B: December 12, 1928 in Montréal, Québec
D: November 4, 2021 in Banstead, Surrey, England
Henry Lionel Blair Ogus was born in Canada in 1928 and moved to the UK as a young boy. He grew up in Stamford Hill, north London and was evacuated to Oxford when war broke out. He began performing in air raid shelters in World War Two. His father died in 1941 when Blair was 13. He began working as an actor the following year, appearing in musical productions. He became known thanks to his self-taught dancing skills learned by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. He copied their routines at home with his elder sister Joyce, who he often appeared with early in his career. When he wasn’t working as a actor or television program host, he worked as a professional dancer and choreographer on films like The Main Attraction, Promise Her Anything, and the somewhat odd film, The Magic Christian. He often appeared as a dancer and in The Beatles’ 1964 film, A Hard Days Night he played the role of a choreographer. His stage and screen career spanned eight decades. Lionel Blair was 92 when he died. |
Features & TV Movies: The Limping Man (1953) The World of Suzie Wong (1960) The Plank (TV-1979) Absolute Beginners (1986) Daddy Fox (TV-2000) The One Ronnie (TV-2010) TV Series – Cast: The Kenny Everett Television Show (1981) 5’s Company (1997) TV Series – Guest appearances: The Benny Hill Show (1961) The Persuaders! (1971) The Jim Davidson Show (1982) Motormouth (1990) Revolver (2001, 2004) The New Bromantics (2011) |
