Olg was born in Davos, Switzerland, but moved as a baby to England where her parents ran several hotels including the Clarendon House Hotel in Leeds.

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Intent on pursuing a career in showbusiness, the young Olga attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

At the age of 18 she answered an advert in The Stage seeking 'a girl with nerves' to join an established act placed by knife thrower extraordinaire Hal Denver, who started life as Ralph Van Norman-Noakes.

The couple married and took their show all over the world, meeting famous names including Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

Olga later trained animals and enjoyed success with a show featuring performing chiuauas. She is currently press officer for the Leeds City and District Canine Association Dog Championships.

Now 77, she lives in Garforth with her son Carl, 39. She also has two stepsons, boxing referee Mickey Vann, 63, and his brother Monty, 65.

"The first time I met my husband he said, "You're Olga, aren't you?" with this sweet little smile and I fell in love with him there and then.

His wife had been his assistant but they were divorcing so he was looking for someone to replace her in the act.

He did explain that he would be throwing knives at me but I was so smitten I wouldn't have cared if they were elephants.

It was only when we were on stage and the first one came flying at me that I was terrified to the extent that I went numb.

When we came off I was so mad at him that I was going to run off but he had suspected as much and had given my clothes to the chorus girls to hide.

But he was a charmer and years later when we had rows he still used to say, "You're Olga, aren't you?" and flash me that smile.

That always used to put a stop to any argument we were having.

When I watched Elvis perform for the first time it struck me that he had something different because you never saw anyone gyrate around like that.

My elocution teacher was married to his uncle Eddie and we were on the same bill together at the state fair in Memphis. I went round to the house and he was there.

Not long afterwards we were both performing in Las Vegas so he and his gang used to come to our motel in the early hours after work. I used to make them all bacon butties and when I got up in the afternoon I would find them all crashed out on the floor.

Elvis was just an ordinary boy as far as I was concerned and I remember him being fascinated by the different things we used in the act.

We spent ages showing him how to handle the whips. I think he wanted to be a cowboy.

I don't really cry that much but I wept buckets when Elvis and Marilyn Monroe died. We had met Marilyn when she was doing a public tour and we were on the same bill. We became friends and she managed to get me work as a stand-in for her on some of her movies.

She was always Norma to me, that was her real name, and we used to go out shopping together.

She would put on this headscarf and everything but people still came up to her saying, "Aren't you...?" I used to say to them, "No, she gets that all the time."

The best advice I received came from my mother who told me, "Enjoy yourself but don't upset people."

Professionally I guess it would be to keep still when the knives and tomahawks were flying at me.

The handles were the devils and some nights I would have all this blood in my hair. Even now I still have these little bumps all over my head.

If I could bring anyone back it would be my parents so I could say to them what you never do when they're alive – "I'm so glad to be your child."

I love Leeds because it's moving forward all the time whereas a lot of towns stay the same for 20 or 30 years or even go backwards. We've got a bit of everything here.

You can go to so many wonderful parks and gardens and it's amazing that it's all so clean.

It puts me in mind of Switzerland.

Tony Bennett still owes me money.

We were on tour with him but in Philadelphia he claimed he had tonsillitis when really he was going away with his girlfriend. The show was cancelled and I was out of work.

My favourite way of relaxing is taking my dog Beau out for a walk.

I got him when the last of my chiuauas died. They were wonderful dogs but very difficult to train. They had to want to do something before they would do it for you.

Les Dawson used some of them in a Hound of the Baskervilles sketch he used to do which always made me laugh.

I take life as it comes, I figure you take the rough with the smooth. I would hate life if it didn't have its worries because you would never appreciate the lovely times you have.

You've got to be able to laugh at yourself too and all the things that have happened to me have made me a better person and given me a sense of humour.

I've had cancer twice and that makes you appreciate that life is so wonderful really and don't need a lot apart from a bit of food in your tummy and a bit of pleasure.

There is so much to see in life that you don't need any money for."


Favorite things...


Food - Italian
Actor - Dick Van Dyke or Sean Connery
Music - Jazz and classical
Star Sign - Scorpio