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 on Monday evening from pneumonia.
Alexandra Cann said: “Jeremy was a great wit and always a mass of original ideas. He had a wonderfully original mind and will be greatly missed.”
Lloyd, who was married three times including to Joanna Lumley, created a string of hit shows with his writing partner David Croft.
Joanna Lumley with Jeremy Lloyd
He was given an OBE for services to comedy in 2012.
Accepting his honour, 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.”
Lloyd had enjoyed a screen career of his own before he devoted 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! and A Hard Day’s Night, as well as classics such as Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines. He was also a regular writer on popular US show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.
Jeremy Lloyd (Fiona Hanson/PA)
He and Croft had worked together on the Billy Cotton Band Show, contributing sketches, and were brought together again for a short-lived sitcom It’s Awfully Bad For Your Eyes Darling, which starred Lumley.
The two writers went on to work 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.
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.
Joanna Lumley (Chris Jackson/PA)
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 Moberly, 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”.
Farewell to Jeremy Lloyd and thanks for years of naughty laughs. It would be appropriate to insert a very naughty something here. Oooh!
— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) December 23, 2014
