German-born British actor, Andrew Sachs, who played clueless Spanish waiter, Manuel, in short-lived 70s comedy series, Fawlty Towers, has died aged 86.
His wife, Melody, revealed that he died in a care home on November 23 after suffering from vascular dementia for four years.
Vascular dementia is widely considered the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 10 percent of cases.
It left the actor in a wheelchair and unable to speak.
“My heart has been broken every day for a long time,” she told Daily Mail, explaining that she had collapsed while caring for her husband. Nevertheless, she said they were happy, adding that she “never once heard him grumble”.
Fawlty Towers’ creator and actor, John Cleese, paid tribute to his co-star on Twitter.
“Just heard about Andy Sachs. Very sad…” Cleese wrote.
“I knew he was having problems with his memory as his wife Melody told me a couple of years ago and I heard very recently that he had been admitted to Denham Hall, but I had no idea that his life was in danger.
“A very sweet gentle and kind man and a truly great farceur.
“I could not have found a better Manuel. Inspired.”
Mr Sachs, who also appeared in Dr Who, Coronation Street and Casualty, was born in Berlin and settled in Kilburn an area of north-west London when he was eight years old after his parents fled the Nazis.
His wife of 57 years, Melody, starred in an episode of the hit comedy series in popular episode ‘Basil the Rat’.
