Today is a day when we should all go out and tell someone "Shaddap You Face," for it has been announced iconic British TV actor Andrew Sachs, best known for his work on the impeccable Fawlty Towers, recently passed away. He was 86 years old.
The details surrounding the death of Andrew Sachs are somewhat surprising. His wife of 57 years, Melody Sachs, revealed to Daily Mail that her husband was diagnosed in 2012 with vascular dementia, which is second only to Alzheimer's in how common it appears. He dealt with a particularly brutal case of pneumonia, after which it was advised that he move into a care home, and he relocated earlier this year to Denville Hall, which is specifically for retired actors. He died inside the home on Wednesday, November 23, and his funeral was held last Thursday. Thankfully, his wife said things were only rough near the end, and she "never once heard him grumble."
First getting into radio productions in the 1950s, Andrew Sachs made the jump to screens big and small with 1959's The Night We Dropped a Clanger and a handful of TV appearances. It was 1975 when the actor stumbled upon the role that would equate him with universally beloved comedy, Fawlty Towers' bumbling Spanish waiter Manuel. Though the concept of a pompous boss constantly degrading a foreign employee can be awful in the wrong hands, it was gold when Sachs and co-star John Cleese were the ones doing the performing.
Sadly, Fawlty Towers can't be found on Netflix, but you can catch it on the excellent comedy streaming website Seeso. Relive one of Sachs' most memorable scenes below.
Outside of his work as Manuel, which went on to include some hilarious song recordings, Andrew Sachs was also known for other runs on TV projects such as The History of Mr. Polly and Coronation Street, and it was only last year that he appeared on two episodes of EastEnders. He also showed up in a wide variety of films, such as Revenge of the Pink Panther and Quartet, and had much success with voice acting. He's narrated lots of documentaries and TV shows, not to mention the audiobooks and radio dramas and animated projects.
John Cleese took a few minutes on Twitter to react to the news of Andrew Sachs' death. Here is the first of several posts.
We at CinemaBlend send our thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of Andrew Sachs in their time of mourning.
