My father, Bobby Dennis, who has died aged 94, was a standup comic with sure-fire delivery, warmth and charm. Across his long career in music halls and theatres he was also admired for his dexterity on the piano and was a gifted tenor with a voice that was still strong into his 90s.
Born Robert Gomersall in Hull, Yorkshire, he was the son of Walter and Maude, who ran three pubs in the city. He gave up school illegally at the age of 13, giving a false age at an audition for a touring show, We’re in the Army Now, which he joined as a singer under the pseudonym of Bobby Dennis.
Eventually he was found out, and the police brought him back to finish his education. But in 1941 he left school legitimately at 15, and became a soloist with Billy West and His Harmony Boys, working at many of the Tivoli music halls before being called up as a paratrooper during the second world war.
He spent some of the war years entertaining troops before sustaining serious injuries from an explosion in Palestine and spending a year in hospital. Once he had made a recovery he resumed his stage career, playing practically every music hall in the UK. In 1952 he married the revue performer Jean Bradford, with whom he had three children.
Bobby truly developed his craft at the Windmill theatre in London, where in 1956 he performed 36 shows a week over two five-week bookings. Benny Hill was in one audience and recommended Bobby to his agent, after which he was booked as principal comic in the show Twinkle, at the Victoria Palace and then the Prince of Wales theatre in London. Later he performed in countless cabaret shows and pantomimes. During the 1960s he had year-long runs in Australia and South Africa and tours with the Bachelors and Shirley Bassey.
In the 50s and 60s he was also on television in music and comedy shows such as the Billy Cotton Bandshow and Let’s Laugh, and in the 70s and 80s he featured in episodes of the sitcom It Ain’t Half Hot Mum and Hi de Hi as well as in the comedian Dave Allen’s show in Australia. In later years he performed on cruise ships.
Bobby’s last performance was at 93, with Roy Hudd and Anita Harris in A Day By the Sea at the Royal Hippodrome theatre in Eastbourne in 2019. He received a standing ovation and glowing reviews in the national press.
Jean died in 2003 and at the age of 90 Bobby met Vicki Lane, a former dancer, whom he married in 2018. He is survived by Vicki, his children, Bobby, Roger and me, four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
