In the 1960s and 1970s, Dick Emery was one of the most successful comics on the box. He was voted BBC TV Personality of the Year, thanks to creations such as his toothy vicar, sex-starved spinster Hettie, crusty old Lampwick, outrageously camp Clarence, who coined the phrase: "Hallo honky tonks". Perhaps the most memorable of all was Mandy, a busty middle-aged woman whose repressed nature was usually betrayed by a sudden affectionate slap and a cry of: "Ooh, you are awful. But I like you!". While his creations left millions howling, in private Emery was a man with a terrible fear of failure. He was often sick before performances and would sleep to escape stage nerves prior to a performance. 'Bob Monkhouse' : "I don't just envy the confidence that other comics seem to have, I resent it. I hate them for it, just like my dad did. If there's such a thing as a chip off the old block, it's on my shoulder." Emery married five times and left his last wife to live with a showgirl 30 years younger than him. His BBC show was axed after 12 years in 1979 and he died four years later.
According to "Doctor Who" Magazine, he was considered for Nero in "Doctor Who" {All Roads Lead to Rome (#2.13)} .
His parents were music hall double act, Callen and Emery (mother former Gaiety girl Bertha Callen, and father actor Laurence Cuthbert Emery aka Laurie Howe), and his half sister the actress Ann Emery.
His first wife Joan was a dancer, who used the stage name Zelda Burns/Barry; together they had a son, Gilbert. He also had a son, Nick Emery , with his third wife Iris, and two children, Michael Emery and Eliza Emery with his fourth wife, Vicki. For the last 4 years of his life he lived with Fay Hillier.
