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Les Dawson's Joke Book
The first-ever joke book from one of the UK's best-loved comedians, "Les Dawson's Joke Book" is a must for any fan of this perennially popular comedian. It collects together the highlights of his 26-year career across radio and television, from his early days on "Opportunity Knocks" to "Cissie and Ada". A lover of language, Les was a secret poet and was fond of high culture, often undercutting his own admiration of the art forms for comic effect.
The book includes examples of all his most famous sketches, comic come-backs and stand-up routines. From working class roots to a comedian beloved by millions, "Les Dawson's Joke Book" is a celebration of Les' humour at its very best, compiled from his personal archive by his wife and daughter, it is the must-have for any fan.
The book includes examples of all his most famous sketches, comic come-backs and stand-up routines. From working class roots to a comedian beloved by millions, "Les Dawson's Joke Book" is a celebration of Les' humour at its very best, compiled from his personal archive by his wife and daughter, it is the must-have for any fan.
- GenresHumor
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 3, 1979
About the author
Les Dawson
22 books5 followersLes Dawson (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was a popular English comedian, remembered for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife.
Raised in the Collyhurst district of Manchester, Dawson began his entertainment career as a pianist in a Parisian brothel (according to his entertaining but factually unreliable autobiography). As a club pianist ("I finally heard some applause from a bald man and said 'thank you for clapping me' and he said 'I'm not clapping - I'm slapping me head to keep awake'"), he was to find that he got laughs by playing wrong notes and complaining to the audience. He made his television debut on the talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967 and became a prominent comic on British television for the rest of his life.
Dawson wrote many novels but was always regarded solely as an entertainer in the public imagination, and this saddened him. He told his second wife, Tracey, "Always remind them - I was a writer too".
Having broken his jaw in a boxing match, Dawson was able to pull grotesque faces by pulling his jaw over his upper lip. This incident is described in the first volume of Dawson's autobiography A Clown Too Many.
Raised in the Collyhurst district of Manchester, Dawson began his entertainment career as a pianist in a Parisian brothel (according to his entertaining but factually unreliable autobiography). As a club pianist ("I finally heard some applause from a bald man and said 'thank you for clapping me' and he said 'I'm not clapping - I'm slapping me head to keep awake'"), he was to find that he got laughs by playing wrong notes and complaining to the audience. He made his television debut on the talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1967 and became a prominent comic on British television for the rest of his life.
Dawson wrote many novels but was always regarded solely as an entertainer in the public imagination, and this saddened him. He told his second wife, Tracey, "Always remind them - I was a writer too".
Having broken his jaw in a boxing match, Dawson was able to pull grotesque faces by pulling his jaw over his upper lip. This incident is described in the first volume of Dawson's autobiography A Clown Too Many.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 30, 2021
Go on have a laugh!
Lovely book full of the Northern genius that deservedly became a huge star. Les can be heard in every sentence! Enjoyed it immensely. Nice one guys. Les would be very happy with this I'm sure. Thank you.
Lovely book full of the Northern genius that deservedly became a huge star. Les can be heard in every sentence! Enjoyed it immensely. Nice one guys. Les would be very happy with this I'm sure. Thank you.
November 18, 2019
Crying in a good way
Hilarious read. Haven't a clue how he comes up with these but it was a shame there wasn't more pages.
Hilarious read. Haven't a clue how he comes up with these but it was a shame there wasn't more pages.
August 5, 2020
Led Tells Some Tales
Great old fashioned fun with Led showing his wordsmith genius. The reader can almost hear Lee's voice reading the book to them.😀
Great old fashioned fun with Led showing his wordsmith genius. The reader can almost hear Lee's voice reading the book to them.😀
June 8, 2013
Comedy is subjective I suppose, but I have to say I found this collection dreadfully unfunny.
I have a soft spot for Les Dawson, he always made me laugh when I was a kid. But these jokes are so dated it's really better to read it as an example of how things have changed in the last 30 years than as a joke book. A shocking amount of the "humor" rests on sexism, misogyny, homophobia and racism.
The famous wife/mother-in-law jokes are flat, lazy and mean spirited.
The best thing that can be said about this book is that there are a few observational jokes that raised the odd chuckle.
Overall, it's all a rather sad reminder of the bad old days of British comedy.
I have a soft spot for Les Dawson, he always made me laugh when I was a kid. But these jokes are so dated it's really better to read it as an example of how things have changed in the last 30 years than as a joke book. A shocking amount of the "humor" rests on sexism, misogyny, homophobia and racism.
The famous wife/mother-in-law jokes are flat, lazy and mean spirited.
The best thing that can be said about this book is that there are a few observational jokes that raised the odd chuckle.
Overall, it's all a rather sad reminder of the bad old days of British comedy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews