Sad to round up a few show business deaths of people who I admired professionally and adored socially. Just before Christmas that twinkling wag Jeremy Lloyd died at the age of 84. As an actor \u2013 in everything from \u2018A Hard Day\u2019s Night\u2019 to \u2018Doctor in Clover\u2019 – he had an impeccable, raffish charm. As a writer \u2013 of such perennial sitcom favourites as \u2018\u2019Are You Being Served?\u2019 and \u2018\u2019Allo, \u2018Allo\u2019 \u2013 he had a robust flair for the bawdy. A fortnight later, Jeremy\u2019s \u2018Whodunnit?\u2019 co-creator Lance Percival died at 81. As a member of the \u2018That Was the Week That Was\u2019 team, his satirical calypsos touched several nerves and he made his mark in the films of Gerald Thomas \u2013 \u2018Carry On Cruising\u2019, \u2018Twice Round the Daffodils\u2019, \u2018Raising the Wind\u2019, \u2018The Big Job\u2019 \u2013 as often as not opposite his good friend Sid James.<\/p>\n
Brian Clemens, who died at the age of 83, remains one of the most imaginative and inspiring of television writers. Creating \u2018The Avengers\u2019, \u2018The Professionals\u2019 and \u2018Thriller\u2019, his Hitchcock-like anthology series, Brian also wrote and directed the revolutionary Hammer horror film \u2018Captain Kronos \u2013 Vampire Hunter\u2019. A brilliant, modest man, his work philosophy was simple: \u201cThere\u2019s no mystery to writing: arse to chair, pen to paper\u201d. Rest in peace, gentlemen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sad to round up a few show business deaths of people who I admired professionally and adored socially. Just before Christmas that twinkling wag Jeremy Lloyd died at the age of 84. As an actor \u2013 in everything from \u2018A Hard Day\u2019s Night\u2019 to \u2018Doctor in Clover\u2019 – he had an impeccable, raffish charm. As … Continue reading 11th January 2015<\/span>