Derek Nimmo

Born on Liverpool in 1930, amongst the jobs that he had before switching to the theatre was as a sales manager in a paint factory.

When struggling to earn a living as an young actor, he and his new wife Patricia found themselves living in a caravan that was parked in a car park just off the Edgware Road in London's West End. However, when he was touring he was able to drive a 1937 Buick car he had bought for just £37.

He was so convincing as a monk on Oh Brother! (1968) that he was once arrested on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, by the Vatican Police after being seen by a shocked nun with his arm around a girl.

Received a special mention in The Goodies episode The Goodies: Wacky Wales (1975), where there was a special team comprised exclusively of 'Derek Nimmos' in the Rugby Union (football) game of Ecclesiastical Sevens - emphasising his special religious-oriented roles in television programs such as Oh Brother! (1968), Oh, Father! (1973) and All Gas and Gaiters (1966) among others.

One of the thirty-plus founders of the Theatre of Comedy in 1983.

Following a fall down stairs at his home on 2 December 1998, he spent the last few weeks of his life in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, initially in a coma.

A memorial service was held for him at St. Paul's Church, Covent Garden on 27th May 1999.