- Was vice chancellor of the exchequer when he appeared on the BBC's improvised television spoof Christmas with Nationwide - The Pantomime (1977)
- When an opponent criticised him and said "Denis Healey would sell his own grandmother", his deputy at the Treasury leapt to his defence with "No, he would get me to do it for him"
- Mike Yarwood invented "Silly Billy" as a catchphrase for his impersonation of Healey. Healey adopted it and used it to put down opponents.
- Graduated with a double first in Mods and Greats from Balliol College, Oxford University.
- He played several musical instruments, including the piano and double bass. He also enjoyed gardening, painting, and photography.
- He joined the Army in 1940, and served in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, ending the war as a major.
- He was defense secretary under PM Harold Wilson in the 1960s.
- He served as an MP for Leeds for 37 years, before joining the House of Lords in 1992.
- UK secretary of state for defense (1964-1970).
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