Gay actor and comedian Tony Slattery passes away

Slattery died on Tuesday, January 14, just days after suffering a heart attack.

An image of Tony Slattery on stage. He wears a red floral shirt.
Image: Jbeaver12 via Wikimedia Commons

Gay actor and comedian Tony Slattery has passed away aged 65. The news was announced “with great sadness” in a statement shared on behalf of his longtime partner Mark Michael Hutchinson.

It was confirmed that Slattery died on the morning of Tuesday, January 14, after suffering a heart attack on Sunday evening. 

Tony Slattery was born to Irish parents in London on November 9, 1959. He broke into British television in the 1980s, and appeared on shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Channel 4’s The Music Game and ITV’s Cue the Music.

As an actor, he appeared in several films, including The Crying Game, Peter’s Friends and How to Get Ahead in Advertising. He enjoyed plenty of theatre success as well and was nominated for an Olivier Award in 1995 for Best Comedy Performance for his role in the play Neville’s Island. He was also cast in other West End productions, including Me and My Girl and Radio Times.

Slattery was open about having bipolar, previously discussing the condition on the BBC Two programme The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. In 2020, he released the documentary What’s the Matter with Tony Slattery? in which he and his partner Mark visited leading experts on mood disorders and addiction

As recent as last year, he was touring a comedy show across England and launched a podcast entitled Tony Slattery’s Rambling Club in October.

 

Several industry figures have paid tribute to the late star, with writer, producer and commentator Jason Reid describing Slattery as “a very funny and talented man who struggled with addiction”.

“I used to see him out in Soho late at night in a bar I went to, he was always very nice,” Reid added.

A friend of Tony’s, Paul Carmichael, shared a photo of the pair accompanied by the caption: “My lovely, lovely chum. I shall miss you very much.”

Interviewer and producer of his latest shows, Erica Lear, said: “I will miss my mischievous partner in crime. They say you should never meet your heroes, but I met mine and he became my best friend.”

Tony Slattery is survived by his partner of more than three decades, actor Mark Michael Hutchinson, as well as his “ferocious” cat Molly. Rest in power.

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