DS Icon: Tom O'Connor

Born in Bootle, Merseyside to a family of dockers, Tom O'Connor's rise to showbiz stardom began from very humble beginnings. Initially, O'Connor worked as a maths teacher, but during his time at St Joan of Arc School he developed and finely tuned his comic routines, which before long were attracting the attentions of celebrity agents and TV bosses. In 1974 he took the plunge and gave up the day job to become a full-time entertainer. Not surprisingly, it wasn't long before the silver fox's clean-cut, sharp wit was wowing audiences around the UK.

O'Connor stood out in the '70s and '80s because of his "no-blue" humour, which was a refreshing antidote to the likes of Jim Davidson and Bernard Manning. He was also one of the few stand-ups who mastered the art of TV hosting his own shows and becoming a quiz show master. His credits include Name That Tune, Gambit, Password and most famously Cross Wits. In recent times he has retreated to a successful career as an author of "humourous" golf books such as From The Wood To The Tees and One Flew Over The Clubhouse and even branched out into acting with cameos in BBC daytime soap Doctors.

DS pays tribute to the wit and warm humour of the legendary Tom O'Connor with a pictorial celebration.