Actor Stephen Lewis, best known for
his role as officious inspector "Blakey" in the 1970s ITV sitcom On the
Buses, has died aged 88, his family has announced.
Lewis also played "Smiler" in the BBC's Last of the Summer Wine.
Born in east London in 1926, he got his start at the Theatre Royal Stratford East under Joan Littlewood.
According
to his family, the actor died "quite peacefully" in a nursing home in
Wanstead, east London, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. As "Blakey", Lewis was forever clashing with Reg Varney's wily Stan Butler (middle)
In his role as Inspector Cyril
"Blakey" Blake, Lewis constantly clashed, and was usually outwitted by,
Reg Varney's wily bus driver Stan Butler.
One of his catchphrases
was "I'll get you for this, Butler" - one he was happy to repeat,
according to the manager of the nursing home where he lived out his
final years.
The popular sitcom ran from 1969 to 1973 and spawned
three big-screen spin-offs: On the Buses, Mutiny on the Buses and
Holiday on the Buses.
Lewis's other sitcoms included Don't Drink
the Water, On the Buses' short-lived, Spain-based sequel, and the BBC's
railway-themed Oh, Mr Beeching! Lewis played "Smiler" in Last of the Summer Wine for almost 20 years
He
also appeared as Clem "Smiler" Hemmingway in more than 130 episodes of
Last of the Summer Wine, starting in 1988 and continuing until 2007.
Lewis
wrote Sparrers (later Sparrows) Can't Sing, a success for Littlewood's
Theatre Workshop that gave Barbara Windsor one of her most notable early
roles.
Peter Lewis, the actor's nephew, said his uncle's health
had gradually deteriorated in recent years but that he had kept his
spirits up right until the end.
"He still had his sense of humour,
very much so," said Rashid Ebrahimkhan, manager of the Cambridge
Nursing Home. "He was very resilient until the last."
As "Blakey", Lewis was forever clashing with Reg Varney's wily Stan Butler (middle)
Lewis played "Smiler" in Last of the Summer Wine for almost 20 years
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