John Sessions: Comedian dies at the age of 67
John Sessions #JohnSessions
Image copyright Getty Images
Actor and comedian John Sessions has died at the age of 67.
He was best known as a panellist on 1980s and 90s improvisation TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and appeared on QI and Have I Got News for You.
His other credits included Stella Street and Spitting Image, and films like Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V.
Fellow comedian Ronni Ancona described him as “a genius”, while Helen Lederer remembered him as “such an original force of clever wit and talent”.
The Ayrshire-born star died from a heart condition, his agent said.
During his career, he provided voices on Spitting Image in the 1980s – the only person to both provide impressions and be featured as a puppet on the satirical show.
The programme was among the trailblazers of alternative comedy, he told BBC Radio Scotland in September. “You really felt you were at the cutting edge of comedy. Even though we just did the voices, we were the real assault troops along with Alexei Sayle and Ben Elton,” he said.
His impressions were also at the heart of Stella Street, a spoof soap opera about megastars like Keith Richards, Joe Pesci and Roger Moore who live on the same suburban road, which launched in 1997.
Image caption Phil Cornwell as Mick Jagger and John Sessions as Keith Richards (right) in front of their corner shop in Stella Street
Sessions recalled meeting Richards and the other members of the Rolling Stones. “They watched the show,” he told Radio Scotland. “Keith said he really enjoys it and he’s thinking of getting a little corner shop.”
He also had a series of his own BBC TV shows, such as a self-titled solo improvisation series in the late 1980s, followed by John Sessions’s Tall Tales and John Sessions’s Likely Stories.
His other TV credits included Just William, Victoria, The Loch, Porterhouse Blue and Gormenghast; and he had film roles in The Good Shepherd, The Merchant of Venice and The Bounty.
Recently, he had narrated a 10-part radio adaptation of children’s book series The Adventures of Captain Bobo.
Image caption Sessions played Mr Wellbecker in the BBC’s 2010 adaptation of Just William
Paying tribute, comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar said he was “always warm and fun company and amazing improv ability”.
Sessions appeared on the first ever episode of QI, and the team behind the panel show said : “His incredible wit and encyclopaedic knowledge played a huge part in the show’s history and everyone at QI is deeply saddened to learn of his passing.”
Broadcaster Danny Baker remembered him as “terrific company always and a true talent”.
Michael Spicer described him as “a character actor with such extraordinary range and so very, very funny”.
Peep Show actor and author Robert Webb and broadcasters Mariella Frostrup and Samira Ahmed added their tributes.
In a statement, his agent Alex Irwin said: “It is with great sadness we can confirm that on Monday 2nd November, the actor John Sessions died at his home in South London. He will be hugely missed.”