FILE - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II talks with with personage guests Lionel Blair, centre and June Whitfield, astatine the Help The Aged Living Legends astatine Windsor Castle, successful Windsor, England, Wednesday May 3 2006. Blair has died astatine the property of 92, it was reported connected Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. (Fiona Hanson/Pool via AP, File)

LONDON – Entertainer Lionel Blair, who taught himself to creation by watching Fred Astaire movies and became a staple connected British signifier and tv for decades, has died. He was 92.

Blair’s cause said helium died Thursday. No origin of decease was given.

Blair was calved Lionel Henry Ogus successful Montreal to Russian Jewish parents. The household moved to Britain erstwhile helium was a toddler and settled successful London, wherever helium and his sister Joyce performed for radical sheltering successful subway stations during World War II bombing raids.

He began his vocation arsenic a teenage actor, but soon focused connected dancing, taking the signifier sanction Lionel Blair.

“I truly wanted to beryllium an actor,” helium said successful 2014. “I was the breadwinner aft my begetter died erstwhile we were rather young, and I got into a musical, became well-known and stayed successful musicals. But truly I privation to beryllium successful (soap opera) ‘EastEnders.’”

He became adjacent friends with Sammy Davis Jr. aft the 2 performed a dance-off astatine a royal assortment show successful 1961 astatine London’s Prince of Wales Theatre.

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He performed arsenic a dancer, worked arsenic a choreographer for tv shows and during the 1960s, 70s and 80s was an progressively salient beingness connected TV assortment and crippled shows. He was a panelist connected charades-based crippled amusement “Give Us a Clue” and a presenter connected the U.K. mentation of “Name That Tune.”

He made respective movie appearances, including arsenic a choreographer successful The Beatles’ 1964 caper “A Hard Day’s Night” and successful the 1986 philharmonic “Absolute Beginners."

He was an yearly prima of the hugely fashionable seasonal signifier shows known arsenic Christmas pantomimes, and besides appeared successful world TV shows “Celebrity Big Brother” successful 2014 and “The Real Marigold Hotel” successful 2017.

Fellow entertainers remembered Blair arsenic an irrepressible, upbeat beingness some onstage and off.

His benignant was often called camp, but Blair said “I similar ‘flamboyant’, oregon ‘enthusiastic.’ I’ve ever been a spot over-the-top.”

Blair is survived by his woman Susan, 3 children and 3 grandchildren.

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