Tony Slattery obit

Tony Slattery, Actor and Comedian Known for ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?,’ Dies at 65

 

He was not on the list.

Tony Slattery, a British actor and comedian known for his improv skills on Channel 4’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” died on Tuesday. He was 65.

Slattery’s longtime partner, Mark Michael Hutchinson, confirmed the news to the BBC and said the cause of death was a heart attack. “It is with great sadness we must announce actor and comedian Tony Slattery, aged 65, has passed away today, Tuesday morning, following a heart attack on Sunday evening,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

Slattery was a regular on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” which features performers playing short-form improvisation games based on suggestions from a live audience, from 1988 to 1995. He also held roles in films like comedies “How to Get Ahead in Advertising” (1989) and “Peter’s Friends” (1992), as well as crime thriller “The Crying Game” (1992).

Born on Nov. 9, 1959 in Stonebridge, North London, Slattery got his start in theater while studying at the University of Cambridge. It was there that he met Stephen Fry, who invited him to join the student sketch comedy group the Cambridge Footlights. During his time in the group, of which he eventually became president, Slattery’s contemporaries included Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Sandi Toksvig, Jan Ravens and Richard Vranch.

Slattery’s TV breakout came in 1983 on Chris Tarrant’s late-night comedy show “Saturday Stayback,” where he became a regular performer before gaining recognition on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” in 1988. In the ’90s, he also guested on the comedy panel show “Have I Got News for You” and quiz program “Just a Minute.” He presented his own film criticism show, “Saturday Night at the Movies,” and appeared in sitcoms such as “That’s Love” and “Red Dwarf.” From 1993 to 1994, he hosted “Trivial Pursuit” on the Family Channel.

Slattery made his last regular appearance on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” in 1995, and kept a low profile over the next decade due to health issues. In 2005, his career began to pick up again, and he made appearances in the TV film “Ahead of the Class” as well as ITV drama series “Bad Girls” and “Life Begins” and was cast in the soap “Coronation Street.” He was also a regular on the ITV series “Kingdom” through 2009. In 2011, he participated in a “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” reunion special.

His last TV appearance was in 2020, when he featured in BBC’s “Horizon” series to examine his mental health, childhood trauma and struggle with addiction. Slattery had been open about this in the past, discussing the “mid-life crisis” that ensued after leaving “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” during which he struggled with cocaine and alcohol addiction and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Fry remembered Slattery in a heartfelt Instagram post alongside a photo of them from their Cambridge days, writing: “So very sad to have lost the wonderful Tony Slattery, just about the gentlest, sweetest soul I ever knew. Not to mention a screamingly funny and deeply talented wit and clown. A cruel irony that fate should snatch him from us just as he had really begun to emerge from his lifelong battle with so many dark demons. He had started live “evenings with” and his own podcast series. Lovely, at least, this past year for him to have found to his joyous surprise that he was still remembered and held in great affection. Love and condolences to Mark, his staunch, devoted life partner of almost 40 years.”

Slattery is survived by Hutchinson, his partner of nearly four decades.

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