Richard O’Sullivan, a familiar face to ‘70s TV fans in the UK who also helped inspire one of the biggest American sitcoms of the era, has died.
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The actor, best known for playing Robin Tripp in the ‘70s UK sitcoms Man About the House and its spinoff Robin’s Nest, passed peacefully at Brinsworth House, the Royal Variety Charity’s care home for retired entertainers, located in Twickenham, London, earlier today (Sept. 4), per Deadline.
The Dick Turpin star had lived at the care home for 23 years after suffering a stroke. He was 82.
“My dad was as funny and charming in real life as he appeared on our TV screens over the years. Always kind-spirited, good-humoured, a doting grandfather and a wonderful dad – I will miss him dearly,” his son, James O’Sullivan, said in a statement via Sky News.
O’Sullivan was beloved for his role as Robin Tripp (a student chef who lives with two single women) across Man About the House and Robin’s Nest. The sitcoms went on to be adapted for American audiences with Three’s Company. In the US version, John Ritter took on the Tripp role (this time as Jack Tripper).
Richard O’Sullivan Starred Alongside Icons Like Elizabeth Taylor Before His Sitcom Days
Born in 1944, O’Sullivan started out as a child actor, appearing in films like 1953’s The Yellow Balloon. According to Deadline, at just age 8, he acted in the 1956 production of Peter Hall’s Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
He also appeared alongside acting legend Cliff Richard twice: The Young Ones (1961) and Wonderful Life (1964).
Meanwhile, O’Sullivan shared the screen with Hollywood icons Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Cleopatra (1963). He played the titular character’s little brother, Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII.
“Richard O’Sullivan was a master of effortless charm and impeccable comic timing, bringing pure warmth, effortless wit, and unforgettable joy into millions of living rooms as a true giant of British television,” Giles Cooper, Life-President of the Royal Variety said. “He will be sorely missed by us all at the Royal Variety Charity.”