Tony Slattery, a British actor and comedian known for his improv skills on Channel 4’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” died on Tuesday. He was 65.
Slattery’s longtime partner, Mark Michael Hutchinson, confirmed the news to the BBC, saying that he died after having a heart attack. “It is with great sadness we must announce actor and comedian Tony Slattery, aged 65, has passed away today, Tuesday morning, following a heart attack on Sunday evening,” Hutchinson said in a statement.
Slattery was a regular on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” which features performers playing short-form improvisation games based on suggestions from a live audience, from 1988 to 1995. He also held roles in films like comedies “How to Get Ahead in Advertising” (1989) and “Peter’s Friends” (1992), as well as crime thriller “The Crying Game” (1992).
Born on Nov. 9, 1959 in Stonebridge, North London, Slattery got his start in theater while studying at the University of Cambridge. It was there that he met Stephen Fry, who invited him to join the student sketch comedy group the Cambridge Footlights. During his time in the group, of which he eventually became president, Slattery’s contemporaries included Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Sandi Toksvig, Jan Ravens and Richard Vranch.
Slattery’s TV breakout came in 1983 on Chris Tarrant’s late-night comedy show “Saturday Stayback,” where he became a regular performer before gaining recognition on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” in 1988. In the ’90s, he also guested on the comedy panel show “Have I Got News for You” and quiz program “Just a Minute.” He presented his own film criticism show, “Saturday Night at the Movies,” and appeared in sitcoms such as “That’s Love” and “Red Dwarf.”
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