© Jamie Jones / Rex Features
Bygraves, known for his catchphrase "I wanna tell you a story" and his novelty songs including 'Pink Toothbrush', had a successful career in showbusiness that spanned over 60 years.
Having previously worked as a carpenter, Bygraves's first break came in the form of a BBC radio broadcast alongside Frankie Howerd. The show, during which he performed his impersonations of Charles Chaplin and Max Miller, led to a job in a touring revue 'For the Fun of It' lasting 61 weeks.
In 1950, he made his first appearance at the Royal Variety Show before performing at the London Palladium 14 times in ten years alongside stars such as Judy Garland.
Bygraves was awarded an OBE in 1982 and a year later, took over from Bob Monkhouse as the presenter of Family Fortunes. In 2005, he moved from Bournemouth to Australia and last appeared in public in the UK at a series of revival shows in Blackpool and London in 2006.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2011 and died as a result of the disease at his daughter's home in Australia last night (August 31).
His son Anthony Bygraves, 65, told The Daily Telegraph: "Sadly, Dad died last night as a result of the Alzheimer's. He was six weeks off celebrating his 90th birthday which would have fallen on October 16."
Anthony, who had acted as Max's personal manager, recently visited his father's Gold Coast home and appealed for members of the public to send him stories and memories they had of his father's career.
He was inspired to collect the tales after more than 2,000 people sent messages of support to Bygraves in March, when he publicly revealed he was suffering from the early stages of the degenerative disease.
"I had wanted to compile it with the help of the public. Dad still had a loyal fan base all around the world," said Anthony.
"I had wanted people to contribute a written memory of Max to appear in 'I Wanna tell you a Story'. Their own personal recollection of my father, a meeting, of a show, a time, a place - anything that was interesting or unusual."
