Fans have paid tribute to BBC comedian Kelly Monteith after he sadly passed away aged 80.
The ground-breaking American comedian was best known in the UK as one of the first to be given his own BBC series and his self-titled show ran from 1979 to 1984, writes The Mirror.
The sad news of his death was announced on The Anglophlile Channel, a Los Angeles based production company that worked closely with him.
In the statement, they said: "It is with great sadness that The Anglophile Channel announces the passing of our dearest friend and teammate, award-winning comedian/host, Kelly Monteith.
"Kelly was an integral part of TAC having co-hosted Brit Flix with Kelly, Paul and Two-Buck Chuck and Kelly’s BBC Memories. In 2015 Monteith and Paul Boland were awarded the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for Best Television Anchor/Host by the Los Angeles Press Club.
"After a few successful appearances on the Des O’Connor Show, Monteith starred in his own successful comedy series, 'Kelly Monteith', which ran on the BBC for six seasons. Monteith co-wrote his titular series with Neil Shand. Monteith was the one of the first American comedians to get his own show on the BBC.
"In America, Monteith starred in two series on CBS called, The Kelly Monteith Show and The Hit Squad. As Kelly often remarked, one of the highlights of his career was performing for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Il at the Royal Variety Performance in 1983.
"His time in England was incredibly special to Monteith. During his time there, he met his future wife Caroline. The couple have two children. Kelly will be deeply missed at The Anglophile Channel, in the world of comedy and by his family and friends alike."
Kelly performed as a guest comedian on NBC's The Tonight Show and the BBC's Des O'Connor Tonight.
After successful guest appearances on various talk shows, he was offered his own series by the BBC that ran for six series.
Back in February 2021, Kelly suffered two strokes and a GoFundMe campaign was set up by his ex-wife Caroline Alexander to raise funds for his rehabilitation and speech therapy while he recuperated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for two months.
Comedy fans were devastated by the news and flocked to Twitter to pay tribute to the legend.
Still Game star actor Sanjeev Kohli tweeted: "Sad news about Kelly Monteith. Funny, personable & (like Dave Allen) way ahead of his time. Judging from the reaction on here he was a bigger influence than he ever knew."
Comedian Bennett Arron added: "Kelly Monteith has passed away! A few years ago I said in an interview that, along with Morecambe and Wise, Tommy Cooper and my father, he was one of my favourite comedians. He heard about it, got in contact and thanked me. It's sad that many won't know of him."
comedian Nick Pettigrew wrote: "RIP Kelly Monteith. Prototype of Garry Shandling, Seinfeld, etc. and obviously influenced by George Carlin. Way ahead of his time but not seen as such because he made his innovation mainstream. Loved him as a kid."
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