27 FEBRUARY 2002
Maverick British comedian Spike Milligan has died, aged 83. The comic actor, one of the UK’s most respected performers, passed away on Wednesday at his home in Sussex, surrounded by his family.

The Prince of Wales issued his condolences soon after the announcement, saying he is “deeply saddened” by the loss. His spokesman added: “He knew Spike Milligan over many years and had a great affection for him.”

The two had become good friends, despite Spike's infamous mocking of the Prince of Wales in a live television show in 1994. Any offence was smoothed over, however, after Spike sent his royal friend a fax reading: “I suppose a knighthood is out of the question now?”. The comedian eventually did receive an honorary knighthood from Charles in 2001.

Charles was one of many famous names mourning the loss of the comic, who was the last surviving member of the original The Goon Show cast. Comedian Eddie Izzard called him the “godfather of alternative comedy”, adding: “He was a great man. He was a crazy, wonderful genius.”

Born on April 16, 1918, in India, Terence Alan “Spike” Milligan attended St Paul’s High School in Rangoon and Brownhill Boys School in Catford. Soon after war broke out in 1939, Spike, then living in London, was called to serve with a regiment of the Royal Artillery in Tunisia and Italy, where he met Harry Secombe, with whom he later worked with as a comedian in the Combined Services Entertainment Unit.

Spike made his first radio broadcast in 1949’s Opportunity Knocks, and two years later he became famous, along with Harry with the launch of The Goon Show comedy radio programme which premiered on May 28, 1951. With fellow “Goons” Peter Sellers and Michael Bentine, the group became a major influence on British comedy. Spike was the genius behind a number of characters who became pop culture icons, including spinster Minnie Bannister and the famous Eccles.

Despite being a prolific author and comic, the man who put radio comedy on the map was dogged by mental illness and manic depression, attributed to being shell-shocked during the war. In his life he suffered at least ten breakdowns, including one during series three of The Goon Show, which forced him to miss a dozen episodes.

Spike was married three times. His first wife was June Marlowe, with whom he had one son and two daughters, followed by the late Patricia Margaret Ridgway, who died in 1978, the mother of his fourth child. His widow Shelagh Sinclair, with whom he tied the knot in 1983, had had nursed him in recent months as his health had begun to decline.

The comedian listed his leisure interests in the International Who’s Who as: “restoration of antiques, oil painting, watercolours, gardening, eating, drinking, talking, sleeping, wine, jazz”.

Said agent and manager Norma Farnes: “For 35 years he has been the dynamo in my life and he was my dearest friend. I will miss him terribly.” Funeral plans have not yet been announced.