Irish singer and TV personality Val Doonican has died at his Southeast England home in Buckinghamshire at the age of 88.
His daughter Sarah confirmed his death on Thursday morning and said he died peacefully, The Guardian reported.
"Until 87, he was as fit as a flea," she said. "It was just old age, I'm afraid - the batteries ran out."
Michael Valentine Doonican was born in 1927 and was the youngest of eight children, according to The Telegraph. He grew up in Waterford, Ireland and played his guitar on the city's first-ever television broadcast. Doonican joined a band as a drummer, then later moved to England to perform with The Four Ramblers. He is known for his solo career with chart-topping singles like "Walk Tall" and "Elusive Butterfly," and his album "Val Doonican Rocks, But Gently" knocked the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" out of the number one spot on the 1968 U.K. chart.
"I don't think there's a person in the world that would have a bad thing to say about him," Sarah told The Guardian. "He was every bit as lovely as he appeared on the television. There was no [nasty] side to him at all. He was a delightful, delightful man."
"He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and will be greatly missed by family, friends and his many fans," Doonican's family said in statement to BBC News. Irish entertainer Roy Walker, who worked with Doonican, echoed that sentiment.
"The way he conducted himself he was the consummate professional," Walker said. "He was a joy to be with, a pleasure to work with and one of the all-time good guys in showbusiness."
