Actor and campaigner Brian Rix dies aged 92

[dutchman]

Actor and disability campaigner Lord Rix has died aged 92, his family said.



As Brian Rix, he performed on stage and TV, specialising in a series of post-war "Whitehall farce" comedies.

For more than 30 years his farces, which starred the likes of comic greats Tommy Cooper and Sid James, were hits on TV and stage, and earned Rix the reputation for his trousers always falling down.

It was after his eldest daughter was born in 1951 with Down's syndrome that he begun campaigning for people with learning disabilities.

From 1980 to 1988 he was secretary general of Mencap, becoming chairman in 1988 and then president 10 years later - a role he occupied until his death.

Rix quit performing in 1977, bowing out during an emotional evening at the Whitehall where he ended a period of 26 years of live performances, both at the Whitehall and at the Garrick to which he had transferred his productions in 1967.

He was still a partner in a production company which put on a number of hit shows in the West End.