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Who is Lionel Blair’s wife? Veteran entertainer and 'Extras' actor dies at 92

Blair is survived by his wife Susan, three children and three grandkids

Veteran entertainer and dancer Lionel Blair has died. He was 92 and breathed his last on Thursday, November 4. For around eight decades, he worked as an actor, tap dancer, presenter, and choreographer.

In recent years, the Canada-born showbiz star was seen in Ricky Gervais' ‘Extras’ and on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’. He was married to a former actress for over four decades. Blair is survived by his wife Susan, three children, and three grandkids.

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Who is Lionel Blair’s wife? 

Blair and the Blonde beauty Susan became husband and wife in 1967 at Kensington Registry Office in London. It was love at first sight for him as he revealed on ITV's ‘Loose Women’, “I walked in the room and honestly, I took one look at her and it hit me. I thought, 'That's the girl I am going to marry'... six weeks later we were married.”

At the time of their wedding, ‘The Real Marigold Hotel’ star was 38 while Susan, who played a small role in 1968’s ‘Salt and Pepper’ movie, was 21. Blair once told The Guardian, “The secret of a successful marriage is memories... that's why my dad insisted that we went everywhere together, so we could talk about things. I'm so lucky to have a wife who is a nest builder. Her nest is the most important thing in the world to her.”

The pair shared three children and three grandkids. Blair had once said, “We've got a very, very normal family, and for me everything comes back to family. If they're sad, I'm sad. I want them to be happy all the time.”

The death of Blair -- famous for playing a team captain on game show ‘Give Us A Clue’ -- has devastated many. His friend, the actor and presenter Christopher Biggins, remembered him as “the most wonderful [man], kind, funny, a real giver of life. His energy was extraordinary.” He noted that the Canadian-British actor was “very competitive” and “loved to win” on the game show. “He's up there now entertaining with Una, I'm sure,” Biggins said.

Broadcaster Danny Baker called him “a true chum, an entertainer beyond compare, an archive of a golden era, an immeasurable talent", adding that it was "impossible to think he won't be in some green room somewhere, dropping names and living out fantastic tales”.

Writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Blair “was the personification of va va voom, he had so much charm and dazzle... he loved life and he loved showbusiness. [Blair] actually entered the language, because by the time he became a household name in the 1960s and 70s, in cockney slang if you were wearing flares, they were known as your Lionel Blairs.”

“I’m really sad to hear about the passing of Lionel Blair; it’s wonderful to meet someone that was a TV star when you were small and to find them so impeccably gracious & charming in person. I learnt a lot from him! My condolences to his family #LionelBlair,” Singer Paul Young tweeted.

Piers Morgan shared, "RIP Lionel Blair, 92. A wonderful all-round entertainer & lovely man. Sad news."