Jeremy Lloyd

John Jeremy Lloyd OBE (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor, best known as co-author and writer of several successful British sitcoms, including Are You Being Served? and 'Allo 'Allo!.

Lloyd began his career as a writer in 1958 before making his film debut two years later in 1960 in School for Scoundrels, and appeared in numerous film and television comedies during the 1960s and 1970s, and was a regular performer on notably Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In during the 1969–70 television season. He was lauded in America where they loved his patrician upper class depiction of an Englishman. Back in England after the season had been completed he met Joanna Lumley. A decision had to be made as to whether he would return to America for the start of the new season or remain in the United Kingdom and marry Miss Lumley. He never returned to America. He stands out in two films with The Beatles. In A Hard Day's Night (1964) Lloyd is uncredited as a tall man dancing at the disco with Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. In Help! (1965) he is a restaurant patron, also uncredited. In 1969 he filmed a scene with Peter Sellers for The Magic Christian, which co-starred Ringo Starr. Lloyd can be seen in the board room meeting offering marketing slogans for a really big car and suggests "the gang's all here back seat." His first major success as a comedy writer was with Are You Being Served? in 1972, on which he worked with David Croft. He had worked for a short time for Simpsons of Piccadilly and many of the characters depicted are drawn from his recollections of his time there. They subsequently produced 'Allo 'Allo!, which was equally popular in the UK, and a spinoff of Are You Being Served?, Grace & Favour which aired in 1992. Jeremy also wrote the poem/lyrics for the popular Captain Beaky album and books in 1980.[1] Jeremy played the eccentric chimney sweep, Berthram Fortesque Wynthrope-Smythe aka Bert Smith in The Avengers episode, From Venus With Love in 1967.

Lloyd has been the subject of a persistent urban legend which claims that he had been invited to a dinner party at the home of Sharon Tate on the night that she was murdered by followers of Charles Manson. This was verified as true, not a myth, when the octogenarian was interviewed by Emma Freud on BBC Radio 4 Loose Ends on 10 December 2011.

Lloyd was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to British comedy.

Personal life

Lloyd's first marriage (1955) to the model Dawn Bailey lasted seven years. After their marriage ended, Lloyd was briefly married to the actress Joanna Lumley, but the marriage was dissolved after a few months. In 1992 he married actress Collette Northrop. In August 2014, Lloyd married Elizabeth Moberly.

Lloyd died on 23 December 2014, after being admitted to a London hospital with pneumonia.

Selected filmography

• Very Important Person (1961)
• Operation Snatch (1962)
• Two and Two Make Six (1962)
• Crooks Anonymous (1962)
• Death Drums Along the River (1963)
• A Hard Day's Night (1964)
• Three Hats for Lisa (1965)
• Help! (1965)
• A Study in Terror (1965)
• Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (1965)
• Doctor in Clover (1966)
• The Wrong Box (1966)
• The Long Duel (1967)
• Smashing Time (1967)
• Salt and Pepper (1968)
• The Magic Christian (1969)
• Games That Lovers Play (1970)
• Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
• The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones (1976)