‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ Comedian Dies: Tony Slattery Was 65

British comedian and actor Tony Slattery, best known for his improvisations on the Channel 4 comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, has died. Slattery’s family confirmed to the BBC that the comedian passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 14, two days after suffering a heart attack. He was 65.

“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,” a statement made on behalf of his partner Mark Michael Hutchinson said.

Born in North London in 1959, Slattery was the contemporary of Dame Emma Thompson, Sir Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie at the University of Cambridge, where he first broke into the comedy scene when he served as president of the Cambridge’s esteemed comedy society, The Cambridge Footlights. From there, “getting up on stage and hearing laughter took over,” he once said.

After launching his TV career as a performer on Saturday Stayback in 1983, and going on to star in the West End musical Me and My Girl in 1986, Slattery joined Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 1988. The hit Channel Channel 4 series, hosted by Clive Anderson, puts players’ improvisational skills to the test as they act their way through a series of improvisational games based on suggestions from either Anderson or the studio audience. Slattery was a fixture on the show for seven years, appearing in a total of 38 episodes from 1988 until his exit in 1995, per his IMDb profile. During his time on the series, he appeared alongside the likes of Comedy Store Players members Paul Merton, Josie Lawrence and Sandi Toksvig, as well as Rory Bremner.

Outside of his stand-up comedy career, Slattery also appeared in several films and series throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, including The Crying Game, Peter’s Friends, and How To Get Ahead In Advertising. He made regular appearances on the BBC radio panel game Just A Minute and the BBC panel show Have I Got News For You. He earned an Olivier Award nomination for best comedy performance for his role as Gordon in Tim Firth’s Neville’s Island.

After stepping away from the spotlight for personal reasons – he said in Stephen Fry’s 2006 documentary The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive that he had a “midlife crisis” after leaving Whose Line Is It Anyway?, according to the Independent – Slattery returned to screens in recent years. In March 2011, he returned to a Whose Line Is It Anyway? reunion special held for Comic Relief. He had recently been touring a comedy show and hosting a podcast, Tony Slattery’s Rambling Club.

Slattery is survived by Hutchinson, his partner of more than three decades.