Walter William Bygraves, OBE （16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012）， known by the stage name Max Bygraves, was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs. He made twenty Royal Variety Performance appearances and presented numerous programmes, including Family Fortunes. 　　Bygraves was born to Henry and Lillian （née McDonnell） Bygraves （who wed in 1919） in London, where he grew up in poverty in a two-room council flat with his five siblings, his parents and a grandparent.His father was a professional flyweight boxer, known as Battling Tom Smith, and a casual dockworker. Brought up Catholic, he attended St Joseph's School, Paradise Street, Rotherhithe, and sang with his school choir at Westminster Cathedral. 　　He left school at 14, working at the Savoy Hotel in London as a pageboy, but was sacked for being too tall. He then became a messenger for an advertising agency in Fleet Street, before serving as a fitter in the RAF in World War II and working as a carpenter.He changed his name to Max Bygraves in honour of comedian Max Miller. 　　the title character in the 1956 film Charley Moon. It was revealed that Bygraves had bought the past and future rights to the Lionel Bart musical Oliver! for ?350 at a time when Bart was experiencing severe financial difficulties. Bygraves later sold them for ?250,000. 　　In the 1950s and 60s, Bygraves appeared as a guest on several television variety programmes both in the UK and United States. These included Ed Sullivan, Jack Benny, and Jackie Gleason, in America, but his place as a broadcasting icon was founded, along with several fellow artists, by appearing as guest 'tutor', to Peter Brough's ventriloquist dummy, Archie Andrews, in the long running BBC radio show Educating Archie. 　　He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1961 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while rehearsing his new show, Do Re Mi, at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre. 　　In 1977 UK Publishing House W H Allen published Bygraves's comic novel The Milkman's On His way. 　　From 1983 to 1985, Bygraves hosted Family Fortunes, taking over from his friend and fellow comedian Bob Monkhouse. He would later be succeeded as host in 1987 by Les Dennis. 　　In 1982 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire （OBE）。