Dustin Gee

Early life and career

Born in York, Gee left school at 15 and studied at art college before working as a stained-glass artist, including at York Minster. He performed evenings in a rock band that went through several names: the Dare Devils, Gerry B and the Hornets, and Gerry B and the Rockafellas. After the band disbanded, he became a compère and then a comedian. Gee was openly gay.

His television break came after 20 years in showbusiness on Who Do Do You?, an ITV showcase for impressionists. From April 1980 to July 1985 he appeared on Russ Abbot's Madhouse; Les Dennis joined the cast in 1982, and the two formed a double act impersonating Coronation Street's Vera Duckworth and Mavis Riley. On 15 April 1984, after Tommy Cooper suffered a heart attack on Live From Her Majesty's, Gee and Dennis performed as the next act while attempts were made to revive Cooper.

Their own show, The Laughter Show, began on 7 April 1984; a third series started on 28 December 1985, but the second episode was postponed after Gee's death. The BBC cancelled the series, then resumed it on 18 January 1986 at the family's request.

Illness and death

On 24 May 1985, Gee felt ill onstage during the opening night of a summer season at Blackpool's North Pier. He continued the performance but was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital afterward, where a minor heart attack was diagnosed and he was told he had dilated cardiomyopathy. Discharged on 30 May, he returned to the stage on his birthday, 24 June, ignoring doctors' advice to rest for six months, and completed the run through September. That autumn he and Dennis recorded the third series of The Laughter Show.

From 20 December 1985 they appeared in pantomime at Southport Theatre, Merseyside. At 8:15 pm on 1 January 1986, while playing one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella, Gee suffered a massive heart attack. After a scene he clutched his left arm and told Dennis in the dressing room, 'I think I am dying,' then collapsed and lost consciousness. Company manager Basil Soper revived him, and Gee was taken to Southport General Hospital, where he collapsed again on arrival.

The next day, Dennis and Gee's PA Roger Edwards were at his bedside; Gee was unconscious, and when urged to keep fighting he raised a finger. He sat up for a while, then lost consciousness again and deteriorated. He died at 12:45 pm. Jim Bowen replaced him in the pantomime.

Floral tributes came from Bob Monkhouse, Danny La Rue, Stan Boardman, Cannon and Ball, Jimmy Tarbuck, Little and Large, Mike Smith, Des O'Connor, Tom O'Connor, Jeffrey Holland, Susie Blake, Jim Bowen, Les Dawson, Larry Grayson, Ernie Wise, John Cleese, and Russ Abbot.