That was Life
Cyril Fletcher dies
Veteran comedian and broadcaster Cyril Fletcher has died at the age of 91.
He is best known for delivering ‘odd odes’ and reading out newspaper misprints on That’s Life! in the Seventies and Eighties.
But he also enjoyed a long variety career and was a regular on the radio comedy panel game Does the Team Think?.
He made his first TV appearance in 1937, presenting a series of five-minute stand-up monologues from the BBC’s home in Alexandra Palace.
He claimed never to have been out of work for a day, and until recently presented a gardening programme in Guernsey, the Channel Island he made his home.
Fletcher also appeared in several films, including 1947's Ealing Studios version of Nicholas Nickleby, and produced pantomimes and summer shows for the theatre. In this role he laid claim to discovering Harry Secombe long before The Goon Show made him a household name.
He passed away peacefully in his sleep at home following a short illness, his family said.Published: 2 Jan 2005
