Andrew Sachs, the Fawlty Towers actor famed for his role as Spanish waiter Manuel, has died at the age of 86, his wife has announced.
The actor had been battling dementia for the past four years and died in a care home last week, Melody Sachs said. He was buried on Thursday UK time.
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Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs dies
Best known for his role as Spanish waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers, Andrew Sachs dies aged 86 after a four year battle with dementia.
"It wasn't all doom and gloom, he still worked for two years (after his diagnosis in 2012)," she told the Daily Mail.
"We were happy, we were always laughing we never had a dull moment.
"He had dementia for four years and it wasn't very pleasant. We didn't really notice it at first until the memory started going.
"It didn't get really bad until quite near the end. I nursed Andrew, I was there for every moment of it."
She said the father-of-three, a native German speaker whose parents fled the Nazis in 1938, refused to complain about his deteriorating health.
Mrs Sachs, also 86, said her husband lost his ability to speak and write during his final few weeks, and he was unable to feed himself or eat during his final days.
Fawlty Towers creator John Cleese were among those offering tributes.
"Just heard about Andy Sachs... A very sweet gentle man and kind man and a truly great farceur," he wrote on Twitter.
"I first saw him in Habeas Corpus on stage in 1973. I could not have found a better Manuel. Inspired."
Sachs had a number of small roles on stage and screen, including the hit '60s series The Saint starring Roger Moore, before becoming a household name as Manuel in the 1970s sitcom.
His performance as the bumbling waiter from Barcelona with the confused catchphrase ("Que? I know nothing!") earned the actor a BAFTA nomination.
He also appeared in shows including Dr Who and medical drama Casualty.
In 2008, he was embroiled in a BBC Radio 2 prank phone call controversy, after comedian Russell Brand and presenter Jonathan Ross left lewd messages on the actor's answering machine, with Brand boasting he'd slept with Sachs' granddaughter.
The incident, which drew criticism from then British PM Gordon Brown and led to an industry inquiry, resulted in Brand's resignation and Ross's suspension.
In a recent interview with the BBC while promoting his 2014 autobiography I Know Nothing, Sachs said the stunt had caused a rift in the family and he rarely spoke to his granddaughter.Â
In 2009, he played Ramsay Clegg in the long-running UK soap Coronation Street, but he slipped from public life as his illness took hold.
Just heard about Andy Sachs. Very sad....
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) December 1, 2016
I knew he was having problems with his memory as his wife Melody told me a couple of years ago...
...and I heard very recently that he had been admitted to Denham Hall,but I had no idea that his life was in danger. A very sweet gentle...
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) December 1, 2016
...and kind man and a truly great farceur.I first saw him in Habeas Corpus on stage in 1973.I could not have found a better Manuel. Inspired
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) December 1, 2016
I had the pleasure of working with #AndrewSachs in 'Attachments'. A beautiful soul who never tired of all my 'Fawlty Towers' questions.
— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) December 2, 2016
RIP Junior Postman Tolliver Groat #andrewsachs pic.twitter.com/0cbdaMehBr
— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) December 1, 2016
So sad that Andrew Sachs has died. A true friend and a kindred spirit. I still have the wonderful baby pictures he took of my children. RIP.
— Tony Robinson (@Tony_Robinson) December 1, 2016
RIP Andrew Sachs who spun comic gold as Manuel in 'Fawlty Towers'. pic.twitter.com/nutlKpxK52
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) December 1, 2016
Farewell #AndrewSachs. Creator of one of our most beloved EU migrants. Such warmth and wit; impossible to think of him without smiling.
— Samuel West (@exitthelemming) December 1, 2016
- Rob Moran, with AAP