Andrew Sachs

Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waiter Manuel in ''Fawlty Towers''.

Sachs had a long career in acting and voice-over work for television, film and radio. He was successful well into his eighties, with roles in numerous films such as '' Quartet'', and as Ramsay Clegg in '' Coronation Street''.

Early life

Sachs was born in Berlin, Germany, the son of Katharina (née Schrott-Fiecht), a librarian, and Hans Emil Sachs, an insurance broker. His father was Jewish and his mother was Lutheran, with Austrian ancestry. The family moved to Britain in 1938 to escape the Nazis. They settled in north London, and he lived in Kilburn for the rest of his life.

In 1960, Sachs married the actress, writer, and fashion designer Melody Lang, who took his surname. He adopted her two sons from a previous marriage, who became known as John Sachs and William Sachs, and the couple had one daughter, Kate Sachs, in 1961. Lang appeared in one episode of ''Fawlty Towers'', " Basil the Rat", as Mrs. Taylor.

Career

Early work

In the late 1950s, whilst still studying shipping management at college, Sachs worked on radio productions, including ''Private Dreams and Public Nightmares'' by Frederick Bradnum, an early experimental programme made by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Sachs began in acting with repertory theatre and made his West End debut as Grobchick in the 1958 production of the Whitehall farce ''Simple Spymen''. He made his screen debut in 1959 in the film ''The Night We Dropped a Clanger''. He then appeared in numerous television series throughout the 1960s, including some appearances in ITC productions such as ''The Saint'' (1962) and ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' (1969).

''Fawlty Towers''

Sachs is best known for portraying Manuel, the Spanish waiter on the iconic sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' (1975 and 1979), a role for which he was nominated for a BAFTA award (the award went to co-star John Cleese). He claimed in 1981 that Manuel was "really a very small part. In fact there was only one episode of ''Fawlty Towers'' – the one with the hamster – in which I had anything much to do."Sachs quoted in Fred Morony, "13 Fawlty Weeks changed Andrew Sachs's life", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 15 August 1981, p. 41.

Sachs recorded three singles in character as Manuel; the first was "Manuel's Good Food Guide" in 1977, in which he appeared, in character, on the cover. Sachs was co-author of the tracks. This was followed in 1979 by "O Cheryl" with "Ode to England" on the B side, under the name "Manuel and Los Por Favors". Sachs shares the writing credits for the B side with "B. Wade", who also wrote the A side. In 1981, at the urging of Elton John, "Manuel" released a cover version of Joe Dolce's worldwide hit "Shaddap You Face", with "Waiter, there's a Flea in my Soup" on the B side. When finally released it reached 138 in the UK Chart. Dolce prohibited Sachs from releasing his version until the original had been a hit.

He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1980, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while making a personal appearance as Manuel at the HMV store on London's Oxford Street.

Sachs, who had himself experienced life as a 'foreigner' in Britain, denied allegations that the character was based on racist stereotypes, arguing that Manuel could have been any 'foreign' worker.

During the shooting of the ''Fawlty Towers'' episode "The Germans", Sachs was left with second degree acid burns due to a fire stunt. He was also hit with a faulty prop on the set of the show by Cleese and suffered a severe headache.

Voice work and narration

Sachs was frequently heard as a narrator of television and radio documentaries, including all five series of BBC's BAFTA Award-winning business television series '' Troubleshooter'' presented by Sir John Harvey-Jones and ITV's '' ...from Hell'' series. He also narrated several audio books, including C. S. Lewis's Narnia series and Alexander McCall Smith's first online book, ''Corduroy Mansions'', as well as two audiobooks of the popular children's TV series ''Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends'' "Thomas and the Tiger" and "Thomas and the Dinosaur". He provided the voice of Puzzle the Donkey in the Focus on the Family production of ''The Last Battle'' by C. S. Lewis. In 2000, Sachs narrated the spoof documentary series ''That Peter Kay Thing''. He also narrated the documentary series '' Eyewitness'', based on the children's books of the same name.

Sachs performed all the voices in the English-language version of Jan Švankmajer's 1994 film ''Faust''. He also did voices for children's animation, including ''William's Wish Wellingtons'', ''Starhill Ponies'', ''The Gingerbread Man'', '' Little Grey Rabbit'', ''The Forgotten Toys'', ''Asterix and the Big Fight''. and the horse in the English-language version of 1970's cult TV show '' Monkey''.

Roles for radio include G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown, 1984–1986, Dr. John Watson in four series of original Sherlock Holmes stories for BBC Radio 4, Jeeves in ''The Code of the Woosters'', Edmond Dantès in '' The Count of Monte Cristo'' on BBC Radio 7's "Young Classics" series, and Tooley in Neil Gaiman's ''Neverwhere''.

Later work

Although no other role gained him the same attention as Manuel, Sachs continued to star in a range of productions, both comedic and dramatic. In a reversal of his ''Fawlty Towers'' role, he was the hotel manager Don Carlos Bernardo in the 1977 ''Are You Being Served?'' movie, and in 1980 starred in the title role of a four-part BBC adaptation of the H. G. Wells apologised to Sachs and his agent after they had been informed that Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross had made several obscene phone calls to him during an episode of '' The Russell Brand Show'' recorded on 16 October and broadcast two days later, on which Sachs had agreed to appear. Both presenters had left explicit messages on Sachs's telephone answering machine stating that Brand had had sex with his granddaughter, Georgina Baillie.

Gordon Brown, the then Prime Minister, criticised Ross and Brand's actions, saying that it was "clearly inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour", and the television watchdog, Ofcom, launched an inquiry into the matter. Afterwards, Brand and Controller of Radio 2 Lesley Douglas resigned, with Ross soon suspended. In February 2014, Sachs was interviewed by the BBC about his autobiography. He spoke of how the scandal still affected him.

Illness and death

Sachs was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2012, which eventually left him unable to speak and forced him to use a wheelchair. He died on 23 November 2016 at the Denville Hall nursing home in Northwood, London. His funeral took place on 1 December, the same day his death was publicly announced. Melody Sachs died the following year.

On 2 December 2016, BBC One broadcast the ''Fawlty Towers'' episode "Communication Problems" in his memory. John Cleese paid tribute to Sachs, describing him as a "sweet, sweet man".

Legacy

In July 2021 the BBC Two television series ''Secrets of the Museum'' featured the conservation and installation of the waiter's white outfit, worn by the Manuel character in ''Fawlty Towers'', which had been donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum by his daughter Kate, as part of the museum's permanent costume exhibition.

Selected filmography

Books

*2015, ''I Know Nothing! The Autobiography'', The Robson Press, (shortlisted for The Sheridan Morley Prize, 2015)

References

External links

*
Radio Plays by Andrew SachsImperial War Museum InterviewObituary: Andrew Sachs
From BBC News
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sachs, Andrew
1930 births
2016 deaths
20th-century British male actors
21st-century British male actors
Audiobook narrators
British male comedy actors
British male film actors
British male radio actors
British male stage actors
British male television actors
British male voice actors
British people of Austrian descent
British people of German-Jewish descent
Deaths from dementia in England
Deaths from vascular dementia
German emigrants to England
German people of Austrian descent
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom
Male actors from Berlin
People educated at William Ellis School
People from Kilburn, London