ENGLISH comedy legend Sir Ken Dodd has died aged 90.
The star, famous for his epic stand-up shows, as well as his Diddy Men and tickling stick, died just days after leaving hospital, his publicist says.
He married Anne Jones, his partner of 40 years, on Friday at their home in the Liverpool suburb of Knotty Ash, which was also the one he was born in.
His publicist Robert Holmes told the Press Association: "To my mind, he was one of the last music hall greats.
"He passed away in the home that he was born in over 90 years ago. He's never lived anywhere else. It's absolutely amazing.
"With Ken gone, the lights have been turned out in the world of variety.
"He was a comedy legend and genius."
Dodd asked Jones if she wanted to marry and they tied the knot in the house on Friday, Holmes said.
"He died two days later on Mother's Day. Anne is obviously very upset. They had been together for 40 years.
"It's a love story to beat them all."
Dodd spent more than six weeks in the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital earlier this year, following a chest infection, leaving at the end of February.
Australian Associated Press
