Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
He was a gentleman, very funny, very kind and very generous ..we still miss him
Friends and co-stars pay tribute to much-loved Father Ted legend
HE died nearly 20 years ago – yet Dermot Morgan was still making people laugh last night. If you could tune into More 4 you would have seen the Father Ted episode Flight Into Terror, in which Dougal presses the big red button that says “Do Not Press”.
You also would have found it as funny as the day it was first broadcast in 1996.
And you would have been reminded of Bafta-winning Morgan’s frantic comic genius – and mourned the premature demise of one of Ireland’s best-loved stars.
Morgan was just 45 when he died of a heart attack on February 28, 1998.
Last night showbiz pals and former co-stars paid tribute to the man who made Father Ted Crilly one of TV’S most enduring characters.
Brendan Grace, who guest starred as sarcastic Fr Fintan Stack, said Morgan was very talented, always thinking of new ideas and diving head first into famous roles.
He told the Daily Mirror: “In all the time we worked together, I never met Dermot Morgan because he was always in character and it was like he was rehearsing as he went along.
“He was totally focussed, always concentrated on his work, he was not a scatterbrain.”
However, others say that’s exactly what he was – an actor constantly juggling several ideas at the same time.
Grace recalled how filming nearly had to be halted because he and Morgan were laughing so much between takes.
He said: “In Father Ted, I was drilling the wall as part of one of my scenes as Fr Fintan Stack and it took about 20 minutes to film each one because we were both laughing so much.”
The two comedians shared a special relationship throughout their careers, and fans may not know that Morgan got his first taste of TV during a cameo on The Brendan Grace Show in the 1970s, which also starred Brendan O’carroll.
Limerick legend Jon Kenny, one half of comic duo d’unbelievables, made a number of appearances on Father Ted.
He said there was always a great sense of fun while working on the show and it was a fantastic workspace for Irish comedians. Jon added Morgan worked tirelessly on the show and his career.
He said: “Dermot was always in good form and he worked very hard.
“He was very conscious of what he did and how he did it. He had a huge track record and he was a gentleman.”
Jon appeared in the classic A Song For Europe episode which saw Ted and Dougal perform My Lovely Horse in a bid to represent Ireland at Eurosong.
He said: “We shot the first part in the Theatre Royal in Limerick and the dressing room part was shot in London.
“I was let off to speak gibberish and have the craic and that said a lot about where the show was going.”
Former schoolteacher Morgan broke into comedy in the late 1970s.
He was a household name by the late 1980s for his work on the RTE
YESTERDAY
radio satire Scrap Saturday and variety TV show Live Mike. Mrs Brown’s Boys star O’carroll also worked with Morgan on the Mike Murphy show.
He said: “He was always the star. He was a gentleman to work with – funny, very kind, very generous.”
Gay Byrne, who regularly hosted Morgan on The Late Late Show, said last night it was always a risk having him on as he was liable to do anything.
He added: “He was the most
He was totally focussed and always concentrated on his work BRENDAN GRACE YESTERDAY He was always in good form and he worked very hard JON KENNY
fantastic mimic and could do anything with his voice.”
Gaybo recommended John Bowman’s RTE Radio 1 archives show, broadcast yesterday on RTE Radio 1, which features classic moments from Morgan’s career.
This Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of the Dubliner’s shock passing at his London home, just hours after filming his final scenes for Father Ted. A memorial to the much-loved comedian, called the Joker’s Chair, was unveiled in Dublin’s Merrion Square four years after his death.
Morgan was married to German Susanne Garmatz, with whom he had two sons Don and Rob.
At the time of his death he had a partner, Fiona Clarke, with whom he had another son called Ben who was just four years old when his father died.