Geroff!

First of all we learn that Peter 'Columbo' Falk has Alzheimer's, now we hear that former 'Carry On' stalwart Jack Douglas has died. You know Jack Douglas - he wasn't the effeminate one, the randy one, the short one, the one with nostrils or Joan Sims. He was the one who wore a flat cap and glasses and would suddenly have some kind of epileptic fit, shouting 'Geroff!' and twitching his arms wildly as he apparently shrugs off some invisible assailant, (usually hurling the contents of any mug or glass he is holding all over the place). As I recall, he was drafted into the 'Carry On' film series in the early 1970s, originally in relatively minor roles, but gradually working his way up to playing major characters. He was also in the dreadful Carry on Laughing TV series, which ITV3 used to try to ruin last Christmas by repeating every bloody episode.

I must admit that I never have quite figured out exactly what the point of Douglas' act was. However, it was fun waiting for him to randomly throw a fit at some arbitrary point in each film he appeared in. Sadly, I suspect that when he died he was having some kind of seizure, but nobody helped him because they just thought it was part of his act. The bastards probably gathered round, pointing and laughing at him. Who know, perhaps somebody did try to help him, but he just twitched violently and shouted 'Geroff!'. Still, it was probably how we wanted to go, with dignity, doing what he loved.