Having played the iconic role of the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel in the classic sitcom Fawlty Towers, the death of actor Andrew Sachs has sent shockwaves throughout the length and breadth of the acting world with tributes pouring in on a scale deserved of his status. Andrew of course starred alongside John Cleese, Connie Booth and Prunella Scales, in the multi award-winning show and a very saddened co-creator of the show, Cleese, was among the first to pay tribute to Andrew, saying of him, “A very sweet gentle and kind man and a truly great raconteur.
I could not have found a better Manuel. Inspired.” Sachs passed away in the nursing home that had been his home for a number of years. He had battled vascular dementia for several years.
His heartbroken wife Melody said; “My heart has been broken every day for a long time.”
Born Andreas Siegfried Sachs in Berlin, in 1930, his family moved to England when he was 8 years old to escape Nazi persecution of Jews…………….
Having made his name on British television, as the comical Spanish waiter Manuel, a role for which he was BAFTA-nominated, Sachs went on to have a long career in acting and voice-over work for TV, film and radio.
In his later years, he continued to have success with roles in films such as Quartet, and as Ramsay Clegg in TV soap, Coronation Street, playing Ramsay Leonard Clegg, the half brother of Corrie stalwart Norris Cole, before having a brief role on BBC's EastEnders.
In 2008, the BBC had to apologize to Sachs after radio hosts Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left lewd voice messages about Sachs' granddaughter on his phone, which had the veteran actor later saying that the incident continued to haunt him and his family.
"Brand and Ross were like two teenagers on the rampage," he was quoted as saying. Them laughing at their own jokes was not something the best comics usually do."
