Beloved British comedian and actor John Bird, best known for his satire on television, has died at the age of 86, sparking a flood of tributes from his fellow stars.
Bird died “peacefully” at a care home in West Sussex, according to a statement. His friend and comedy partner, Rory Bremner, also confirmed the death of “one of our great satirists”.
He appears to have died on Christmas Eve, The Sun reports.
“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,” said Bremner.
“John Bird was, to the end, never pleased with himself, always feeling he should have done better, been less lazy, had a late period like Brahms, where everything was spare and abstract. The reality was that he and his friend and collaborator John Fortune, together with Peter Cook, were pillars of the anti-establishment.”
Bird rose to fame alongside Fortune and Bremner through their sketch show Bremner, Bird and Fortune on Britain’s Channel 4, which ran from 1999 to 2010.
Bremner went on to say how it was “striking” that Bird had died on Christmas Eve, which was “nine years, almost to the day” after Fortune passed away on New Year’s Eve in 2013.
“Lord knows, satire has missed them this last decade, and now that loss is permanent,” Bremner added.
“John may not have felt he got his life right, but by God, he got it written.”
Bird and Fortune were nominated for four Baftas, winning one in 1997.
The trio also collaborated on BBC shows Now Something Else and The Rory Bremner Show.
Meanwhile, Bird appeared in the film Jabberwocky and in comedy shows including Yes, Prime Minister and One Foot in the Grave.
“They realised that true satire lay not in ad hominem attacks on politicians but in exposing the cant behind the ‘discipline of the market’ and the culture of privatisation where chief executives were rewarded for success and equally compensated for failure,” Bremner continued.
Bird was born in Nottingham and played an active role in The Footlights at Cambridge University, before joining the Royal Court Theatre and beginning a career in comedy.
He is survived by his wife Libby, who is a concert pianist, and his step-sons Dan and Josh.
This story first appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission.