Jeremy Lloyd dead aged 84 from pneumonia

show ad

Road-rage driver, 50, arrested after she 'ran terrified woman off the road claiming to be a cop' days after being jailed for another crash
Pictured: Potential suspect behind 'Serial' podcast murder is named by Innocence Project 15 years after victim's ex-boyfriend was jailed for her death
Beyonce's father Mathew Knowles 'was selling his famous daughter's memorabilia for $20 to $200 on his front yard'
Bernie Madoff trustee set to return another $322million to duped investors meaning 55% of $20billion lost has now been recovered
Did Rand Paul just TWEET that he's running for president? 'Rand Paul 2016' shirt photo comes amid annual 'airing of grievances' for fictional 'Festivus' holiday
Navy SEAL Team Six member who shot Osama bin Laden is reportedly under investigation for revealing military secrets
'Saved by President Obacco!': James Franco celebrates Sony's announcement that The Interview WILL be released with bizarre Instagram photo... and a dig at Obama for getting his name wrong
Actor Kevin Hart was 'paid $2 MILLION' by Sony to tweet about two films,' leaked email reveals
President 'applauds' Sony's decision to release The Interview as GOP Senator asks Obama to hold a screening at the White House
North Korea's internet is shut down AGAIN after losing connectivity for nine hours yesterday
North Korea call US 'toothless wolf' as it restores internet after it is cut off in suspected US retaliation for Sony hack
Heads bowed for the fallen: Tearful NYPD officers join mayor Bill de Blasio to lay flowers where two cops were murdered in Brooklyn
'They deserved it': 911 operators allegedly INSULTED murdered cops and sparked argument with FDNY... as it's revealed the killer used a police-tracking app
Jon Bon Jovi wears NYPD shirt on stage to show 'a little solidarity' with police officers
Off-duty black police in New York say they experience same racial profiling from other NYPD cops that cost Eric Garner his life
Fury at singer's 'Dead, Dead Michael Brown' parody making fun of teen's death at Elks party for retiring cop
Helena's agony as she splits from Tim Burton: Friends say father of her two children has had a 'mid-life crisis'
Are smartphones changing the shape of our BRAINS? Area that controls the thumbs is larger in people who use touchscreens daily
Is your air steward a 'coach roach', a 'slam-clicker' or a 'deadhead'? The secret language of flight attendants revealed
Pictured: Oklahoma soccer coach accused of murdering off-duty British police officer on Christmas night out
Revealed: New York mayor Bill De Blasio 'thought cops were spying on him and eavesdropping on his conversations before 2013 election'
Introducing the future prince of Monaco (and his sister): Proud Prince Albert and Charlene introduce their newborn twins Jacques and Gabriella
Man, 21, 'pulls gun on McDonald's drive-thru employee for forgetting to give him a McDouble Cheeseburger...and then demands fries and sodas for his female friends'
Is this helicopter parenting gone too far? The rising trend for moms and dads who follow their kids to college

Comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd died aged 84 yesterday from pneumonia
Mr Lloyd was married three times including to actress Joanna Lumley
He created a string of hit shows with his writing partner David Croft
Mr Lloyd was given an OBE for services to comedy in 2012

By Keiligh Baker for MailOnline

Published: 12:09 EST, 23 December 2014 | Updated: 14:14 EST, 23 December 2014

View
comments

Comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd, who created sitcoms including Are You Being Served? and 'Allo 'Allo! has died aged 84.

His agent said he died in a London hospital yesterday evening from pneumonia.

Alexandra Cann said: 'Jeremy was a great wit and always a mass of original ideas.

Comedy writer Jeremy Lloyd, who created sitcom Are You Being Served? and 'Allo 'Allo! has died aged 84

Mr Lloyd with his wife Lizzie Moberley, an interior designer, in 2008. The couple married this year

'He had a wonderfully original mind and will be greatly missed.'

Mr Lloyd, who was married three times including to Joanna Lumley, created a string of hit shows with his writing partner David Croft.

He was given an OBE for services to comedy in 2012. Accepting his OBE, Lloyd said he was 'astounded' to be honoured for doing something he enjoyed.

He said: 'it is, after all, what I love doing and couldn’t have done without the many wonderful actors, directors and others who made my work come to life.'

Jeremy Lloyd was a writer for the beloved series Allo Allo

Writing about their marriage, which lasted less than a year, Lumley said: 'He was witty, tall and charming - we should have just had a raging affair'

Mr Lloyd and Joanna Lumley at Patrick Lichfield's wedding - they were married for less than a year

JEREMY LLOYD'S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Lloyd began his career as a writer in 1958 before making his film debut two years later in 1960 in School for Scoundrels.

