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Very sad to hear about the passing of Eric Sykes.

Hadn't heard this - Indeed one of our foremost comedy writers who could write comedy without resorting to smut. Go to youtube and watch 'The Plank'.

Comic genius all right.

A very sad day, the last of the greats. What do we do now?




Arm xxxxxxxxxxxx

A truly great man and a gentle soul, which is nice.

Not that I knew him personally.

I recorded the sad loss on Facebook.

A gentleman, and comedy writer I admired so much.

His series on TV with Hattie Jaques playing his sister was unique. No one can forget the episode where he got his toe stuck in the bath tap surely?

Brilliant silly British comedy!

Sykes in the bathroom scene

Thank you

Inchy

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Quote: armfeetandtoe

A very sad day, the last of the greats. What do we do now?

Arm xxxxxxxxxxxx

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Don't forget Barry Cryer arm. Saw him at Kings Cross on the underground a few years back, wish I'd spoke to him.

Sad to see Eric pass. Lets hope the Beeb do the decent thing and air a tv tribute at some point.

And for anyone that cares, BBC Radio 4 Extra on DAB/freeview will probably do their own tribute, as Eric was a scriptwriter for the Goons. not sure if he done any solo radio stuff? (Inch, anyone?)

As well as comedy scriptwriting for stars such as Peter Sellers, Frankie Howerd, Max Bygraves and Stanley Unwin, Sykes was a novelist, film director and producer.

He was still appearing on the west end stage into his
80s, even though he became almost deaf and blind.

And in 2005, he overcame his disabilities to star in hit movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

In the Fifties and Sixties, when I had a television, Sykes was an essential fixture on my telly.

In long-running series Sykes and a… (later simply Sykes), the long, tall Eric and the cuddly Hattie Jacques played an unlikely pair of oddly sexless twins, leading gently whimsical lives in Sebastopol Terrace.

He also wrote for one of the most influential performers in British comedy - certainly the only one officially made of wood. Archie Andrews was a ventriloquist's dummy, and the "star" of Educating Archie.

Frankie Howard insisted that Galton and Simpson should have their scripts approved by Sykes! Eric agreed, reluctantly.

An improviser, he collaborated with Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers, and his air of surrealism combined with a gentle warmth produced some of the most memorable lines of his generation.

"I asked my publisher what would happen if he sold all the copies of my book he'd printed. He said 'I'll just print another 10'!"

Sykes rejected the brashness of some modern comedians who swore far too frequently for his taste. This is another example of his gentler, witty style.

"I didn't hear a laugh for 25 years... then I got these hearing-aids and I realised I hadn't been getting any!"

Barry Cryer was another brilliant comedy writer I admire, his few appearances on the radio 5 'Just a Minute' showcased his quick dry wit I love so.

Inchy

Is Barry Cryer dead?

At the time of writing this Barry Cryer is very much alive.

and he will be hosting a show on BBC Radio 4 Extra saturday morning.

Well worth a listen!

Details of Comedy Greats

Barry has selected some overseas comedies from the 50's 60's & 70's on Radio 4 extra for us to enjoy!

(Oh... radio has already told us this.. sorry!)

but you provided the link and more details. Top man inch.

Yeah I know he's alive, it's just people were talkiong about him as if he were dead!

I used to watch him and Hattie; the fat and the thin of it!

but preferred Steptoe & Son!

Not being a grief junkie or anything, but Mr Sykes was a multi talented writer and actor, and a great loss to the world of entertainment. Always a treat to watch.

Barry Cryer? Comic genius. Nuff said on that one. Hats off and all that.

Steptoe and Son? Loved it. Shepherd's Bush's finest.

Strange really that Wilfrid Bramble was as gay as a lark in springtime, and that he and Harry H Corbett hated each other intensely.

Maybe that's what made it work.

Regards

Skoob.

opposites obviously attracted.

did he ever do Carry ons?

Kenneth Williams, gay as as Lawrence of Arabia, loved Arabs too, but totally brilliant!

Genius and madness, never far apart!