Sitcom star Richard O’Sullivan has died. He was 82.
The actor was a child star from the early 1950s, working until the mid 1990s. After suffering a severe stroke in 2003, he had lived at the entertainment industry retirement home Brinsworth House in West London, where he died this week.
Born in Chiswick on 7th May 1944, early roles included appearances in films like Carry On Teacher and Make Me An Offer!. He worked with Ronnie Barker] on a number of projects in the late 1960s, and starred alongside Ronnie Corbett in the latter’s ITV sitcom Now Look Here….
That role brought him to national prominence, and he was soon cast as one of the main characters in LWT‘s Doctor In The House franchise, with the 1972 outing of the sitcom, Doctor In Charge. The same year same him co-lead with Beryl Reid in their own ITV comedy, Alcock And Gander.
It was in 1973, however, that O’Sullivan was propelled to sitcom superstar status, when he took on the titular role in Thames’s iconic, era-defining comedy Man About The House. Here he was beloved as Robin, the sole male in a flatshare alongside two women, Chrissy and Jo. The comedy ran for six series, a feature film adaptation, and two spin-offs – one, Robin’s Nest, seeing his character run a small bistro for another six series.
In the latter half of the 1980s, he played widower, advertising exec, PR man and single dad in the fondly-remembered Me & My Girl, again running for six hugely popular series on ITV.
His last comedy role was on radio, appearing in a 1995 episode of Harry Hill’s Fruit Fancies. Elsewhere, he enjoyed roles in The Galton & Simpson Comedy, Can You Keep It Up For A Week?, and both film and television versions of Father, Dear Father.
Outside comedy, Richard O’Sullivan appeared in television staples such as Thirty-Minute Theatre and Dixon Of Dock Green, starred in more than thirty episodes of ITV‘s Dick Turpin as the eponymous criminal, and played another pharoah with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1963 Hollywood epic, Cleopatra.
His son, James O’Sullivan, said in a statement today: “My dad was as funny and charming in real life as he appeared on our TV screens over the years. Always kind spirited, good humoured, a doting grandfather and a wonderful dad – I will miss him dearly.
“Although much of his career happened before I was born, I was fortunate enough to be able to enjoy and witness his incredible talents on the countless re-runs of his shows that made him the respected and loved actor that he was.
“I would like to thank the incredible team at Brinsworth for their love, kindness and care over the last 23 years. They have been truly amazing and will always hold a special place in my heart.”
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