Father Ted actor dies aged 70 as fans mourn ‘wonderful’ man | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV
Fans of ’90s hit sitcom Father Ted are going crazy as series mates Patrick McDonnell, Paddy Ward and Ben Keaton reunite, almost 30 years after the show first aired (Image: undefined)
Father Ted actor Ben Keaton has died at the age of 70. Keaton, who played Father Austin Purcell in the hit comedy series as well as the films Casualty and Doctors, was confirmed to have passed away at Lincoln County Hospital on Friday. mirror reports.
“He will forever be greatly missed, loved and fondly remembered by Ben, his former wife Polly, his son Waldo and daughter Daisy, brothers Des and Thom, and his sister Jeanette,” his obituary says.
Nottingham Playhouse paid tribute and said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of the wonderful actor Ben Keaton, fondly remembered in our 2008 production of Vertigo. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
Make sure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us your Preferred Source. Click here To enable or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
Meanwhile, an account from Father Ted fan
Read more: Supernatural star dies aged 51 as heartbroken co-star pays touching tribute
Read more: Marvel legend dies after battling neurological disorder during tribute raid
Beyond his television career, Irish was a successful stage performer. He devoted much of his professional career to The Royal Exchange Theater in Manchester, appearing in productions as diverse as American Buffalo to Hay Fever.
A multi-talented artist, he was co-founder of the improvisation collective South Of The River and holds a senior role at the Creative Academy. His trophy cabinet demonstrated his versatility with a 1986 Perrier Comedy Award and two Best Actor awards from the Manchester Evening News, before being nominated for the prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards.
Paying tribute to him in a post on
daddy ted (Image: undefined)
In 2022, Keaton experienced an unexpected burst of online fame after being attacked by autograph-seeking supporters at a CovCon event in Coventry. The excitement grew even more when he teamed up with Father Ted cast members Joe Rooney (Father Damo), Michael Redmond (Father Stone) and Patrick McDonnell (Eoin McLove) to record an impromptu TikTok video.
Reflecting on the viral phenomenon, Keaton told The Irish Sun: “The video went from 500 views to 50,000 and beyond. Joe says we’ve now reached half a million views on TikTok. It’s incredible.” H
He admitted to being constantly amazed by the lasting legacy of his brief, scene-stealing performance as the world’s most boring priest. Drawing parallels with his other performances, Keaton observed: “I was in Casualty for three years, nobody cares. I was in Father Ted for three minutes and that’s all people want to talk about and it’s a time-traveling thing.”
