John Bird

Actor and comedian John Bird has died at the age of 86, almost nine years to the day his collaborator John Fortune passed away, with their co-star Rory ...

Another added: "A fine comedian and actor. One of the most modest of men and most brilliant of satirists. RIP." And one of the last surviving pillars of the anti-establishment." Bremner added that seeing Bird and Fortune work was the “highlight” of his life and he would “marvel at the genius of it all”. "The reality was that he and his friend and collaborator John Fortune, together with Peter Cook, were pillars of the anti-establishment."

Comedian John Bird, best known for Channel 4's Bremner, Bird and Fortune, died aged 86 on Christmas Eve.

A wonderful gentleman, hugely talented, incredibly funny and with ALL the stories. However to me, and probably to others of my vintage, you will always be remembered as Marmalade Atkins’ Dad.’ Bird, Bremner and Fortune also collaborated in BBC shows Now Something Else and The Rory Bremner Show and Channel 4 series Rory Bremner, Who Else? [Fortune’s who died on New Year’s Eve in 2013 at the age of 74.](https://metro.co.uk/2013/12/31/rory-bremner-pays-tribute-to-fearless-satirist-john-fortune-4246036/) ‘The reality was that he and his friend and collaborator John Fortune, together with Peter Cook, were pillars of the anti-establishment.’ A statement announcing Bird’s death says he died ‘peacefully’ at Pendean care home and that a family funeral will be followed by a celebration of his life in the new year.

John Bird was well known for his satirical sketches and performed alongside John Fortune and Bremner in Channel 4's show Bremner, Bird And Fortune.

"The reality was that he and his friend and collaborator John Fortune, together with Peter Cook, were pillars of the anti-establishment." But he was perhaps best known for his work with Fortune and Rory Bremner in the TV series Bremner, Bird and Fortune. He was well known for his satirical sketches and performed alongside John Fortune and Bremner in Channel 4’s show Bremner, Bird And Fortune.

Collaborator and fellow comic Rory Bremner was among the first to pay tribute, hailing him as “one of the greatest satirists”.

“The reality was that he and his friend and collaborator John Fortune, together with Peter Cook, were pillars of the anti-establishment.” He also hailed John as “one of the greatest satirists”, writing: “It’s an irony that one of our greatest satirists, so brilliant at portraying ministers, civil servants or high-ranking officials who exuded self-satisfaction, was himself so modest and self-effacing. In a tribute to John, Rory Bremner said he died on Christmas Eve, noting it was “striking” he passed away “nine years, almost to the day” after John Fortune, who died aged 74 on New Year’s Eve in 2013.

Satirist and actor whose pairing with John Fortune gave him a long career in popular entertainment.

And he was ideal casting as a university vice-chancellor in Andrew Davies’s series A Very Peculiar Practice (1986), wooing Japanese investment in line with the increased commercialism of higher education in the 80s following government cuts. Bird won two Bafta awards, the first as a performer in 1966, the second, shared with Fortune, in 1997, and was awarded an honorary degree at Nottingham University in 2002. A quiet and thoughtful man, he at first harboured serious ambitions as a theatre director at the Royal Court, home of new theatre writing, where he was an assistant, then associate, director between 1959 and 1963. Never one for the bright lights, Bird admitted to having had periods of drug and alcohol dependency, at one stage claiming that his problems had caused him to become paranoid and indeed suicidal. John was born in Bulwell, Nottingham, the son of Horace Bird, a chemist’s shopkeeper, and his wife, Dorothy (nee Haubitz). And again as Parr, now a knighted admiral of the fleet, he completely blindsided Fortune in suggesting that the large deck of an over-expensive aircraft carrier (“We can’t afford the aircraft and the carrier”) might be used to create swimming pools for the Olympic Games. The final Bremner, Bird and Fortune show was a four-part special in 2008 following the economic crash. Bird was again in his element as a blithely unconcerned investment banker, quizzed by an astonished Fortune on the turbulence in the financial markets as if nothing untoward had happened at all, business as usual, and so on. Bird as Parr, otherwise, could be manifest as a Eurosceptic MP (long before Brexit), and would cut through his own screen of evasive waffle and comic xenophobia to express what he called the innate British dislike of foreigners. While Bremner supplied the acidic vignettes of impersonation, Bird and Fortune perfected an improvisatory double act in which they alternated as interviewer and interviewee, the latter usually named [George Parr, an all-purpose grandee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYC0P_NBLZw) from politics, big business, the armed forces and public services; Bird later resurrected one of his African despots as George MParrbe, though without make-up, whose nation was, as far as its exact whereabouts was concerned, a state secret. [John Bird, who has died aged 86](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/28/john-bird-actor-and-comedian-dies-aged-86), was a central figure in this phenomenon, appearing on stage and television with a voice in various timbres of reasoning dismay, comic self-justification and utter incredulity. Once he had scored a resounding follow-up success with his sketches in Not So Much a Programme (1964-65), Bird’s path was set in popular entertainment.

Actor and comedian Jon Bird dies aged 86 and a tribute has been made by the former comedian's co-star and friend Rory Bremner.

And one of the last surviving pillars of the anti-establishment. One of the most modest of men and most brilliant of satirists. Bird was a familiar face on satirical television shows, namely in those alongside John Fortune and Rory Bremner whilst in the comedy trio.

Bird was known for appearing in Channel 4's satirical show Bremner, Bird And Fortune and for the Long Johns comedy skits.

In 2007, Bird and Fortune revived their show in a special called The Last Laugh which was broadcast on ITV’s The South Bank Show. Bird, Bremner and Fortune also collaborated in BBC shows Now Something Else and The Rory Bremner Show and Channel 4 series Rory Bremner, Who Else? Bremner said it was “striking” Bird had died on Christmas Eve “nine years, almost to the day” after Fortune, who died aged 74 on New Year’s Eve in 2013.