Eric Sykes dies at 89
Actor, scriptwriter and comedian Eric Sykes has died at the age of 89. That’s sad news. He was definitely part of my childhood during the 1970s with all those sitcoms. Bless Hattie Jacques too. He was also loved by earlier generations than mine.
He wrote radio comedy for the likes of Frankie Howerd, Tony Hancock and The Goon Show in his early career. I recommend a slapstick film called The Plank where Sykes and Tommy Cooper are the most accident-prone workmen you will ever encounter. The cast of this almost silent short film is a who’s who of British comedy – even Jimmy Tarbuck is in it.
Sykes wrote a few books. His autobiography, If I Don’t Write It Nobody Else Will, was published in 2005. He wrote a novel called Smelling of Roses set against the backdrop of the North African desert campaign of World War II. His fiction also includes The Great Crime of Grapplewick (a story of bizarre provincial goings-on in a Northern town) and UFOs are Coming Wednesday (an alien arrives in a small town).
Will be sadly missed..
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 ten’ Eric Sykes 1923 – 2012
Nice gag.
I agree.