Posted in: TV | Tagged: john sessions, rip

Stella Street's John Sessions Dies, Aged 67, RIP

Actor, writer and performer John Sessions died of a heart attack in his South London, last night, aged 67.

When Ricky Gervais' David Brent in The Office said "If you were to ask me to name three geniuses, I probably wouldn't say Einstein, Newton… . I'd go Milligan, Cleese, Everett. (PAUSE) Sessions." It was a mean, if funny gag, Spike Milligan, John Cleese and Kenny Everett are considered true comedy geniuses. John Sessions was not, it was meant to underline David Brent's nerdiness and odd tastes. John Sessions was an actor and comedian, best known for early appearances on Whose Line Is It Anyway and his impression-led sitcom Stella Street, gaining him a reputation for ubiquitousness. But he would later become closer to a national treasure, as a character actor.

He attended acting school RADA in the seventies, alongside Kenneth Branagh, who he would work with regularly across the decades, gaining him the "luvvie" tag, as well as becoming part of the alternative comedy scene in the eighties, as well as improvisational comedy clubs, which led to a regular spot on Whose Line Is It Anyone on the radio and then the TV.

His impressionist skills let to Spitting Image, and starring as the unfortunate student who meets a rather sticky end at the hands of gas-filled condoms exploding in Porterhouse Blue, and many one-man shows. Stella Street saw him play the likes of Michael Caine, Keith Moon and Al Pacino in a sitcom set in a British suburban street filled with celebrities.

He turned to more serious drama in the likes of Gormenghast, Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Isles, Prime Ministers Harold Wilson in Made in Dagenham, Edward Heath in The Iron Lady, and the voice of Winston Churchill in audio biographies. He also appeared in a number of Shakespeare movies including Kenneth Branagh's Henry V,  A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Merchant of Venice. He also became the Asterix audiobook reader, after the death of my own lookalike Willie Rushton.

There was even Doctor Who – General Tannis in webcast Death Comes to Time, audio episodes as Mozart in 100,  Roland of Brittany in Castle of Fear, and the voice of Gus in TV episode, Mummy On The Orient Express.

But here's how I'll always remember him, in a role that the Rolling Stones took to their heart.

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