Lionel Blair

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Lionel Blair (born Lionel Ogus on 12 December 1931 in Montreal, Canada) is a British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, headmaster and television presenter.

He is best known in Great Britain for being a team captain on the gameshow Give Us a Clue from 1982 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.

Blair's stint on Give Us a Clue is often referenced by Humphrey 'Humph' Lyttelton, chairman of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, when introducing the round Sound Charades. Humph never fails to make Blair the butt of a risqué joke at this point. For example, in one episode Humph introduced the game (where contestants were made to describe a book, a film, or a piece of music without using words) 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!"

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). For a brief spell in the late 1960s he was headmaster of Repton School in Derbyshire.

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 crossbreed collie disappeared when Mr Blair's wife took her out for a walk in the park near the couple's home in Surrey.

In September of 2006, Lionel 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.

[edit] Trivia

He is a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats.
His signature dance move is the 'Big Lionel' which comprises hiatus in tapping before an elaborate theatrical twirl. This is typically followed by a grin and one clap of the hands before the tap dance is resumed. When performing the Big Lionel, he also says "Big Lionel".
He avoids eating fish whenever possible.
His name is used as Cockney Rhyming Slang for Flares, the popular trousers from the 70s. As is typical for ryhming slang, his first name is often used in usage i.e. "look at those Lionels" etc.
He can count to 100 in Esperanto.