The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dad’s Army creator Jimmy Perry, 1923-2016
Jimmy Perry, who created popular TV comedy shows like Dad’s Army and It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, has died aged 93.
Perry, who worked closely with producer David Croft, was also responsible for Hi-deHi! and You Rang M’Lord?.
His writing drew on his life experiences as a young member of the Home Guard during the Second World War and as a Butlin’s holiday camp Redcoat.
Dad’s Army ran from 1968 for 80 episodes over nine years while Hi-de-Hi ran for eight years.
Born in 1923 in south-west London, Perry was too young to join the army when the Second World War broke out in 1939, so instead joined his local home guard.
He later based many of the characters for the sitcom on the soldiers he met at that time.
Comedians and colleagues paid tribute on Twitter.
Jack Dee wrote: “RIP Jimmy Perry. Amazing contribution to British telly. Watched Dad’s Army only yesterday. Still as funny as when I watched it as a kid.”
Richard Osman, from the game show Pointless, said: “When St Peter asks for Jimmy Perry’s name he’s got a great gag lined up #ripjimmyperry.”
He was alluding to one scene from the hit series in which the Home Guard members were confronted by a German soldier who demanded the name of the hapless Private Pike. Captain Mainwaring quickly replied: “Don’t tell him Pike.”
Allo Allo actress Vicki Michelle tweeted: “So sad we have lost #JimmyPerry a brilliant comedy writer & true gentleman. He leaves us such a legacy.”
Shane Allen, BBC controller of comedy commissioning, said Perry’s work spanned decades and his shows will be remembered for a long time to come.
He said: “Jimmy Perry is a Goliath of British comedy writing. He was behind some of the longest running and most loved sitcoms on British television spanning the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.
“His work will be enjoyed and appreciated for many years to come. Our thoughts are with his friends and loved ones at this sad time.”
After the war, Perry trained as an actor at Rada, and spent time entertaining holiday-makers at Butlin’s camps.
He ran the Palace Theatre at Watford, putting on a different show each week and played bit parts in TV sitcoms before he began to write them himself.
He showed his ideas for Dad’s Army – initially called The Fighting Tigers – to David Croft, who took it to the BBC.
The character Private Pike was based on Perry himself.
Croft and Perry went on to collaborate on shows including It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, which began in 1974 and was based around their wartime experiences in the Far East, and Hi-de-Hi, about a 1950s holiday camp.
Perry also wrote some of his theme tunes.
He won an Ivor Novello Award in 1971 for the Dad’s Army theme Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler and penned Holiday Rock for Hi-de-Hi.
He was awarded an OBE in 1978 and is survived by his wife, Gilda.