A View From Middle England - Conservative with a slight libertarian touch - For Christian charity and traditional belief - Free Enterprise NOT Covert Corporatism

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Eric Sykes, comedy legend, dies aged 89

Eric Sykes wearing his hearing aid on his nose!
I've just seen that Eric Sykes has died. At 89 he had a good innings, as my uncle would have said. As a teenager in the Sixties, I watched Eric Sykes in all his many roles. By many roles I mean versions of himself. He was always "Eric" in his sketches. His humour can't be that dated because he is still being shown on cable TV. It is a humour based on adults doing childlike things in adult situations. And with the willing help of Hattie Jacques, Richard Wattis and Deryck Guyler (all three exceptional in the genre) his endearing comedy will prove the test of time I think. That's his genius. Not offending but affecting.

Hattie Jacques and Eric Sykes
He was also rather deaf for many years. I remember him coming on a chat show and explaining that his glasses were not for seeing clearly with but for hearing with. The ones he showed had no lenses in them. They had an ingenious hearing aid attached. However, the specs became a trade mark as no hearing aid could.

Eric Sykes will be fondly remembered by many people. When his name crops up in future I bet most people will smile rather than do anything else.

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