Tim Brooke-Taylor, 'The Goodies' and 'Willy Wonka' Actor, Dead at 79 Due to Coronavirus

British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor died on Sunday at age 79. Brooke-Taylor was best known [...]

British comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor died on Sunday at age 79. Brooke-Taylor was best known internationally for a small role in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and as a member of The Goodies, starring in their series from 1970 to 1982. His agent told the BBC Brooke-Taylor died from complications of the coronavirus.

Brooke-Taylor was one-third of The Goodies, along with Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. "Fifty years and he only got cross with me once... well maybe twice... no quite a lot actually! No one could wear silly costumes or do dangerous stunts like Tim," Oddie shared on Twitter. "I know it hurt cos he used to cry a lot. Sorry Timbo. A true visual comic and a great friend."

"Thank you everyone who has sent kind messages about the loss of Tim," Garden added on Twitter. "It's devastating to lose a friend and colleague of 50+ years. Fun, sociable and adorably silly, Tim was a class act. Our thoughts are with his family."

Brooke-Taylor's six-decade comedy career began with the Cambridge Footlights Club, the same group where Monty Python members John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle met. Brooke-Taylor met Garden and Oddie while a member of the group. "Just woke up in LA to hear about Tim B-T. How awful," Cleese tweeted Sunday. "I'll post later when I've had a chance to absorb this sad news. Tim was one of my very oldest friends, and one that I used to love performing with. He did 'frightened' better than anyone."

Following his success at Cambridge, Brooke-Taylor was hired as a writer and performer on BBC Radio's I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, where he also collaborated with Cleese, Oddie, Garden, David Hatch and Jo Kendall. In 1967, he joined Cleese, Chapman and Marty Feldman in the TV series At Last The 1948 Show and he later starred in Feldman's series Marty.

Brooke-Taylor and Garden starred in Broaden Your Mind, which later brought in Oddie. That show was a hit, and it led to the BBC commissioning The Goodies. The series ran until 1982, but Brooke-Taylor continued appearing in other shows during that time. His other credits include Me and My Girl (1984-1988), You Must Be The Husband (1987-1988), The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything (1999), Absolute Power (2005) and Little Howard's Big Question (2010-2011). He was also a panelist on BBC Radio game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue for more than 50 years.

"It has come as devastating news to hear that Tim has succumbed to this dreadful virus - especially when we all thought he was recovering," I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue host Jack Dee said in a statement to the BBC. "Tim was a delightful man and never anything but great company. It has always been one of the great joys of my career to work with someone who was part of the comedy landscape of my childhood."

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