"With regard to "THE REBEL", we certainly did give Sid a cameo appearance in our original draft. We cannot really remember the exact details after all these years but it's possible we gave Sid one line as a receptionist at Nice Airport when Hancock turns up dressed as a bird. Hancock says "I want to fly to England" and the receptionist says "Don't you think you'd better wait for a plane". The thought came from Hope and Crosby making guest appearances in each other's films, but Tony thought it was too gimmicky so we cut it out in the final screenplay."
Beryl Reid, the comedy actress once described as "Britain's second favourite grandmother", died in hospital yesterday.
She had been suffering from pneumonia for a week after a recent operation on her knees, said Robert Luff, her agent. Miss Reid, 76, who was awarded an OBE in 1985 after a long and varied career in television, radio, stage and film, had been suffering from osteoperosis.
Mr Luff said that her colleagues and audiences would be "distraught" by the death of "one of the country's best-loved actresses". She had been recovering very well from her operation and he had hoped she would be starting work again soon.
Miss Reid, who was raised in Manchester but lived alone for many years with 10 cats at Honeypot Cottage, Wraysbury, Berks, was best known for her comedy roles.
Among her more memorable parts were the schoolgirl Monica and the char lady Marlene on the 1950s radio programme "Educating Archie", and the grandmother in ITV's "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole". But she also proved she could play serious roles, notably as an alcoholic lesbian actress in the 1968 film, "The Killing of Sister George".
Other films included "Entertaining Mr Sloane" and "The Belles of St Trinian's". She won a Bafta best actress award for the television adaptation of "Smiley's People" in 1983 and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Comedy in the British Comedy Awards five years ago.
The actress suffered from dyslexia, which meant she could learn a part only by constant vocal repetition.
She had a reputation for eccentricity, saying she spent her time back stage in the West End plucking pheasants. Miss Reid, twice divorced, was outspoken about sex, admitted to numerous affairs and claimed to wear a scent called Easy Virtue. She said in her autobiography that contrary to her fear that work would dry up as she got older, the opposite had occurred, as there was no one else in her age group.
WILLIE Rushton, the comedian and satirist, has died in hospital shortly after having heart surgery.
It is believed that he suffered a reaction after the operation at the Cromwell Hospital in London.
His death yesterday, at the age of 59, shocked friends who paid tribute to the cartoonist, writer and performer.
Auberon Waugh, whose column in The Daily Telegraph Rushton illustrated from its inception, said the news was a "ghastly blow". He said: "The only cheering aspect is that he died with all his guns firing."
They last spoke on Monday, shortly before the operation. "I think he was a tiny bit nervous," Mr Waugh said. "He said 'I'll be back for Monday's column' . . . But there it is. He was a big part of my life, but I suppose it's good that he died suddenly. He even did a special extra picture before he went into hospital just in case he missed a column. He was a real professional."
Rushton was a main player in the anti-establishment comic movement that emerged in the Sixties. He appeared in That Was The Week That Was alongside David Frost. Last night Sir David said: "Willie Rushton just went on getting wittier and funnier with every year. I can't imagine the Lord's Taverners or British life without him."
The comic irreverence that so delighted television and radio audiences was also evident in his work for the satirical magazine Private Eye, which he co-founded with Richard Ingrams, Paul Foot and Christopher Booker. Ingrams, who had known him since their days at Shrewsbury School, was "terrifically shocked" by his death. "I think he was the most talented of my contemporaries by far," he said. "He had a brilliant spontaneous wit. He was a brilliant cartoonist, a born cartoonist who had no training. I think that cartoons were his greatest achievement. He was a brilliant improviser, as he showed with his radio work, and a bit of a Falstaffian figure."
Rushton was also an accomplished writer and produced a number of best-selling works including his first novel, W G Grace's Last Case. He made many film and television appearances and was a regular guest on Through the Keyhole, Celebrity Squares and the Kenny Everett Television Show. On radio he took part in 27 series of the anarchic I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, while his distinctive voice was loved by children for his storytelling on BBC's Jackanory and the Asterix series.
He retained a deep interest in the theatre, teaming up with Barry Cryer for the popular Two Old Farts in the Night show at the Edinburgh Festival which eventually toured nationwide. The comedian Barry Took said: "He was a decent, honest man who laughed a lot. He would retire into comparative obscurity and then come bursting out again, full of life, full of beans."
He was well known as a bon vivant, a lover of beer and cricket, but recently had to give up alcohol because of diabetes. Among the hobbies he listed in Who's Who were gaining weight, losing weight and parking.
(Willie Rushton brought Tony Hancock's remains back to England following his suicide in Australia)
There will also be a THAS conference next September, organised by the infamous, forthright-speaking THAS member Henry Bull. With Henry in the chair, I anticipate a well-disciplined but 'no-holds-barred' discussion which will decide the future direction of the Society and look forward to participating. Developments will, of course, be reported in the 'Ham'. Whether you are a THAS member or not, and have an issue to raise with the Society then let me know.
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