Who Is Eric Sykes?

Who Is Eric Sykes?

Eric Sykes CBE (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Tommy Cooper, Peter Sellers, John Antrobus and Johnny Speight. Sykes first came to prominence through his many radio credits as a writer and actor in the 1950s, most notably through his collaboration on The Goon Show scripts. He became a TV star in his own right in the early 1960s when he appeared with Hattie Jacques in several popular BBC comedy television series.

Sykes was born 4 May 1923 in Oldham, Lancashire; his mother died three weeks after his birth. He was the second child of his parents' marriage; his older brother (by two years) was named Vernon. Sykes's father was a labourer in a cotton mill and a former army sergeant. When he was two, his father remarried and he gained a half-brother named John. Sykes was educated at Ward Street Central School in Oldham. He joined the Royal Air Force during World War II, qualifying as a wireless operator with the rank of Leading Aircraftman.

Sykes became partially deaf as an adult. His hearing started to deteriorate in the Second World War, and he had an operation in 1952 followed by another two years later. Recovering from the second procedure he discovered he was profoundly deaf. His spectacles contained no lenses but were a bone-conducting hearing aid. Disciform macular degeneration, brought about by age and possibly smoking, left Sykes partially sighted, and he was registered as blind. He was a patron of the Macular Disease Society. He stopped smoking cigarettes in November 1966, but continued to smoke cigars until 1998. In 2002 he suffered a stroke and underwent heart bypass surgery.

He married Edith Eleanore Milbrandt on 14 February 1952 and they had three daughters, Catherine, Julie, Susan, and a son, David. In the year Sykes died they marked their 60th wedding anniversary.

In the 2005 New Year Honours List, Sykes was promoted within the Order of the British Empire from Officer (OBE) to Commander (CBE) level. He had been awarded an OBE in 1986 for services to drama, following a petition by MPs. Sykes was an honorary president of the Goon Show Preservation Society.

Sykes was a follower of Oldham Athletic and was an honorary director of the club in the 1970s.

Sykes died on the morning of 4 July 2012, aged 89, at his home in Esher, Surrey, England, after a short illness. His family was with him when he died.

Films he created and appeared in
Pantomania, or Dick Whittington (1956)
Opening Night (1956)
Dress Rehearsal (1956)
Closing Night (1957)
Gala Opening (1959)
The Plank (1967)
It's Your Move (1969)
Rhubarb (1969)
Mr. H is Late (1969)
Sykes: With the Lid Off (1971)
Eric Sykes Shows a Few of our Favourite Things (1977)
The Plank (1979)
Rhubarb Rhubarb (1980)
The Likes of Sykes (1980)
If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981)
It's Your Move (1982)
Mr. H Is Late (1988)
The Big Freeze (1993)

Television series he created and appeared in..

Sykes and a... (1960–65 series)
Sykes and a Big Big Show (1971 series)
Sykes (1972–79 series)

Other acting roles
Orders Are Orders (1954)
Very Important Person (1961)
Kill or Cure (1962)
Village of Daughters (1962)
Heavens Above! (1963)
The Bargee (1964)
One Way Pendulum (1964)
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)
Rotten to the Core (1965)
The Liquidator (1965)
The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966)
Shalako (1968)
Monte Carlo or Bust (1969)
Theatre of Blood (1973)
The Boys in Blue (1982)
Gabrielle and the Doodleman (1984)
dinnerladies (1999)
Gormenghast (miniseries) (2000)
Mavis and the Mermaid (short film) (2000)
The Others (2001)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
New Tricks (TV) (2007)
My Family (TV) (2007)
Heartbeat (TV) (2007)
Son of Rambow (2007)
Agatha Christie's Poirot: Hallowe'en Party (TV film) (2010)

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