British actor Andrew Sachs, famous for his role as bumbling waiter Manuel in British TV show “Fawlty Towers”, has died at the age of 86, the UK’s Press Association reported.
Sachs was reported to have suffered from vascular dementia for four years before his death. He was buried on Thursday December 1.
“It wasn’t very pleasant,” his wife Melody told the Daily Mail. “It didn’t get really bad until quite near the end. I nursed Andrew, I was there for every moment of it.”
Born in Germany, Sachs’ parents fled Nazi persecution of the Jews by moving to the United Kingdom, where their son would make his name as a well-known actor and comedian.
Apart from his iconic role on “Fawlty Towers,” Sachs appeared in numerous radio adaptions and children’s television series, as well as narrating audio books including CS Lewis’s Narnia series.
In 2008, a prank phone call to Sachs by comedian Russell Brand, in which Brand said he’d had sex with the actor’s 23-year-old granddaughter, resulted in the latter’s resignation and an apology.
Comedians bid farewell
Comedians and writers from around the world took to social media to pay tribute to Sachs, complimenting his character and acting abilities.
“Fawlty Towers” creator John Cleese said Sachs had been a “very sweet, gentle and kind man.”
“I first saw him in Habeas Corpus on stage in 1973,” Cleese said on Twitter. “I could not have found a better Manuel. Inspired.”
“Blackadder” actor Tony Robinson expressed his grief at Sachs’ passing. “A true friend and a kindred spirit,” he said on his Twitter account.
Comedy writer Edgar Wright said Sachs, in his role as Manuel, spun “comic gold.”