'He was a national treasure, a great actor and a wonderful man': Tributes paid to The Good Life star Richard Briers as he dies aged 79
- The actor had a long battle with lung disease and died 'peacefully' yesterday
- His last interview was with the It's Friday section of the Daily Mail last month
- 'I’ve got emphysema, you see, so I’m b*****d,' he said
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His agent revealed the bad news today after the veteran actor's long battle with lung disease.
Briers, who also starred in shows such as Ever Decreasing Circles and Monarch Of The Glen, recently said years of smoking had been to blame for his emphysema.
The 79-year-old died 'peacefully' at his London home yesterday.
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Treasured: His role as Tom in The Good Life was beloved by millions in Britain and many more across the world
Sad news: The Good Life star Richard Briers, pictured with Prunella Scales, has died today aged 79
In an interview with the It's Friday section of the Daily Mail last month, which was his last, he spoke of his struggles with lung disease.
'I’ve got emphysema, you see, so I’m b*****d. Five hundred thousand cigarettes, that’s the trouble,’ he said.
‘I haven’t even got the strength to garden any more,’ he said, a love of his linked to his famous role as the ebullient Tom Good in the BBC comedy classic The Good Life.
‘It’s totally my fault. So, I get very breathless, which is a pain in the backside. Trying to get upstairs, oh God, it’s ridiculous. Of course, when you’re bloody nearly 80 it’s depressing because you’ve had it anyway.’
Celebrated: Mr Briers was most famous for his sitcoms but was also an outstanding classical actor and voice over artist
His varied career saw him narrating the 1970s children's cartoon series Roobarb And Custard, as well as adding his voice to the animated version of Watership Down.
Although best known for his comedy roles in film and TV, a new strand to his career unfolded when he joined Sir Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, and went on to work on a number of classical roles.
Sir Kenneth spoke fondly as he paid tribute to Briers today. saying: 'He was a national treasure, a great actor and a wonderful man. He was greatly loved and he will be deeply missed.'
They worked together on Henry V, Peter's Friends, Much Ado About Nothing and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein during their lengthy association.
His agent, Christopher Farrar, of Hamilton Hodell, said: 'Richard was a wonderful man, a consummate professional and an absolute joy to work alongside.
'Following his recent discussion of his battle with emphysema, I know he was incredibly touched by the strength of support expressed by friends and the public.
'He has a unique and special place in the hearts of so many. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to his family at this sad time.'
Legend: Richard Briers and his wife, Anne, at a film opening in 2003 and Mr Briers collecting his CBE at Buckingham Palace the same year
Rada-trained Briers made his West End debut in the late 1950s in Gilt And Gingerbread, and went on to work on a number of British films - Bottoms Up, Murder She Said, The Girl On The Boat and Fathom, alongside Raquel Welch.
He struck gold as an actor with his many sitcoms in the 1970s and 1980s, although none more so than The Good life in which he starred with Penelope Keith, Felicity Kendal and the late Paul Eddington, who died in 1995.
Briers also returned to the stage many times in his career, with numerous roles in the works of Alan Ayckbourn, including Relatively Speaking, Absurd Person Singular and Absent Friends.
Briers will be best remembered for his performance as Tom Good, alongside Felicity Kendal, in the 1970s BBC1 sitcom The Good Life about a couple who drop out of the rat race in Surbiton, south west London, to enjoy a life of simply self-sufficiency.
Household names: Richard Briers as Tom Good with Felicity Kendal as Barbara on BBCs The Good Life which ran from 1975-1978
Mr Briers was one of the most popular television sitcom actors of his generation.
He was the lynchpin of three of the most notable sitcoms ever made in Britain - Marriage Lines, The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles.
The success of these shows means he will be best remembered as a bumbling, fussy and occasionally downtrodden figure in some of the most successful TV comedies of his era.
But he was no less acclaimed as a distinguished Shakespearean actor, a major development in his career, at a point when he said 'I realised I had gone as far as I could doing sitcoms'.
On-screen love: Richard and Prunella Scales have been close since they played newlyweds George and Kate Starling in Sixties comedy Marriage Lines
But after a long career in popular television, Briers joined Kenneth Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, and his already very successful professional life took a new turn as he moved on to major classical roles.
Briers was born on January 14 1934 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he won the silver medal and a scholarship to Liverpool Playhouse in 1956. Two years later he made his first West End appearance in Gilt And Gingerbread. He barely stopped working from that day onwards.
He was awarded the OBE in 1989 for services to the arts and a CBE in 2003.
Briers married the actress Anne Davies in 1956. They had two daughters.
VIDEO: Richard Briers' classic moments as TV actor and also as protester
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