He appeared in numerous comedies during the 1960s and 1970s and was a regular performer on US show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in 1969.

Lloyd starred in two films with the Beatles, including a Hard Day's Night in 1964 and in Help! in 1965.

In 1969 he filmed a scene with Peter Sellers for The Magic Christian, which co-starred Ringo Starr.

His first major success as a comedy writer was with Are You Being Served? in 1972, on which he worked with David Croft.

They subsequently produced 'Allo 'Allo! and a spinoff of Are You Being Served?, Grace & Favour which aired in 1992.

Jeremy also wrote the poem for the popular Captain Beaky album and books in 1980.

Jeremy played the eccentric chimney sweep, Berthram Fortesque Wynthrope-Smythe aka Bert Smith in The Avengers episode, From Venus With Love in 1967.

In 1974 he was a British Army officer in Murder on the Orient Express.

He worked as a paint salesman and a road digger before getting into showbusiness and enjoyed a screen career of his own before devoting himself to providing the lines for others.

He made his film debut in School For Scoundrels and had minor roles in the Beatles films Help!, released in 1965, and A Hard Day's Night, released in 1964.

He also featured in classics such as Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines in 1965.

He also had roles in Doctor in Clover with James Robertson Justice, and The Wrong Box with John Mills, Michael Caine and Peter Cook.

In 1974 he was a British Army officer in Murder on the Orient Express.

Lloyd was later a regular writer and performer on popular US show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

Mr Lloyd said he got the job after answering the phone at his agent's office to the show's producer, George Schlatter, who was looking for someone who could act and write.

He explained: 'I said "The best possible person you could get is Jeremy Lloyd and we handle him".

'And George said "Is he available?" And I said: "I'll just check his book... just a second... he's got a day off from filming tomorrow and he can see you."

'I wasn't filming at all, of course. "Can he be at the Dorchester at 9?" And I said "Don't worry, I'll make sure he's there."'

Jeremy Lloyd and actress Carole Ashby (left), who were engaged for three years, and Jeremy Lloyd with actress Barbara Trenton (right)

The screenwriter was also briefly engaged to actress Charlotte Rampling (pictured), who acted as his best man during his marriage to Lizzy Moberley

Mr Lloyd, the son of an army officer and a dancer, was born in London but brought up in Manchester by his grandmother.

He regularly appeared on the hugely popular Billy Cotton Band Show playing what he described as 'an idiot in a bowler hat' and - more importantly - it was where he met Croft.

They teamed up on a short-lived sitcom It's Awfully Bad For Your Eyes Darling, which starred Lumley, before working up an idea based on Lloyd's past experiences working at Simpsons of Piccadilly, which became Are You Being Served?, set in the fictional Grace Brothers store.

Its run spanned 13 years and attracted audiences of up to 22million. It became known for its catchphrase 'I’m free!; as well as Mrs Slocombe’s ongoing dramas with a high maintenance pussy cat.

Mr Lloyd was the son of an army officer and dancer and was brought up in Manchester by his grandmother

He was given an OBE for services to comedy in 2012 and said he was 'astounded' to be honoured for doing something he enjoyed

They worked on further shows such as Come Back Mrs Noah and Oh Happy Band, then struck comedy gold again with 'Allo 'Allo! about the French Resistance, which lasted the best part of a decade.

At various times, he also wrote for Jon Pertwee, Morecambe and Wise, Bruce Forsyth and Lionel Blair

Writing about their marriage, which lasted less than a year, Lumley said: 'He was witty, tall and charming - we should have just had a raging affair.'

His third marriage, to interior designer Lizzy Moberley, took place in central London this June.

He said his third bride, who was 49 when they tied the knot, was 'beautiful, clever and sent from heaven on mission impossible'.

Gordon Kaye as Rene and Vicki Michelle as Yvette in Allo Allo

The cast of Are You Being Served, along with David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, at a reunion lunch 25 years after the first episode

He was previously due to marry actress Carole Ashby - who played Louise in Allo Allo - but they split in 1990 after a three-year engagement.

Lloyd was also briefly engaged to actress Charlotte Rampling, who later acted as his best man when he married Lizzie Moberley.

Lloyd was also behind an unlikely hit record in the shape of Captain Beaky which went into the top five in 1980. It was the most well-known hit from two albums produced by the band in 1977 and 1980.

The albums led to numerous spinoffs, including two books of poetry, a BBC television shows, a West End musical and a pantomime. The Captain Beaky poems were revived in an all-star tribute show at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011, featuring Joanna Lumley.

The writer also claimed to have been invited to Sharon Tate’s house for tea on the night that she was murdered by followers of Charles Manson.