Who was Andrew Sachs? Fawlty Towers actor caught up in Russell Brand controversy dies after battle with dementia
FAWLTY Towers actor Andrew Sachs has died aged 86 following a secret four-year battle with dementia.
The German-born actor was best known for his role in Fawlty Towers, but what else do we know about him?
Who was Andrew Sachs?
Andrew Sachs was born April 7 in Berlin, Germany but left his home country with his parents in 1938, where they settled in North London.
Sachs married his wife Melody Lang in 1960 and had three children, John and William from Melody's previous marriage and Kate whom he had with his wife.
What did Andrew Sachs star in?
Best known for his starring role in Fawlty Towers, Andrew Sachs played the lovable role of clumsy Spanish waiter Manuel.
Sachs joined the sitcom in 1975 and became one of the most iconic sitcom characters of his time.
During his time working on Fawlty Towers, Sachs sustained two injuries including almost being knocked unconscious after co-star John Cleese hit him over the head with a real frying pan, rather than a rubber prop.
The second incident occurred during the filming of episode 'The Germans' where Andrew Sachs suffered second degree burns from a fire.
Since Fawlty Towers, Sachs more recently appeared in episodes of Casualty, The Bill, Holby City and Coronation Street.
How did he die?
Andrew Sachs passed away in a care home after a secret four year battle with dementia after he was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2012.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, his wife Melody said: "It wasn’t all doom and gloom, he still worked for two years.
"We were happy, we were always laughing, we never had a dull moment. He had dementia for four years and we didn’t really notice it at first until the memory started going.
"It didn’t get really bad until quite near the end. I nursed Andrew, I was there for every moment of it."
The actor passed away last week and was buried in North London on Thursday December 1.
What was the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross controversy?
In 2008 Sachs was the victim of a cruel prank by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, where the pair left a series of lewd messages on the actor's answerphone, mainly comments around Brand's relationship with Sachs' granddaughter Georgina Baillie.
The controversy was soon dubbed 'Sachsgate' and 'Manuelgate' and the pair received heavy criticism.
Following the complaints, Ross was suspended from the BBC and Ofcom investigated the incident.
His granddaughter Georgina Baillie was caught up in the centre of a family row with Andrew and his wife Melody after the incident occurred.
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