Felix Dexter (26 July 1961
Retrieved 22 October 2013 – 18 October 2013) was a

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

-born British actor, comedian, and writer.

Early life

Dexter was born in

, in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, then a colony of the United Kingdom. He moved to

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

with his family at the age of seven. He studied law at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' Obituary, 21 October 2013, p. 50. and began training as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, before embarking on a career in comedy. He began by touring late-night comedy venues, including Jongleurs club in London and

The Comedy Store (London) The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England, opened in 1979 by Don Ward and Peter Rosengard.The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking world to mean "the real thing" or "the genuine article", e.g. "he's the real McCoy". The phrase has been the subject of numerous false etymologies. History The phr ...

''; which was initially based on a stage show Dexter performed at the Hackney Empire Theatre.

Television

After ''The Real McCoy'', a pilot sketch show ''Felix Dexter On TV'' was broadcast in September 1995 as part of the ''Comic Asides'' series. He wrote and starred in the sitcom pilot ''Douglas'' broadcast in 1996. Neither pilot was picked up for series, despite positive reception. He appeared on '' Have I Got News For You'' in 1996 and later became one of the regular performers on the later series of

The Fast Show ''The Fast Show'', known as ''Brilliant'' in the US, is a BBC comedy sketch show that ran from 1994 to 1997, with specials in 2000 and 2014. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams (actor), M ...

. He also appeared in ''

Citizen Khan ''Citizen Khan'' is a British sitcom produced by the BBC and created by Adil Ray. Five series have been shown so far. It is set in Sparkhill, South Birmingham, described by its lead character, a British Pakistani man Mr Khan (Ray), as "the capita ...

'', which first aired in 2012, as Omar, a Somali Muslim who works at a mosque in

Sparkhill Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook. Historically part of Worcestershire, Sparkhill once existed as a rural area with its main industry being agriculture until the 18 ...

, Birmingham. The second series of the show aired in October 2013. He also starred in ''

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...

'' as John, the father of Saffron's baby. Dexter had also voiced Francis in ''

Crapston Villas ''Crapston Villas'' was a British animated television series, written, created and directed by Sarah Ann Kennedy, in which the characters were made from plasticine and filmed with stop motion clay animation. It was a comedy satire on inner-city ...

'', an adult animated sitcom

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, which was produced in the 1990s.

Radio

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

he featured in the satirical spoof radio phone-in show '' Down the Line'', ''The

Simon Day Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show ''The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''. Career Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning t ...

Show'', and starred in the dramatisation of ''Delete This at Your Peril'' part of '' The Bob Servant Emails'', written by

Neil Forsyth Neil Forsyth (born 1978) is a Scottish author, television writer and journalist. Early life Forsyth grew up in Dundee, Scotland where he attended the High School of Dundee and his first writing appeared in a Dundee United fanzine. He gradu ...

BBC Radio 4, ''You and Yours'', 17 December 2010, ''The Bob Servant Emails'' at 26 mins
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Death

Dexter died on 18 October 2013. He had been suffering from

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

. On 17 November 2013,

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

television broadcast a 30-minute retrospective programme called ''Respect: A Felix Dexter Special'', featuring tributes from friends and colleagues. His fellow cast members from BBC Radio 4's ''Down the Line'' broadcast a special edition titled '' A Tribute to Felix Dexter'' on 23 December 2013.

Legacy

In 2014 Dexter was posthumously given Screen Nation's Edric Connor Inspiration Award."The Winners – 2014 Awards"
, Screen Nation.

References

External links

* *

profile at chortle.co.uk
"Remembering Felix: friends pay tribute – London"

Judith Jacob Judith Jacob (born 13 December 1961) is a British actress best known for her role as the health visitor Carmel Roberts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role she played from 1986 to 1989.Angie Le Mar Angie Le Mar (born 27 October 1965) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director, presenter and producer. Le Mar is married with three children. Early life Born in Lewisham, London, of Jamaican parentage, she grew up with four older brother ...

interviewed on ''Dotun on Sunday'', BBC London, 23 October 2013 * https://www.felixdexterfoundation.org/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Dexter, Felix 1961 births 2013 deaths Black British male actors Black British male comedians English comedy writers English male stage actors English stand-up comedians English male television actors Male actors from London Alumni of University College London Saint Kitts and Nevis emigrants to the United Kingdom Deaths from multiple myeloma Deaths from cancer in India People from Surrey