Gorden Kaye, the actor famous for playing Rene Artois in the hit series Allo Allo!, has passed away aged 75.
Kaye passed away yesterday morning at an aged care home he had been residing in, as confirmed by his former agency.
Airing on the BBC, Allo Allo! was a household favourite for 10 years during the 80s and early 90s.
The show was set in German occupied France in World War II, and Rene was the French cafe owner of Cafe Rene.
Kaye’s character was often comically, and reluctantly, stuck between the German military and Allied resistance who frequented his cafe.
In 1986, Kaye was nominated for a BAFTA in “Best Light Entertainment Performance” for his role in Allo Allo!
Kaye was in all 84 episodes of Allo Allo! as well as the stage version – which toured Australia in 2007.
Did You Know?
Born Gordon Fitzgerald Kaye, he went professionally by Gorden Kaye. The reason for the unusual spelling for his first name was because of a typing error by the British Actors’ Equity Association.
Though Allo Allo! being Kaye’s most well know work, he had an extensive career over many popular British shows – Last of the Summer Wine, Are You Being Served?, Emmerdale and Coronation Street.
In 1989, Kaye release his autobiography “Rene & Me: A Sort of Autobiography” which he wrote with Hilary Boner. In his autobiography he described himself as a ‘shy, gay and overweight boy’ and explained that he went into acting to build his confidence and self-expression.
Kaye’s last screen role was in BBC sketch show Revolver in 2004.
In 1990, Kaye was in a car accident during the Burns’ Day storm which left him with serious head injuries when an advertising board was blown through his car windscreen. Kaye had emergency brain surgery and, while he was recovering, was photographed and interviewed a Sunday Sport journalist who had posed as medical staff. Kaye later sued the publication but the Court of Appeal held that there was no remedy in English law for an invasion of privacy
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