Tributes are being paid to comedy writer and performer Barry Cryer who has died at the age of 86.
Famed for writing for comedy performers such as The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise, Leeds-born Cryer was also a gifted performer on panel shows such as I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue on BBC Radio 4.
The family of the veteran performer have paid tribute to him this morning, saying: “He had a gift for friendship and a genius for putting people at their ease. Oh yes, and he made many people laugh. A lot.”
Broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan tweeted: "RIP Barry Cryer, 86. Such a warm, funny and talented man. A giant of British comedy. Thanks for all the laughs, Barry."
Presenter and writer Gyles Brandreth said: " Baz was just the loveliest guy: funny & generous. He’d worked with everybody & everybody he worked with liked him. I shall miss his happy company so much - & his regular phone calls: he gave you a gem of a joke with each one."
League of Gentleman star Mark Gatiss said: "Barry Cryer was the real deal. An incredibly funny man who worked with - and wrote for - the giants of comedy. Yet he remained forever curious and delighted by whatever was fresh and original. Kind, encouraging, generous and a one off. Goodbye, Cheeky."
Author and comedy star Stephen Fry: "Such sad news, one of the absolute greats of British comedy, Barry Cryer, is no more. A glorious, gorgeous, hilarious and gifted writer and performer who straddled all the comic traditions. Universally beloved … farewell, Baz."
Comedian Richard Perring said: "Losing Barry Cryer is like losing a member of the family. Utterly gutted that I’ve had my last birthday joke. He was one of my absolute comedy heroes and kept working right to the fucking end. A life well lived and a connection to every great comedian of the last 60 years. RIP"
Comedian and writer David Baddiel said: "Ah, Barry Cryer. Lived and breathed comedy. RIP."
Food writer Jay Rayner said: "Farewell to the great Barry Cryer. A comic genius and a very, very lovely man. Had a habit of phoning people on their birthday and telling them a joke. It was always a good one. But then his jokes always were."
Mr Cryer, a father-of-four. was awarded an OBE in 2001. He married wife Theresa in 1962 and they have seven grandchildren.
His career in the entertainment industry spanned decades and saw him working with comedy legends including Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise.
He appeared on BBC Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue since it began in 1972.
He had a long-running partnership with Sir David Frost, with their collaborations including The Frost Report on the BBC.
In 2018, he was handed a lifetime achievement award for his comedy career by the British Music Hall Society.
Details surrounding his death have not yet been announced.
Barry Cryer - who penned jokes for some of the biggest stars of comedy
Veteran comic Barry Cryer provoked laughter for decades, whether his jokes came from the pen or from the stage.
The writer, comedian, and actor, was a prolific talent and a presence on many treasured shows in his long career.
Cryer, a long-serving panellist on I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, wrote jokes for a generation of British comedians, including Ronnie Barker, Ronnie Corbett, and Tommy Cooper.
From his pen also came quips for American great Bob Hope and Richard Prior, with countless performers benefiting from the wit of the Yorkshire comic.
He was plucked out of theatre and thrust into TV writing by David Frost, a chance occurrence in a nightclub that audiences and comedians would benefit from.
Cryer said in 1998: “I haven’t had a career, just a series of incidents.
“I’ve been dogged by good luck all my life.”
The writer was born in Leeds in 1935, and began in variety theatre after a spell at university in the city.
Cryer began writing in the theatre for Irish performer Danny La Rue after a move to London.
On an evening at a nightclub performance, Frost arrived and snatched the services of the talented writer.
He said: “You can’t cater for that. It’s serendipity.
“It just happened, and I’ve been in the right place at the right time quite a few times in my life.”
Cryer went on to work on numerous Frost shows across BBC and ITV for years, including Frost Over England and Frost On Sunday.
His early TV appearances were bolstered by a string of panel shows, with Cryer’s comic timing being witnessed on That’s Showbusiness, Blankety Blank, and What’s My Line.
This was while penning material for the most recognisable names in British comedy.
The list of comics to benefit from his talent includes Mike Yarwood, Billy Connolly, Russ Abbot, Bobby Davro, Jasper Carrott, Morecambe and Wise, Stanley Baxter, Dick Emery, Dave Allen, Frankie Howerd, and Les Dawson.
Cryer also had a bizarre addition to his long and distinguished CV with a surprise number one hit.
Novelty song Purple People Eater had already become popular after its release in 1958, but a cover version by Cryer achieved sudden success in the Nordic countries.
It became number one in Finland.
It was another serendipitous success in which Cryer triumphed, as he did throughout his career.
But his long career did not come without talent and effort, and his reputation will live on.
Giving advice to young comic writer Cryer said: “You’ll get knocked back when you start, but keep coming back.
“Dust yourself down and pick yourself up.
“We all had it to start with and it will happen.
“But the good ones survive.”
