Trivia

He died at the Royal London Hospital where he had been receiving treatment for injuries after being knocked down by a car as he crossed the road at Waterloo Bridge in London, on April 17, 2002.

As a boy, he appeared in Steffani's boys' choir.

He had a son, David, with his second wife, Bernice. He also had three stepdaughters from his first marriage.

His stage appearances include In Order of Appearance at the Chichester Festival Theatre, a tour of Calamity Jane with Barbara Windsor and the farces A Bedful of Foreigners and No Sex Please, We're British.

He began a stage career at the age of 14 with a boys' theatrical troupe, the Eton Boys Choir, singing "D'ye ken John Peel". A few years later, he formed a dance trio called The Dancing Aces, and toured with it until he was called up to the join the Army in 1945.

Vaughan appeared in a 1960s TV advertising campaign for Cadbury's Roses chocolates which included the slogan "Roses Grow On You".

Norman Vaughan was an English comedian who led a long and successful career in the television and theatre, appearing occasionally in films.

On television, he was also a regular guest on variety and quiz shows, including Celebrity Squares, Give Us a Clue and Larry Grayson's Generation Game, as well as being compere of the BBC's Pebble Mill Showcase.

During his military service he appeared in Army shows with Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe, who were later to form the Goons. In 1951, he appeared with Secombe again, when they performed on the same bill in variety.

After two years of doing variety shows in Australia, Vaughan returned to Britain to appear in a summer season of shows called Twinkle.

He also hosted The Golden Shot (during 1972 and 1973), taking over from Bob Monkhouse after the former was fired for allegedly accepting bribes.

He also appeared in a number of pantomimes.

He made few television or film appearances after 1974, other than appearing as himself in the Southern Television show Tell Me Another (1976-1979); as a seaside entertainer in the sex comedy Come Play with Me (1977); again as himself in Hear My Song (1991); and featuring in a TV tribute to Sir Harry Secombe (2001).

Vaughan had his big break came when he stepped into Bruce Forsyth's shoes to host Sunday Night at the London Palladium. The show was broadcast live and was a national institution, often reaching 20 million viewers. Vaughan used catchphrases like "swinging!" and "dodgy!", which were accompanied by thumbs-up or thumbs-down gestures.

Vaughan devised the television game show Bullseye (1981), which was presented by Jim Bowen.