Paul O'Grady, the star's friends praised his alter-ego Lily Savage as they recalled his path to success. Paul worked hard honing his act in front of adoring audiences in London's pubs and clubs but was eventually forced to make the "heartbreaking decision" to "give up the day job he loved" in order to progress his career.
Paul settled in London where he split his time between working as a social worker in Camden and performing as Lily Savage. One of the late star's close friends said: "He was really into his job, being a social worker was his calling but he had to give up the work because he could only spread himself so thinly. ""I think when you know you're a performer, which he knew deep down, nothing is going to stop you from performing," he added.
After 13 years working the underground circuit, Paul hit the big time and Lily Savage became a regular fixture on Britain's TVs in the morning on The Big Breakfast.
The 67-year-old worked as a peripatetic care officer in the 1970s, living in with elderly people and dysfunctional families, which it was said had a lasting effect on him, deepening his appreciation of the misfortune of those who found themselves at the bottom of the social ladder.
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