Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances.

A lifelong resident of the Knotty Ash neighbourhood of Liverpool, Dodd started his career as an entertainer in the mid-1950s. His performances included rapid and incessant delivery of often surreal jokes, and would run for several hours, frequently past midnight. His verbal and physical comedy was supplemented by his red, white, and blue "tickling stick" prop, but these colours could change for occasions such as St Patrick's Day (17 March), when he would choose a green, white and orange pair. He often introduced the sticks with his characteristic upbeat greeting of "How tickled I am!" He interspersed comedy with songs, both serious and humorous, and with his original speciality, ventriloquism. He had several hit singles, primarily as a ballad singer in the 1960s, and occasionally appeared in dramatic roles. He performed on radio and television and popularised the characters the Diddy Men.

Dodd was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to entertainment and charity. His stage career lasted for over 60 years, and he continued to perform until the end of 2017. He died on 11 March 2018, at the age of 90.

Dodd was born on 8 November 1927 in a former farmhouse in Knotty Ash, a suburb of Liverpool, to Arthur Dodd and Sarah (née Gray). He had an older brother, William and a younger sister, June. He went to the Knotty Ash School, and sang in the local church choir of St John's Church, Knotty Ash. He was to live in Knotty Ash all his life, dying in the house in which he was born, and often referred to the area—as well as its mythical "jam butty mines" and "black pudding plantations"—in his act. During the Second World War he was evacuated with his school to Shrewsbury, where he attended the Priory Grammar School for Boys. He was also evacuated to the village of Penmachno, near Betws y Coed, where he attended the local village school and learnt Welsh.

He then attended Holt High School, a grammar school in Childwall, Liverpool, but left at the age of 14 to work for his father, a coal merchant. Around this time he became interested in show business after seeing an advert in a comic: "Fool your teachers, amaze your friends—send 6d in stamps and become a ventriloquist!" and sending off for the book. Not long after, his father bought him a ventriloquist's dummy and Ken called it Charlie Brown. He started entertaining at the local orphanage, then at various other local community functions. His distinctive buck teeth were the result of a cycling accident after trying to ride a bicycle with his eyes closed. Aged 18, he began working as a travelling salesman, and used his work van to travel to comedy clubs in the evenings.

Before becoming a full-time professional performer, mostly on stage, his first known appearance on radio was in Variety Fanfare (producer: Ronnie Taylor, venue: Hulme Hippodrome) made by the BBC in Manchester in 1950–1952.

He said he gained his big break at age 26 when, in September 1954, he made his professional show-business debut as Professor Yaffle Chucklebutty, Operatic Tenor and Sausage Knotter at the Nottingham Empire. He later said, "Well at least they didn't boo me off".

He continued to tour variety theatres up and down the UK, and in 1955 he appeared at Blackpool, where, in the following year, he had a part in Let's Have Fun. His performance at the Central Pier was part of a comedy revue with Jimmy James and Company. Also on the same bill were Jimmy Clitheroe and Roy Castle. Dodd first gained top billing at Blackpool in 1958.