March 08, 2007

Mr. Humphries, no longer free

John Inman, best known as the ambiguously gay Mr. Humphries on the BBC series Are You Being Served? has passed away.

Actor John Inman,  died aged 71 on Thursday.

Inman, who later became a pantomime regular, was one of the sitcom's most memorable cast members and his catchphrase "I'm free" became part of popular culture.

In 1976, he was voted "Funniest Man On Television" by readers of TV Times magazine and was also named BBC TV's "Personality Of The Year."

He died at St Mary's Hospital in London after having been ill for some time, his manager Phil Dale said in a statement.

"John, through his character Mr Humphries of Are You Being Served? was known and loved throughout the world," Dale said.

Here's Mr. Inman at his best:

Rest in Peace, Mr. Humphries. You were always my favorite.

Posted by caltechgirl at March 8, 2007 03:30 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I loved that show and him. I'm sorry to hear he is gone.

Posted by: vw bug at March 8, 2007 06:37 PM

Aww, that's too bad. That show always made me laugh and his character was my favorite.

Posted by: ricki at March 9, 2007 08:31 AM

I love how one of his co-stars, Wendy Richard, described his character. "We never, ever said he was gay. He's just a boy who happened to get along very, very well with his mother."

Posted by: Emily at March 9, 2007 10:00 AM

I loved that show as long as I can remember, but I only truly "got" it after having worked in retail. And after that, it actually became ten times funnier, if that's even possible.

Posted by: Dave J at March 9, 2007 07:01 PM