John Inman

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Just last night, as is my habit, I lay in bed watching "Are You Being Served?" and thought of John Inman -- a beloved comedian who broke stereotypes by playing a stereotype. Like millions, I enjoyed his comedic talent immensely; like millions, I mourn his loss.

Actor John Inman, most famous for the comedy Are You Being Served?, has died in London aged 71, his spokesman said.
Inman made his name in the 1970s show as Mr Humphries, whose catchphrase "I'm free!" entered popular culture.

In recent years he was a pantomime regular, most often taking the role of the dame. He also made appearances in BBC comedy show Revolver in 2004.

The Preston-born actor died in hospital and had been suffering from a Hepatitis A infection for some time.

The infection, usually caused by eating contaminated food, forced him to cancel the opening of a pantomime in London in December 2004.

It was initially hoped he would be able to return to the production of Dick Whittington, in which he was due to play Wanda the Cook, but he never worked again.

His manager Phil Dale said: "John was known and loved throughout the world. He was one of the best and finest pantomime dames working to capacity audiences throughout Britain.

"John was known for his comedy plays and farces which were enjoyed from London's West End throughout the country and as far as Australia, Canada and the USA."

Inman's Are You Being Served? co-star Wendy Richard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "John was one of the wittiest and most inventive actors I've ever worked with.

"He was a brilliant, brilliant pantomime dame and he was a very good all-round actor, really. He was a true professional."

Inman's long-term partner, Ron Lynch, is said to be "devastated" at his death.

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John Inman, who has died in a London hospital aged 71, belonged to an era of comedy which shunned satire for broad slapstick and sexual innuendo.
But any criticism of Mr Humphries, the camp, sharp-tongued sales assistant in Are You Being Served? was overwhelmed by public popularity.

Inman won BBC TV personality of the year in 1976 and was voted funniest man on television by TV Times readers.

The show attracted up to 22 million viewers and his shrill "I'm free!" hardly faded from the public's imagination.

Frederick John Inman was born on 28 June, 1935, in Preston, Lancashire.

At the age of 13 he appeared at the South Pier in Blackpool and he went on to make hundreds of stage and screen appearances.

Inman's West End debut was in the musical Ann Veronica at the Cambridge Theatre, followed by a stint as Lord Fancourt Babberley in Charley's Aunt at the Adelphi Theatre.

But he also performed in more than 40 pantomimes and was one of the country's best-loved pantomime dames.

Are You Being Served? began life as part of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse strand. But disruption to the 1972 Munich Olympics meant it was moved to fill gaps in the prime time schedule.

He stayed for its entire 13-year run, alongside Wendy Richard, who went on to play Pauline Fowler in EastEnders, as well as Molly Sugden, Frank Thornton and Trevor Bannister.

Seven years after the final episode, five of the characters returned for a sequel - Grace And Favour - in which they tried to run an old house as a hotel.

Inman also appeared in ITV's Odd Man Out as Neville Sutcliffe, the owner of a Blackpool fish and chip shop who inherited his father's factory, but the show only ran for seven episodes in 1977.

He next starred alongside Rula Lenska as a male secretary in Take A Letter, Mr Jones for six episodes in 1981.

More recently, he returned to the BBC for Revolver, a 2004 sketch show in which he played an antiques-shop owner who got carried away when explaining the history of objects for sale.

At the end of that year Inman, who suffered from hepatitis A, cancelled the opening of a London pantomime because of the disease.

In December 2005 he and his partner of 35 years, Ron Lynch, took part in a civil partnership ceremony at London's Westminster Register Office. [BBC News]

When "Are You Being Served?" first aired, many gay rights activists protested the fey mannerisms of "Mr. Humphries." Today, I prefer to look at Mr. Humphries as a role model who -- despite what anyone thought -- was true to himself; it is telling that Humphries, despite the less gay-friendly atmosphere of 1970s-80s England, was the most universally liked character on the show and off.
Enjoy this sample of John Inman's comedic timing in a rare novelty record.

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