Comedy legend Sir Ken Dodd has died at the age of 90 at the Liverpool home he was born in.
The entertainment star, best known for his epic stand up shows and famous ‘tickling stick’, died on Sunday with his wife Anne Jones, his partner of 40 years, at his bedside.
The comedian had left hospital on February 27 at the end of a six-week stay for a chest infection.
Sir Ken performed his last show just months ago, at the Auditorium in the Liverpool Echo Area, on December 28.
However, all his 2018 were later cancelled due to his illness and stay in hospital.
His publicist Robert Holmes told the Press Association: “To my mind, he was one of the last music hall greats.
“There is no-one else that comes close.
“He passed away in the home that he was born in over 90 years ago. He’s never lived anywhere else. It’s absolutely amazing.
“With Ken gone, the lights have been turned out in the world of variety.
“He was a comedy legend and a genius.”
Over the 1960s, Sir Ken entered the Guinness Book of Records for the longest joke-telling session ever - with 1,500 jokes told in three-and-a-half hours.
His TV shows included The Ken Dodd Show, Beyond Our Ken and Ken Dodd’s Laughter Show.
Sir Ken entered the big time in 1965 with the longest-ever run at the London Palladium - 42 weeks.
The veteran comic was knighted in honour of his decades-long showbiz career and charity work in March last year.
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