Showbiz legend Lionel Blair enjoyed more than 50 years of marriage with his wife Susan after experiencing love at first sight when they met at a party.
The veteran entertainer passed away on Thursday with his devoted partner Susan by his side.
Susan, the mother of their three children, often accompanied him at red carpet events over his long career.
But Blair, whose career spanned eight decades - as an actor, dancer, and choreographer- admitted that he didn't get together with his bride in the usual way.
Appearing on Loose Women, then age 88, he recalled: ''I went to my friend's house for a dinner party and his girlfriend was there. He took a call on the phone.
"I walked in the room and honestly, I took one look at her and it hit me. I thought, "that's the girl I am going to marry."
''I had to go to Hong Kong to do Cabaret and I came back and six weeks later, we were married."
The couple tied the knot in 1967 when Lionel was 38 years old and Susan was 21, and they were happily married for 54 years.
The veteran star once told The Guardian: "The secret of a successful marriage is memories... that's why my dad insisted that we went everywhere together, so we could talk about things.
"I'm so lucky to have a wife who is a nest builder. Her nest is the most important thing in the world to her."
Canadian-born Blair was devoted to his family after suffering the loss of his father when he was just 13.
As a boy he became inspired by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at the cinema and then copying their routines at home with Joyce - that he became best known for through his long career.
He later turned his hand to acting and worked with, or counted as friends, showbusiness legends including Bob Hope, The Beatles and Liza Minnelli.
On television, he was choreographer for and appeared on programmes such as the Tommy Cooper Hour and the Jimmy Tarbuck Show, before becoming a judge on talent show New Faces in the late 1970s.
Blair became a household name as team captain opposite Una Stubbs - who also died earlier this year - on ITV's long-running Give Us A Clue.
More recently, Blair made appearances on shows including Celebrity Big Brother and The Real Marigold Hotel which saw him embark on a trip to India with other famous faces.
