He grew up in Stamford Hill, north London, and was evacuated to Oxford when war broke out, with his sister Joyce and mother, Deborah.
His family were Jewish but not orthodox and their habit of eating bacon was frowned upon by their neighbours.
Blair cited Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Shirley Temple as figures who inspired him to pursue a life in showbusiness.
In the West End, he played the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, and had roles in Lady Be Good, Mr Cinders and Pageant.
His career saw him engage in a dance-off against Sammy Davis Jr at the Royal Variety Performance in 1961, appear in the Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night, and choreograph big screen features such as The Magic Christian.
On TV he choreographed and appeared in 1970s programmes such as The Mike and Bernie Show, The Tommy Cooper Hour and the Jimmy Tarbuck Show.
He pivoted to judging with New Faces in the late 70s, a talent show forerunner to series such as Pop Idol and X Factor.
Blair later became a household name opposite Una Stubbs in the long-running Give Us a Clue.