Ken Dodd was a very serious man; he worked with dedication and determination to achieve his life’s objective. His art form was so brilliantly and naturally done that you would think it all happened instinctively and casually as a result of an innate talent. That Sir Ken had great talent is beyond doubt but nobody achieves success in any area of activity without a dedicated and focussed effort to make their dream a reality.
The son of a coal merchant from Knotty Ash had a simple ambition. He dedicated his life to making people happy; and laughter is a great boost to the human psyche and so the art of making people laugh became his passion. If any University could grant a degree in comedy, Ken would have flown through as a mature student with a shining first class degree. The trouble is that Ken himself would have had to write the syllabus based on his study of what made people laugh developed over a lifetime of practice and study.
It’s really such a simple idea. We have art colleges to help people make art and music schools to help people develop their musical skills. We have academic institutions to grant degrees in a myriad of subjects from Law (yes it is one of the more boring degrees) to Baking Technology Management, Ethical Hacking, Surf Science and Technology, and of course, ‘The Beatles, Popular Music and Society’ from Liverpool Hope. But where are the comedy degrees? Well the University of Kent does now offer a Masters in Stand-up Comedy. At last Ken Dodd’s art has been recognised as subject worthy of dedicated study and research. He certainly thought it was and he was well ahead of his time.
Ken was a regular attender at Evensong at Liverpool Cathedral where he joined the congregation almost unseen and un-noticed, such a contrast to his public persona. Ken’s private space was respected and although he was glad to make time to talk to other members of the congregation; he was treated no differently to any other attendee. Off duty he was able to be quiet and unassuming and worship God; I am sure that meant a great deal to him. One of the Cathedral Canons, Ellen Loudon, says that one of her best memories was of preaching in the Cathedral and seeing Ken lift his head with a smile spreading across his face at something she has said in her sermon.
When Ken was on public show he was a totally different person. He was in work mode employed to make people happy. He even put a lot of effort into his last performance when he left hospital at the end of February to make his final journey to his lifelong home in Knotty Ash. Even though he was weak and frail, he used every ounce of strength to put on one last show for the public who loved him so much; and of course he did not fail to thank all the staff who had cared for him so well whilst in hospital.
I have always felt that we are put into this world to make a difference by the way we live our lives and what we do. Ken Dodd will be remembered for the difference he made in so many peoples’ lives through the happiness he spread about so liberally and generously through the art of comedy.
Last Wednesday, as a Lay Canon of the Cathedral, I was privileged to attend his funeral along with 2,000 others inside and many others outside and in the streets. A number of celebrities gave tributes and there was one good joke I had not heard before. Ken “I don’t do much television nowadays- I don’t cook.” He was a remarkable comedian and despite a boon in stand-up comedy it will take someone very special to match his skill in making people laugh.