Tim Brooke-Taylor, star of the hit 70s BBC comedy show “The Goodies,” died on Sunday after contracting coronavirus, according to his agent. He was 79.
Brooke-Taylor got his start at the famous Cambridge University theatre club Footlights, where he performed alongside future “Goodies” co-stars Bill Oddie and Graeme Garden and “Monty Python” legends John Cleese and Graham Chapman. He then transitioned into radio, appearing on multiple BBC shows including the comedy program “I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again,” where he worked again with his fellow Footlights performers.
But it was in 1970 when Brooke-Taylor, along with Oddie and Garden, got his big break with “The Goodies,” a hit sketch/sitcom show that ran for 12 years on BBC. Many of the episodes featured the trio as a group of oddjob workers that declared in a slogan that “We Do Anything, Anytime.” The show was one of the first to use stop-motion animation and frequently used parodies of pop songs that ended up ranking on the U.K. charts.
Along with “The Goodies” Brooke-Taylor was known as a panelist for the show “I’m Sorry, I Haven’t A Clue,” which he appeared on regularly dating back to its debut in 1972. He also reunited with Garden in 2014 for the Channel 4 daytime game show “Beat the Nation.”
Brooke-Taylor, who is survived by his wife and two sons, was honored by many famous legends in the British comedy scene including actor Stephen Fry, as well as his fellow “Goodies.”
“Fifty years and he only got cross with me once… well maybe twice… no quite a lot actually!” tweeted Bill Oddie. “No one could wear silly costumes or do dangerous stunts like Tim. 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,” added Graeme Garden. “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.”
