Tributes flood in for Yes, Minister star

Tributes have poured in for ‘‘awesomely gifted comic actor’’ Nigel Hawthorne, who died of a heart attack, aged 72.

The actor, who was best-known for playing a conniving civil servant in Yes, Minister, but whose roles extended to Oscar-nominated productions, died at home in Hertfordshire with his partner and a friend yesterday.

He had been battling cancer for 18 months and had just come out of hospital, where he had been having chemotherapy.

Ken McReddie, Sir Nigel’s agent for 30 years, said the cancer treatment had been going well and the heart attack was unexpected.

He said: ‘‘He was a brilliant actor and a wonderful friend. I feel very sad and extremely cut up.’’

Derek Fowlds, who played Bernard in the Yes, Minister series, paid tribute to Sir Nigel’s acting ability and his bravery in fighting cancer.

‘‘He had only just come out of hospital when I spoke to him three days ago, so it is quite a shock to the system really.’’

Sir Nigel had fought the disease vigorously over the last year, he added.

‘‘He has been very brave. He has done some recording. He has been fighting cancer for well over a year, 18 months ... He got back to work mid-summer, doing some radio and we all thought that he had turned the corner, and we were hoping for the best but it got him again and he had another session of chemotherapy.’’

Sir Nigel had fought the disease with optimism, Fowlds said. ‘‘He was very strong, very brave, extremely tough, he was determined ... he and his partner Trevor were always very positive.’’

Fowlds said he looked back with nostalgia on the Yes, Minister years.

‘‘Together, with Paul Eddington, the three of us were together for seven, eight years. We were really good mates. We had many happy hours doing those shows ... they were very special times.’’

Alan Yentob, BBC director of drama and entertainment, said: ‘‘He was an awesomely gifted comic actor, a sublime and subtle performer whose range could effortlessly extend from King Lear to pantomime.

‘‘Luckily for us, his genius is embodied in one of television’s most inspired creations.

‘‘Year after year his performance as Sir Humphrey, the irresistibly scheming civil servant in Yes, Minister, won over the hearts and minds of millions of viewers in Britain and throughout the world.

‘‘He really will be missed.’’

Sir Nigel’s career took off in 1977 in Yes Minister, Margaret Thatcher’s favourite programme. His performance in that, and its successful sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, won him a CBE and offers of more substantial and serious parts in the theatre.

He had film success with his role in the Oscar-nominated Madness of King George which transformed him into a film star almost overnight.

Sir Nigel, a vegetarian, was ‘‘outed’’ as a homosexual by American newspapers in the run-up to his 1995 Oscars’ appearance.

He lived quietly in a 15th-century manor house with his partner Trevor Bentham, a theatre manager and screenwriter, from 1979.

He won a US Tony Award in 1991 for his part in Shadowlands, the Olivier Award for Best Actor in The Madness of George III (the stage version) in 1992, and a succession of Bafta Best Light Entertainment awards for his performances in Yes, Minister.

In 1997, he was awarded the Bafta Best TV Actor award for his performance in The Fragile Heart.

In 1999, he played King Lear in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s millennium production.

He was awarded a knighthood in the 1999 New Year Honours List.

Early in 2000 it was discovered he had a malignant tumour in his pancreas and he had surgery. According to his agent, treatment was going well and the heart attack came as a shock.

Mr McReddie said the actor had enjoyed making films in America up until early this year.

He said: ‘‘Nigel went to LA in January and acted in a film with Whoopi Goldberg called Call Me Claus.

‘‘It’s a real hoot. He played Santa Claus and loved the whole thing. He adored Whoopi and the two were great friends.

‘‘The film has already been transmitted in the States. Hopefully we’ll get it over here soon.’’