Ron Moody, who will forever be associated with role of Fagin in Oliver!, was on his way to becoming a sociologist when he fell into acting.

The Londoner got his first taste of showbusiness aged 16 when he worked as a wages clerk at Elstree studios.

He had spent the war in the RAF before going on to study at the London School of Economics.

Ron Moody in character as Fagin
The law catches up with Ron Moody in character as Fagin in 1968 (PA)

Years later, he remembered: “I went to the London School of Economics to study sociology and psychology on a serviceman’s grant.

“While there, I got dragged into taking part in a student revue and ended up writing, and appearing in, a few sketches. In short, I got the stage bug.

“Soon after, I was discovered in an end-of-term show by two writers who put me in their stage revue, and I’ve never looked back.”

He honed his craft in a string of theatrical roles before reluctantly auditioning for the role in Lionel Bart’s musical that made him a star.

He said: “At first I never wanted to do it. They told me there was this musical of Oliver Twist so I went to see the Alec Guinness film (of Oliver Twist), which I found to be so anti-semitic as to be unbearable.

“But Bart is as Jewish as I am and we both felt an obligation to get Fagin away from a viciously racial stereotype and instead make him what he really is – a crazy old Father Christmas gone wrong.”

Ron Moody meets Michael Jackson
Ron Moody and the Oliver! cast meeting Michael Jackson in New York in 1984 (David Bookstaver/AP)

Oscar nominee Moody, who is said to have once turned down the lead role in Doctor Who, also wrote novels and musicals of his own and kept working into his eighties, including a small role in EastEnders.

He once said: “I think I’m a straight actor who occasionally does musicals; most people think I’m an eccentric comedian. It’s amazing how many years you can spend in this business just sorting out something as simple and basic as that.

“I don’t think a professional agent or theatre manager would say my career had gone as well as perhaps it should have after that first Oliver! success, but then again I was never really intending to have a career in the professional theatre in the first place. Considering I set out to be a sociologist, I think I’ve really done quite well.”

Moody lived in London with his wife Therese and their six children.