GA4

Friday, August 29, 2008

Geoffrey Perkins dies in road accident

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Geoffrey Perkins has died in a road traffic accident in London. He was only 55. Geoffrey was instrumental in bringing Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy to radio back in the 70s, and in his roles as a BBC radio producer, director of Hat Trick Productions, BBC TV Head of Comedy, and latterly with Tiger Aspect Productions, he has been part of an incredible number of shows that I've enjoyed for nearly 30 years.

He was a great talent who will be much missed, and his list of hit shows just goes on and on. How many of these have you enjoyed?

The Catherine Tate Show, The Fast Show, Father Ted, Spitting Image, Saturday Night Live, The Harry Enfield Television Programme, Ben Elton - The Man From Auntie, The Thin Blue Line, Radio Active and KYTV, 2 Pints of Lager, My Family, Coupling, and Big Train. His latest show Harry and Paul, with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, starts next week.

Read the full report on his life at BBC News, and here is his Wikipedia and IMDB page.
Geoffrey Perkins, 55, worked for many years for BBC Radio, where he created the game Mornington Crescent in I'm Sorry Haven't a Clue.

He also produced the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, one of the most successful radio shows ever made.
[...]
BBC director of vision Jana Bennett said she was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the news.

"Geoffrey Perkins was an outstanding creator of countless comedy hits on the BBC and elsewhere, and a very distinguished former BBC head of comedy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm really shocked and saddened by this. Geoffrey was responsible for many of the things I found funny over the last 30 years. My condolences to his friends and family.

D.B. Echo said...

This is very shocking. But I'm also surprised by his youth - I assumed he was much older.

As with Douglas, the world is a better and more enjoyable place because of him and his excellent work, and a sadder place without him.