreds of musical comedies, plays and pantomimes and thousands of music hall, cabaret and seaside summer shows nationwide and in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. He became well-known as a fine comedy actor and a brilliant stand-up comedian. During a summer season in Blackpool he fell in love with his wife Doris, a dancer in a variety show, but it was in London in the 1950s and 1960s that his career really took off.
He became a member of Brian Rix's acclaimed company at London's Whitehall Theatre and appeared for six years in the long-running farce Pyjama Tops as doddering policeman Inspector Crindle. Two years at the Windmill Theatre co-starring with John Inman and Fiona Richmond in Let's Get Laid and roles as the effeminate Eric Tweedy in Les Dawson's Don't Tell the Wife and Albert Waterman in the blockbusting stage version of Carry On Laughing, alongside a cast which included Liz Fraser, Peter Butterworth, Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas and Ann Ashton, built him a reputation as a bawdy comic player of the highest order. He became a regular on BBC Radio and later television, appearing on Sez Les with Les Dawson, Selwyn Froggart with Bill Maynard and as Tim Trimmer, the jovial old boatman in All Creatures Great and Small.
Later television appearances included Winning Streak, Bulman, The Book Tower and a guest appearance on Jim'll Fix It, as well as Victoria Wood and One Foot In The Grave.
During pantomime season he worked with stars including Millicent Martin, Arthur Askey, Nat Jackley, Dickie Henderson, Martie Wilde, Dick Emery and Frank Ifield, often stealing the show as the pantomime dame. He played the robber in Les Dawson's record-breaking 1980 panto at the Birmingham Palladium, the following season he was in Oxford playing Dame Merryweather alongside Stu Francis and The Krankies and in 1982, aged 80, he starred as Widow Twankey in Aladdin in Kirkcaldy. These exhausting runs lasted months and included around 100 shows, but Danny thrived on it. In 1986, aged 84, he only got busier. The year began in panto in Oxford alongside Jim Davidson as an ugly sister in Cinderella and ended at Leeds City varieties with Jack and the Beanstalk - his last stage appearance. In between he fitted in a season in Alan Bleasdale's farce Having a Ball in Exeter, starred as Paddy in Rita, Sue and Bob Too and landed a part in the BBC's Last of the Summer Wine. His character Eli remained a fixture for 15 years, until Danny was 90. Series director Alan RJ Bell said: "I'd get letters saying they only watch the show for Eli. He's got friends all over the world because the show is now broadcast in America. "Danny's scenes as Eli Duckett will be a lasting testament to his comic timing and sense of fun." Ken Kitson, co-star on Last of the Summer Wine, added: "I respected him, admired him and thought his timing was second to none. I remember him entertaining us for four hours when we were stuck on a bus, telling us about his music hall days." Danny's agent of over 30 years Michael Joseph said Danny's training in variety and music hall had set him apart. "I've known him for 50 years and it's very sad to know he's no longer with us because our business really needs people like him," he said. "There's no-one to replace him. "No-one can do the falls, the facial expressions and the comedy Danny used to do. He'd had 50 years' experience before he got to television. He was an amazing character."
Danny, who lived in Sal Royd, Low Moor, for 40 years before moving to Hartshead Manor Nursing Home in 2001 died aged 91 in 2003 leaving a daughter and two granddaughters.
He was the nephew of music hall comedians Morney Cash and Archie Glen and was related to beautiful actress Kay Kendall, granddaughter of musical comedy star Marie Kendall and daughter of vaudevillian Terry Kendall. Kay, who married Rex Harrison, had a brief, very glamorous career but died from leukaemia in 1959, aged 33.
Danny began his epic career in the theatre, appearing in hundreds of musical comedies, plays and pantomimes and thousands of music hall, cabaret and seaside summer shows nationwide and in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. He became well-known as a fine comedy actor and a brilliant stand-up comedian. During a summer season in Blackpool he fell in love with his wife Doris, a dancer in a variety show, but it was in London in the 1950s and 1960s that his career really took off.
He became a member of Brian Rix's acclaimed company at London's Whitehall Theatre and appeared for six years in the long-running farce Pyjama Tops as doddering policeman Inspector Crindle. Two years at the Windmill Theatre co-starring with John Inman and Fiona Richmond in Let's Get Laid and roles as the effeminate Eric Tweedy in Les Dawson's Don't Tell the Wife and Albert Waterman in the blockbusting stage version of Carry On Laughing, alongside a cast which included Liz Fraser, Peter Butterworth, Kenneth Connor, Jack Douglas and Ann Ashton, built him a reputation as a bawdy comic player of the highest order. He became a regular on BBC Radio and later television, appearing on Sez Les with Les Dawson, Selwyn Froggart with Bill Maynard and as Tim Trimmer, the jovial old boatman in All Creatures Great and Small.
Later television appearances included Winning Streak, Bulman, The Book Tower and a guest appearance on Jim'll Fix It, as well as Victoria Wood and One Foot In The Grave.
During pantomime season he worked with stars including Millicent Martin, Arthur Askey, Nat Jackley, Dickie Henderson, Martie Wilde, Dick Emery and Frank Ifield, often stealing the show as the pantomime dame. He played the robber in Les Dawson's record-breaking 1980 panto at the Birmingham Palladium, the following season he was in Oxford playing Dame Merryweather alongside Stu Francis and The Krankies and in 1982, aged 80, he starred as Widow Twankey in Aladdin in Kirkcaldy. These exhausting runs lasted months and included around 100 shows, but Danny thrived on it. In 1986, aged 84, he only got busier. The year began in panto in Oxford alongside Jim Davidson as an ugly sister in Cinderella and ended at Leeds City varieties with Jack and the Beanstalk - his last stage appearance. In between he fitted in a season in Alan Bleasdale's farce Having a Ball in Exeter, starred as Paddy in Rita, Sue and Bob Too and landed a part in the BBC's Last of the Summer Wine. His character Eli remained a fixture for 15 years, until Danny was 90. Series director Alan RJ Bell said: "I'd get letters saying they only watch the show for Eli. He's got friends all over the world because the show is now broadcast in America. "Danny's scenes as Eli Duckett will be a lasting testament to his comic timing and sense of fun." Ken Kitson, co-star on Last of the Summer Wine, added: "I respected him, admired him and thought his timing was second to none. I remember him entertaining us for four hours when we were stuck on a bus, telling us about his music hall days." Danny's agent of over 30 years Michael Joseph said Danny's training in variety and music hall had set him apart. "I've known him for 50 years and it's very sad to know he's no longer with us because our business really needs people like him," he said. "There's no-one to replace him. "No-one can do the falls, the facial expressions and the comedy Danny used to do. He'd had 50 years' experience before he got to television. He was an amazing character."
Danny, who lived in Sal Royd, Low Moor, for 40 years before moving to Hartshead Manor Nursing Home in 2001 died aged 91 in 2003 leaving a daughter and two granddaughters.
