Douglas Marjoribanks Fisher (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, 20 September 1941 – 9 July 2000) was an English actor best known for playing Larry Simmonds in ''

Man About the House ''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer. It starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy (actor), Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV (TV netw ...

'' (1973–1976), Sammy in the films '' The Stud'' (1978) and '' The Bitch'' (1979) and Jim Medhurst in '' London's Burning'' (1988–1993).

Early life

He graduated from

St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (also known as The Hall and Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any university" and was the las ...

in 1966, with a degree in French and Russian.

Career

He portrayed Larry Simmonds, the

lovable rogue The lovable rogue is a fictional stock character, often from a working-class upbringing, who tends to recklessly defy social norms and social conventions, but who still evokes empathy from the audience or other characters. Description Charact ...

who occupied the

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

in the ITV

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' and played Sammy in the films '' The Stud'' (1978) and '' The Bitch'' (1979), opposite

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...

. He also appeared in '' All Our Saturdays'', ''

Yes Minister ''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes f ...

'', ''

Home to Roost ''Home to Roost'' is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television between 19 April 1985 and 19 January 1990. Written by Eric Chappell, it stars John Thaw as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale as his teenaged son Matthew. The premise is tha ...

'', '' Sorry!'', ''

Haggard Haggard may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Haggard (band), a German symphonic metal group * ''Haggard'' (TV series), a British comedy television series * '' Haggard: The Movie'', a 2003 film by Bam Margera * King Haggard, a fictiona ...

'', '' Close to Home'', '' Goodnight Sweetheart'', ''

The Upper Hand ''The Upper Hand'' is a British television sitcom with dramatic elements broadcast by ITV from 1 May 1990 to 14 October 1996. The programme was adapted from the American sitcom ''Who's the Boss?'' As in the former series, affluent single wo ...

'' and '' Heartbeat''. His final role was a clergyman in the 1999 miniseries adaptation of ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

''. He also played the role of Jim Medhurst (Kevin Medhurst's father) In TV series '' London's Burning'' from 1988 until the character was killed off in series 6 in 1993. Fisher appeared as habitual criminal Stephen Grismal in the ''

Jonathan Creek ''Jonathan Creek'' is a long-running British mystery fiction, mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician whi ...

'' episode ''The Wrestler's Tomb,'' in 1997.

Personal life

Fisher had a relationship with actress

Susan Penhaligon Susan Penhaligon (born 3 July 1949) is a Cornish actress and writer known for her role in the drama series '' Bouquet of Barbed Wire'' (1976), and for playing Helen Barker in the sitcom '' A Fine Romance'' (1981–1984). She appeared in the s ...

in the early 1980s.

Death

On 9 July 2000, Fisher died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

aged 58.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Doug 1941 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English male actors Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford English male stage actors English male television actors