Richard Gilbert Emery was born in University College Hospital, Bloomsbury, London. His parents were the comedy double act Callan and Emery. They took him on tour when he was only 3 weeks old and gave him the occasional turn on the stage throughout his childhood, which was always on the move and disrupted, creating problems for the future, but at least setting the scene for eventually going into show business himself. His parents split up when he was 8 and he chose to stay with his mother, who gave up show business. He tried a variety of jobs before the stage: mechanic, office boy, farm hand and driving instructor.