Lionel Blair

Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Blair Ogus on 12 December, 1931 in Montreal, Canada) is a British actor, choreographer, tap dancer and television presenter. He is best known for his oscar nominated performance in the 1973 american horror film The Exorcist.

Lionel Blair is the son of Myer Ogus and Deborah (Della) Greenbaum. His father was a Russian barber; he changed the family name to Blair in his youth.

Career

Blair came to Britain when he was just one year old with his first public performances with his sister Joyce (born 1932) in London Underground Station shelters during World War II. He attended the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford in 1944. Rep. In Ireland followed by London's West End. He gave up acting for dancing in 1947. His father was a hairdresser.

Blair's rather camp image first came to the fore in the 1960s, when, with his own dance troupe, he appeared on many television variety programmes. He also appeared in films such as A Hard Day's Night and Absolute Beginners, cameoed in an episode of The Persuaders! and in television comedy, including the classic short film, The Plank. In addition, he choreographed films such as Jazz Boat (1960) and The Magic Christian (1969).

Blair is, to a whole generation, best known for being one of the team captains on the gameshow Give Us a Clue from 1979 until the early 1990s and also for being the (second) presenter of the British version of popular game show Name That Tune in the 1980s. His skills on Give Us A Clue are frequently mocked in the introduction to the game Sound Charades on BBC Radio 4's similarly-named comedy show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, normally by the use of a strong double entendre. For example, in one episode the host, Humphrey Lyttelton, introduced the game thus: "The expert's expert was of course Lionel Blair. Who could ever forget opposing team captain, Una Stubbs, sitting open-mouthed as he tried to pull off Twelve Angry Men in under two minutes?"

In 2005, he was one of the celebrities taking part in the channel 5 reality TV series, The Farm. He is currently touring the UK in a dance production entitled Strictly Ballroom Dancing.

Most recently, Blair appeared as a celebrity guest on ITV1's The Mint.

Lionel and wife Susan, celebrated their Ruby wedding anniversary in March 2007. They have three children and one grandchild. He is the brother of the late British actress Joyce Blair, with whom he sometimes appeared.

He hit the headlines in early 2006 when his pet dog Florence was apparently kidnapped while walking in Surrey. The cross-breed collie disappeared when Mr Blair's wife took her out for a walk in the park near the couple's home in Surrey.

On September 21, 2006, Blair and comedian Alan Carr helped save a man who was about to fall from a pier in Blackpool. The man was holding on by his fingertips, but the two men managed to pull him to safety.

Lionel appeared in the 2007 Christmas special of the Ricky Gervais show Extras, as himself, portraying the end-stages of his showbiz career by trying to desperately keep up his profile by appearing on Celebrity Big Brother alongside Lisa Scott-Lee and X Factor contestant Chico.

External links

• Humphrey Lyttelton's Sound Charade introductions, which often feature Lionel Blair.
• Lionel Blair in the East End