Took the BBC to announce this longer than any other news service -what a surprise. Mitchell was, after all, one of the biggest stars the BBC had for decades. He was not only good at comedy but a great dramatic actor and some of his performances were very poignant.
I've added a few photos.
BBC News online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34820371
Actor Warren
Mitchell, who played Alf Garnett in TV series Till Death Us Do Part and
In Sickness and in Health, has died aged 89.
"He has been in poor health for some time, but was cracking jokes to the last," the family added.
Mitchell's great nephew paid tribute to him on Twitter, saying he was "the last of his generation".
The full tweet read: "Just got the news my great uncle Warren Mitchell (aka Alf Garnett) died last night. The last of his generation, wonderful and funny man RIP."
Mitchell began playing the character Alf Garnett at the age of 40 in 1966 and appeared in more than 50 episodes until the programme ended in 1975.
He returned as Alf Garnett in the BBC series In Sickness and in Health, which ran from 1985 to 1992.
He also received critical acclaim for other roles. He won Olivier Awards for his stage performances in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman in 1979 and The Price in 2004.
Born in north London's Stoke Newington, he served in the Royal Air Force and then went on to read physics at University College, Oxford.
He never completed the course and took up acting in 1951 at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
He also appeared in TV shows including Gormenghast, Wall of Silence, Lovejoy, Waking The Dead and Kavanagh QC.
There have been many tributes to the actor.
Comedian Ricky Gervais tweeted: "Alf Garnett was one of the most influential and important characters and performances in comedy history. RIP Warren Mitchell."
Theatre director Rupert Goold wrote: "RIP Warren Mitchell. A deeply soulful and erudite man who genuinely loved the theatre."
And Author Neil Gaiman wrote: "Sad to hear Warren Mitchell has died. I acted with him when he played the Director on the @BBCRadio3 version of Signal to Noise. Good man."
Mitchell is survived by his wife Constance Wake, a fellow actress, and three children.
His appearances in The Avengers as the incompetent little bureaucrat Brodny and his tangles with Emma and Steed always made me laugh. He looked as if he was enjoying bringing life to this little character who was enjoying his life in London and always worried that he would be sent to some distant outpost in the coldest part of the USSR. Bless him. So very sad to hear of Warren's passing.
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