Warren Mitchell dies aged 89
Warren Mitchell has died aged 89.
The veteran actor is most famous for playing Alf Garnett in the long-running BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part.
A statement from his family reads: "Sadly we can confirm Warren Mitchell died in the early hours of Saturday 14th November surrounded by his family. He has been in poor health for some time but was cracking jokes to the last."
Jerry Barnett, who was Warren's great nephew, posted on Twitter: "Just got the news my great uncle Warren Mitchell (aka Alf Garnett) died in the early hours of Saturday morning. The last of his generation, wonderful and funny man RIP."
Mitchell played the role of outspoken dockyard worker Alf Garnett in over 50 episodes of Till Death Us Do Part. The sitcom was controversial as it aired the unpleasant views of the central character (Garnett has been described as "racist, homophobic, chauvinistic and sexist"); and contained - for the time - strong language. It was one of the first mainstream shows to broadcast the word 'bloody'.
The comedy ran on the BBC from 1965 to 1975, and received a feature-film spin-off in 1969.
The first of two sequel series began on ITV in 1981. Till Death.... ran for just one series before creator Johnny Speight returned the Garnetts to the BBC for In Sickness And In Health, which ran for 6 more series between 1985 and 1992.
In contrast to his screen role, Mitchell was a socialist. However, he once admitted some similarities to his famous character, saying: "[I am an] opinionated male chauvinistic pig at times, I suppose. As my wife Connie once said to me, 'You are like that awful Alf Garnett, only he's funny and you're not'."
Garnett was a West Ham United supporter, however off-screen Mitchell was actually an ardent Tottenham Hotspur fan.
Although he became best known as Alf Garnett, Mitchell's comedy CV includes a number of other sitcoms, including The Channel Swimmer, Scoop, Men Of Affairs and So You Think You've Got Troubles.
He also had a busy film career, featuring in British comedy movies such as Carry On Cleo, All The Way Up and The Pure Hell Of St. Trinian's.
Aside from his screen work, he also appeared regularly on stage. He won an Olivier Award for his roles in Death Of A Salesman in 1979, and another for his role in The Price in 2004.
Born in Stoke Newington, London, in January 1926, under the name Warren Misell, he served in the Royal Air Force until the war ended before studying at Oxford. However, he quit before completing the course, instead moving to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
He became a professional actor in 1951 and went on to have roles in various TV programmes. It was 14 years later that he first took on the role of Alf Garnett, when he signed up to star in writer Johnny Speight's Comedy Playhouse pilot Till Death Us Do Part. The episode was well received and the first of what would be seven series started the following year.
Ricky Gervais was one of the first comedy actors to post a tribute on Twitter this morning. He said: "Alf Garnett was one of the most influential and important characters and performances in comedy history. RIP Warren Mitchell."
Mitchell is survived by his wife Constance M. Wake, an actress whom he married in 1951; and their three children: Rebecca, Daniel and Anna.
Here is a video of Mitchell in action as Alf Garnett: