John Jeremy Lloyd, OBE (22 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an English writer, screenwriter, author, poet and actor. He was the co-writer of several successful

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

s, including ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...

'' and ''

'Allo 'Allo! ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a Fre ...

''.

Early years

John Jeremy Lloyd was born in

Danbury, Essex Danbury is a village in the City of Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross, London and has a population of 6,500. It is situated on a hill above sea level. The city of Danbury, Connectic ...

to a mother who had been a dancer, and a petroleum engineer father who served as an officer in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

at the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. As a child he was sent to live with his grandmother in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

and rarely saw his parents, who he claimed had seen him as a failure. His father withdrew him from a private preparatory school in 1943. Lloyd then worked as a junior assistant in the menswear department at

Simpsons of Piccadilly Simpsons of Piccadilly was a large retail store situated at 203-206 Piccadilly in central London. It was created by Alexander Simpson and architect Joseph Emberton. When it opened in April 1936 it was the largest menswear store in Britain, and ...

and many of the characters depicted in ''Are You Being Served?'' were drawn from his recollections of his time there. He was also a travelling paint salesman and believed his early jobs gave him a better education than a university could have provided.

Career

Lloyd began his career as a writer in 1958 before making his film debut two years later in 1960 in '' School for Scoundrels'', and appeared in numerous film and television comedies during the 1960s and 1970s. Notably, he was a regular performer on ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Da ...

'' during the 1969–70 television season. Back in England, after he completed the season, he met actress

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

. A decision had to be made as to whether he would return to the U.S. for the start of the new season or remain in the UK and marry Lumley. He never returned to the United States. In '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) Lloyd is uncredited as a tall man dancing at the disco with Beatles drummer

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

. In ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

'' (1965), he is a restaurant patron, also uncredited. In 1969, he filmed a scene with

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

for '' The Magic Christian'', which co-starred Ringo Starr. Lloyd can be seen in a boardroom meeting offering marketing slogans for a really big car, and suggests "the gang's all here back seat." In 1967 he played the eccentric chimney sweep, Berthram Fortesque Wynthrope-Smythe, aka Bert Smith, in '' The Avengers'' episode, "

From Venus With Love "From Venus with Love" is the first episode of the fifth series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series '' The Avengers'', starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, and guest starring Barbara Shelley, Derek Newark, Jon Pertwee, Jeremy ...

". Lloyd's first major success as a comedy writer was with ''

'' in 1972, on which he worked with David Croft. He and Croft subsequently produced ''

'', which was equally popular in the UK, and a spinoff of ''Are You Being Served?'', ''

Grace & Favour ''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of '' Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and ...

'', which aired in 1992. Lloyd wrote the poem/lyrics for the popular '' Captain Beaky'' album and books in 1980. In 1993 Lloyd published his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

, titled with a phrase from Allo 'Allo!'', called ''Listen Very Carefully—I Shall Say this Only Once'' (BBC Books: ). Lloyd was the subject of what was considered an

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

, that he had been invited to a dinner party at the home of

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...

on the night that she was murdered by followers of

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

. However, the story was verified as true when the octogenarian was interviewed by Emma Freud on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

programme, '' Loose Ends'', on 10 December 2011. Lloyd was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to British comedy.

Personal life

Lloyd's first marriage in 1955 to model Dawn Bailey lasted seven years. After their marriage ended, he was briefly engaged to the actress

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

. Lloyd then married actress

in May 1970, but that union ended in September of the same year. In 1992 he married actress Collette Northrop. In August 2014, Lloyd married Elizabeth "Lizzy" Moberly.

Death

Lloyd died on 23 December 2014, aged 84, after being admitted to a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

hospital with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

. He was survived by his wife Elizabeth.

Filmography

* '' School for Scoundrels'' (1960) – Dingle * ''Man in the Moon'' (1960) – Jaguar driver * '' Seven Keys'' (1961) – Freddy * '' Very Important Person'' (1961) – Flt Lt. 'Bonzo' Baines DFC * ''

Flame in the Streets ''Flame in the Streets'' is a 1961 film directed by Roy Ward Baker and based on the 1958 play '' Hot Summer Night'' by Ted Willis. It opened at the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End on 22 June 1961. The film depicts an interracial rom ...

'' (1961) – (uncredited) * '' Play it Cool'' (1962) – Man doing the Twist (uncredited) * ''

Operation Snatch ''Operation Snatch'' is a 1962 British comedy film starring Terry-Thomas and George Sanders and directed by Robert Day. Plot The story takes place in Gibraltar, and is based on a local legend: if the resident Barbary apes were ever to le ...

'' (1962) – Capt. James * ''

Crooks Anonymous ''Crooks Anonymous'' is a British comedy film from 1962. Directed by Ken Annakin, it stars Leslie Phillips and Stanley Baxter and is notably the feature film debut of Julie Christie. Plot Captain "Dandy Forsdyke" (Leslie Phillips) is a habitual ...

'' (1962) – M.C. at the Peekaboo Club * ''

Two and Two Make Six ''Two and Two Make Six'', also known as ''A Change of Heart'' and ''The Girl Swappers'', is a 1962 black and white British romantic comedy film directed by Freddie Francis and starring George Chakiris and Janette Scott. Unusually, the two women ...

'' (1962) – Bowler-hatted young man * ''

We Joined the Navy ''We Joined the Navy'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Kenneth More, Lloyd Nolan, Joan O'Brien, Derek Fowlds, Graham Crowden, Esma Cannon and John Le Mesurier. Produced by Daniel M. Angel, it was based on th ...

'' (1962) – Dewberry Jr. * '' Just for Fun'' (1963) – Prime Minister's son * ''

Death Drums Along the River ''Death Drums Along the River'' (titled ''Sanders'' in the USA) is a 1963 British-German international co-production, using the characters from Edgar Wallace's 1911 novel ''Sanders of the River'' and Zoltán Korda's 1935 film based on the nove ...

'' (1963) – Tom Hamilton * '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) – Tall Dancer at the Disco (uncredited) * '' Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'' (1965) – Lieutenant Parsons * ''

'' (1965) – Restaurant Patron (uncredited) * ''

A Study in Terror ''A Study in Terror'' is a 1965 British thriller film directed by James Hill and starring John Neville as Sherlock Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson. It was filmed at Shepperton Studios, London, with some location work at Osterley Hou ...

'' (1965) – Rupert (uncredited) * '' The Liquidator'' (1965) – Young Man * ''

Doctor in Clover ''Doctor in Clover'' is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Richard Gordon. It is the sixth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. The film was released i ...

'' (1966) – Lambert Symington * '' The Wrong Box'' (1966) – Brian Allen Harvey * '' The Sandwich Man'' (1966) – Jeremy – the Guardsman * '' Three Hats for Lisa'' (1966) – Guards Officer * ''

The Long Duel ''The Long Duel'' is a 1967 British adventure film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yul Brynner, Trevor Howard, Charlotte Rampling and Harry Andrews. It is set in British-ruled India of the 1920s but was filmed in Spain. Plot Superintendent ...

'' (1967) – Crabbe * ''

Smashing Time ''Smashing Time'' is a 1967 British satirical comedy film starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of ''Swinging London''. It was written by George Melly and directed by Desmond Davis ...

'' (1967) – Jeremy Tove * ''

Salt and Pepper Salt and pepper is the common name for edible salt and ground black pepper, which are ubiquitously paired on Western dining tables as to allow for the additional seasoning of food after its preparation. During food preparation or cooking, they ...

'' (1968) – Lord Ponsonby * ''

The Assassination Bureau ''The Assassination Bureau Limited'' (also known as ''The Assassination Bureau'' in the United States) is a 1969 British Technicolor black comedy adventure film, produced by Michael Relph, directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Oliver Reed, Di ...

'' (1969) – English Officer (uncredited) * '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1969) – Johnson (uncredited) * '' The Magic Christian'' (1969) – Lord Hampton * '' Games That Lovers Play'' (1971) – Jonathan Chatterley * '' Murder on the Orient Express'' (1974) – A.D.C. * '' The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones'' (1976) – Lord Fellama * ''

'', Series 1, Episode 4 (1992) – Car driver * ''

– Series 9 Episode 1 – Gone with the Windmill'' (1992) – German officer * ''Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict'' (2013) – David Layton (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd, Jeremy 1930 births 2014 deaths English male film actors English male television actors English television writers Deaths from pneumonia in England Male actors from Essex Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Danbury, Essex English male writers 20th-century English male actors British male television writers