David Croft, co-writer and producer of classic comedies including ‘Allo ‘Allo and Hi-de-Hi has died at the age of 89. He died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Portugal. His family called him a “truly great man” in a statement.
Croft’s military sitcoms It Ain’t Half Hot Mum and Dad’s Army, written with Jimmy Perry, were hits in the 1970s. He is also credited with Are You Being Served and its 1990s spin-off Grace and Favour.
Croft, who was awarded an OBE in 1978 for services to television, worked alongside Jeremy Lloyd on both the department store sitcom and ‘Allo ‘Allo, which was set in Nazi-occupied France. All of his hits were produced for the BBC, the last being Oh Doctor Beeching in 1993 before he retired from the corporation.
via BBC
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.
