John Bird

Twice BAFTA award-winning English satirist, writer and director, the son of chemist shopkeeper Horace Bird and his wife, Dorothy (née Haubitz). Born in Bulwell, Nottingham, Bird was a graduate of the Cambridge Footlights troupe. He was best known for his lengthy association with fellow Cambridge alumnus John Fortune, with whom he appeared in the trailblazing BBC satire That Was the Week That Was (1962), in addition to contributing scripts. His greatest success came later as support for Rory Bremner in the long-running improvisational political sketch comedy Bremner, Bird and Fortune (1999). Bird was particularly noted for his lampooning of political leaders, such as Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Other prominent roles saw him as a private detective in 30 Is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968), a university vice-chancellor in A Very Peculiar Practice (1986), a feckless civil servant in If It Moves, File It (1970), pompous barrister John Fuller-Carp in Chambers (2000) and Professor Peter Plum in season 4 of the game show Cluedo (1990). He also made guest appearances in episodes of popular TV shows like Armchair Thriller (1978), Yes, Prime Minister (1986), One Foot in the Grave (1990), Jonathan Creek (1997) and Midsomer Murders (1997). Bird admitted to drug and alcohol dependency at some point in the mid- to late 70s, which for some time seriously affected both his physical and mental health. Bird was married and divorced from Ann Stockdale, the daughter of a US ambassador to Ireland, and to television presenter Bridget Simpson. His third wife, concert pianist Libby Crandon, predeceased him in 2012.