Eric Sykes dies aged 89
He was not on the list.
From writing a film where the only word uttered is "rhubarb" to creating one of TV's most popular sitcom partnerships, Eric Sykes – who died on Wednesday aged 89 – will be remembered as one of Britain's finest comedy actors and writers.
Tributes came in thick and fast for a man who was seldom off radios, stages or screens in a career spanning 60 years that will spark different memories for different generations.
Some will know him best for writing and directing the silly slapstick film The Plank while others will remember his sitcom partnership with Hattie Jacques, who played his perpetually exasperated sister.
More recently, in the face of near total deafness and blindness, Sykes appeared in the fourth Harry Potter film and, in 2007, the British comedy Son of Rambow. Even younger viewers will know him as a voice on Teletubbies.
Ken Dodd said Sykes was loved by everyone. "He was a genius at creating comedy: he found laughter in anything. More than anything else, he loved everybody and everybody loved him.
"He worked with the great stars but never got big-headed. He was brave and courageous, wanting to work despite the difficulty with his hearing and sight."
Sir Bruce Forsyth called him "one of the greats of comedy in this country". He added: "He was just one of the funniest men ever in comedy. We used to play golf together with Sean Connery. We were a great golfing fraternity. He used to love smoking cigars on the golf course. I'd spike his cigar with my shoes … That's a loving memory I have of his face when I did that. It was very expressive. He was very lovely, very gentle and not a loudmouth. He was a very clever writer. His scripts were amazing."
There were numerous fond tweets from a younger generation of performers. Mark Gatiss tweeted: "The wonderful Eric Sykes has left us. A giant of comedy and a gentleman – funny to his very core. RIP."
Katy Brand wrote: "Eric Sykes goes just as the God particle is found – coincidence? I don't think so. RIP Eric."
And Stephen Fry tweeted: "Oh no! Eric Sykes gone? An adorable, brilliant, modest, hilarious, innovative and irreplaceable comic master. Farewell dear, dear man."
In a long career, Sykes worked with just about everyone in comedy and light entertainment.
He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus, and Johnny Speight.
Michael Palin said: "He was one of the nicest, most decent men in the business and one of a kind. No one else could do what he could do. To me, he was a great inspiration, both as a writer and performer."
His films The Plank (1967, remade in 1979) and Rhubarb (1969, remade in 1980) are classics, starring a gamut of comedy stars including Tommy Cooper and Jimmy Edwards.
The actor Bernard Cribbins, who was in the second version of The Plank, said: "He will be very sadly missed. I just wish him a lot of rest up there with all the other comics, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. They will all be up there, having a laugh together."
The comedy writer Eddie Braben said: "Any funny line that I write from now on will be dedicated to his memory as a thankyou … we were great friends."
He added: "Like Spike Milligan and PG Wodehouse, he was a great British man of comedy. He had a very quirky sense of humour.
"He had a way with his body – he was the only man I ever knew who could do a double take with his feet. Others could do it with their eyes or head – he could do it with his feet."
Oldham-born Sykes, like many performers of his generation, was introduced to the world of showbusiness through friends he made while serving during the second world war.
After the war, he became one of the most in-demand radio comedy writers, providing scripts for programmes such as Educating Archie, Variety Bandbox and The Goon Show.
He first appeared with Jacques in "Sykes and a …" in the early 60s and by the 70s it had become simply Sykes, one of the most popular sitcoms on TV.
His film appearances were numerous, whether as the bullied servant of Terry-Thomas in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Monte Carlo or Bust; or with Nicole Kidman in Alejandro Amenábar's The Others.
After TV began to fall out of love with Sykes, he began to take on more theatre work such as the Ray Cooney farce Caught in the Net, or more classical roles in As You Like It and Three Sisters. He also wrote two novels and a 2005 memoir that reflected his self-deprecating nature: If I Don't Write It, Nobody Else Will.
Sykes's manager, Norma Farnes, said he died peacefully. "His family were with him," she said.
Film and television
Films he created and appeared in
Pantomania, or Dick Whittington (1956 TV film)
Dress Rehearsal (1956 TV film) as Director
Opening Night (1956 TV film) as Himself
Closing Night (1957) as Himself
Gala Opening (1959) as Himself
The Plank (1967) as Smaller Workman
Shalako (1968 film)
It's Your Move (1969)
Rhubarb (1969 short) as Insp. Rhubarb
Mr. H is Late (1969)
Sykes: With the Lid Off (1971 TV film)
Eric Sykes Shows a Few of our Favourite Things (1977) as Eric / Jack
The Plank (1979 TV short), a remake of The Plank (1967)
The Likes of Sykes (1980 TV film)
Rhubarb Rhubarb (1980), a remake of Rhubarb (1969), as Police Inspector / Groom
If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981) as Mr. Pangbourne
The Eric Sykes 1990 Show (1982 TV film) as Producer
It's Your Move (1982 TV short), a remake of It's Your Move (1969), as Head Removal Man
Mr. H Is Late (1988 TV short) as Senior undertaker
The Big Freeze (1993 TV film) as Mr. Blick
Television series he created and appeared in
Sykes and a... (1960–1965) as Himself
Sykes and a Big Big Show (1971)
Sykes (1972–1979) as Himself
Other acting roles
The following entries are films unless otherwise stated.
Orders Are Orders (1954) as Pte. Waterhouse
Charley Moon (1956) as Brother-in-Law
Tommy the Toreador (1959) as Martin
Watch Your Stern (1960) as Civilian Electrician No. 2
Very Important Person (1961) as Willoughby, Sports Officer
Invasion Quartet (1961) as Band Conductor
Village of Daughters (1962) as Herbert Harris
Kill or Cure (1962) as Rumbelow
Heavens Above! (1963) as Harry Smith
The Bargee (1964) as The Mariner
One Way Pendulum (1964) as Mr. Groomkirby
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965) as Courtney
Rotten to the Core (1965) as William Hunt
The Liquidator (1965) as Griffen
Big Bad Mouse (1966, TV movie) as Mr. Bloome
The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966) as Wrigley
Sykes Versus ITV (1967, TV movie)
Shalako (1968) as Mako
Monte Carlo or Bust (1969) as Perkins
Big Bad Mouse (1972, TV movie) as Mr. Bloome
Theatre of Blood (1973) as Sergeant Dogge
Charlie's Aunt (1977, TV movie) as Brassett
The Boys in Blue (1982) as Chief Constable Cranshaw
Gabrielle and the Doodleman (1984) as Genie
The Six Napoleons (1986) as the journalist Horace Harker
Splitting Heirs (1993) as Jobson the Doorman
Dinnerladies (1998, TV series) as Jim
Mavis and the Mermaid (2000, short) as Skip
Gormenghast (2000, miniseries) as Mollocks
The Others (2001) as Mr. Edmund Tuttle
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) as Frank Bryce
My Family (2007) as Henry
Son of Rambow (2007) as Frank
Agatha Christie's Poirot: Hallowe'en Party (2010 TV episode) as Mr. Fullerton (final appearance)
No comments:
Post a Comment