NFR Eric Sykes is dead after short illness

[Rupert]

His autobiography, "If I don't write it, who will?" appears to be a very honest one, and it clearly shows that Eric Sykes was not the easiest person in the world to get on with. He seems to have fallen out with most of his friends at one time or another, was the beneficiary of some outrageously lucky events and always attributed his good fortune to the influence of his long dead mother (she died giving birth to him), who he felt was looking after him all his life.

He probably was not always a nice person, something I have seen written about many television greats, but so what? This does not detract from his immense contributions to the world of comedy and, to the best of my knowledge, he never pretended to be something he was not.

[CorkedHat]

Not knowing them personally, nor having met them, I wouldn’t know if Eric, Norman or Tommy were good guys or otherwise.
Humour is a very personal thing and some comedians have/had the ability to make me laugh whilst others leave me in a miasma of ho hum.
All I am saying is that it does not sit well with some people if you dare criticise the very people that they hold so dear – but that does not validate one person’s opinion against another’s. Surely we all have a right to express an opinion.

[bog]

There was never any crudity with Eric's writing, I to read his biography. At Hattie Jaques' funeral her children banned him from coming.   

[TonyGilroy]

There was never any crudity with Eric's writing, I to read his biography. At Hattie Jaques' funeral her children banned him from coming.   

You can see their point.

That would have been completely inappropriate.

[jarv]

When you meet celebrities, first impressions seem to form opinions for life (probably because you will never meet him/her again).

Tommy Cooper used to use the same pub in Chiswick I often did. Lousy Watneys beer but it was at the end of the street. (I shared a flat with a bunch of others in the same street Cooper lived). He came across as a miserable so and so, not unusual for comedians.

Richard O'Sullivan, also a Chiswick man, came across as very nice, mildly amusing and quite self effacing. (I played football with his brother for 2 or 3 seasons so met Richard quite a few times).

Those impressions have never changed.

[CorkedHat]

My wife and I met Ronnie Corbett at Nadi Airport in Fiji in the arrival lounge.
Ronnie was the epitome of good manners. When she asked him if he had a good flight he replied, “Well, I’m just relieved that we landed somewhere near the airport.” He wished us a happy stay in Fiji, posed for photographs with other passengers and shook hands with lots of people who he had not obviously met before.
Being a comedian is a serious matter and as we know there have been many who have led abject lives, not the least of them, Tony Hancock, who took his own life.
But as with anyone who puts their work out there for public scrutiny you must expect that some people are going to warm to you whilst others are going to dislike you. Their passing should not influence your original opinion one iota. They are not suddenly more talented in death than they were in life and sad as you might be that they have died, that should be the sum of it.

[Berserker]

My wife and I met Ronnie Corbett at Nadi Airport in Fiji in the arrival lounge.
Ronnie was the epitome of good manners. When she asked him if he had a good flight he replied, “Well, I’m just relieved that we landed somewhere near the airport.” He wished us a happy stay in Fiji, posed for photographs with other passengers and shook hands with lots of people who he had not obviously met before.
Being a comedian is a serious matter and as we know there have been many who have led abject lives, not the least of them, Tony Hancock, who took his own life.
But as with anyone who puts their work out there for public scrutiny you must expect that some people are going to warm to you whilst others are going to dislike you. Their passing should not influence your original opinion one iota. They are not suddenly more talented in death than they were in life and sad as you might be that they have died, that should be the sum of it.

Yep summed it up  - totally agree. BTW Bob Mortimer and myself nearly knocked each other over as we dashed across a crossing in Edinburgh, he was very friendly and we had a laugh about it.  I actually never realised who I was giggling with until I had walked away he was so unassuming