Conscripted in 1939, Aston was a sergeant in the 8th Army for four years, seeing action at El Alamein in Egypt, Italy and at the D-Day invasion in Normandy. During the war he married and had a daughter, Pat.
Aston wrote and performed in a number of shows during his war years and experienced his own pantomime when on leave mid-war, he ran into his estranged father in a London pub, who apologised over a pint for not marrying his mother.
He had no idea his father was married to someone else during the comings and goings that produced three children.
"And there I was - a grown man - finding out I was a bastard after all. Just as everyone suspected!"
Aston emigrated to New Zealand in 1958 with his wife, Heather, and two sons - Richard and David.
Having bought a corner dairy, the family settled in Christchurch for two and a half years before returning to England where Graham was born.
In 1964 the family moved back to New Zealand, this time to Auckland, where Aston picked up his friendship with fellow entertainer Johnny Bond. He joined the Howick Little Theatre. In the mid-1970s/80s, Aston worked as a variety comic at the Ace of Clubs, supporting Marcus Craig, John Clarke, Derek Payne, Howard Morrison, Ray Wolfe and Billy T. James.
After separating from Heather in 1975, Aston met Eileen. They were together for nearly 30 years.
Aston had roles in Goodbye Pork Pie (1981); children's television series Terry and the Gunrunners (1985); Never Say Die (1988) - iconic role as the Kentucky Fried Chicken Man; more than 20 radio plays; and cameo appearances in television shows.
In 1981 Aston did a Royal Variety performance. "I had to do a skit with Billy T. James and Laurie Dee. No one knew what to do, so I wrote a bit of patter for other two on stage before I walked on and said, 'Will the couple who have their yacht outside with the lights on please report to the front desk'. Then I walked off. In front of the Queen! I can remember when we came off into the wings we were so full up with it we were crying."
Ruth Kerr
