Gorden Kaye

Gorden Kaye was a British actor born in Huddersfield on April 7, 1941. Born Gordon, Kaye attributed the strange spelling of his stage name to a typing error on the part of the British Actors' Equity Association. Before his acting career, however, Kaye worked odd jobs, including ones at a textile mill, wine factory, and tractor factory. While working in hospital radio in Huddersfield, he interviewed the Beatles in 1965, and ended up being cast in a radio play directed by Alan Ayckbourn, launching his acting career. Kaye made his television debut in a 1968 episode of "Champion House" (BBC1, 1967-68). Shortly thereafter, he played a recurring character throughout the 1969-1970 season of the long-running soap opera "Coronation Street" (ITV, 1960- ). Kaye also made a five-episode appearance on another legacy English soap opera, "Emmerdale" (ITV, 1972- ), in 1973. Kaye was a prolific actor throughout the '70s, building up a large number of credits across TV dramas and sitcoms. This included a 1977 appearance on "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" (BBC1, 1974-1981), foreshadowing his work with "'Allo 'Allo" (BBC1, 1982-1992) co-creator David Croft, who also co-created "It Ain't Half Hot Mum." In 1982, Kaye was cast in the "'Allo 'Allo" starring role, René Artois, and played the adulterating, overwhelmed proprietor of a French café in the midst of World War II. He would play the character until the show's end in 1992, and would end up being his last major acting role. Kaye was struck by a plank of wood while driving during a strong storm in 1990, leaving a dent in his head and giving him strong, yet temporary, amnesia; even still, he stated that he would never have any memory of the accident itself. Kaye lived in a care home for the last two years of his life, and died from dementia-related complications on January 23, 2017, at the age of 75.