Fred Feast
SoapSpurts
281646 JUN 99
By Jackie Burdon, Showbusiness Correspondent, PA News
Actor Fred Feast, who played Coronation Street cellarman Fred Gee for nearly a
decade, has died, his family disclosed today. He was 69.
Mr Feast died in a Bridlington hospital on Friday after a long illness, his
wife Kathleen said from their Scarborough home.
"We're going to miss him," she said. "He filled the house.
"He passed away peacefully with his family around him."
Cast members paid tribute today to the glum-faced actor who was Annie Walker's
foil behind the Rovers bar for nine years.
"Fred was always full of life. He enjoyed life to the full," said Bill Roache,
who plays Ken Barlow.
"Even though I hadn't seen him for some time, I can still feel the loss."
Liz Dawn, former Rovers' landlady Vera Duckworth, said: "I visited him in
hospital a while ago and wanted to visit him again, but unfortunately he was
not well enough. It is very sad."
Meg Johnson, who plays Eunice, his wife of just six months in 1981, said: "He
was a joy to work with. The scenes we did were hilarious.
"Although I haven't seen Fred for some time, it is terribly sad that he is no
longer with us."
His most recent role was as pigeon-fancying Arthur in hit British film Little
Voice, which was set in Scarborough.
Mr Feast left the top-rating Granada soap in 1984 because of overwork and
stress, and months later found he had cancer of the throat.
But the character was only finally killed off in January this year, when his
on-screen ex-wife Eunice, disclosed his death.
He was cleared of the cancer after an operation and six years of treatment, and
his last illness involved major abdominal surgery.
Mr Feast was an RAF paratroop instructor before he went into showbusiness.
He was a stand-up comic at the Windmill Theatre alongside Bruce Forsyth.
Acting roles followed in Nearest And Dearest, Soldier and Me, and Another
Sunday and Sweet FA.
He also appeared in the films The Red Beret and All Creatures Great And Small.
Fred Gee first appeared on the Street in 1976 after the death of his wife Edna
in a warehouse fire. He became Annie Walker's driver and servant as well as
cellarman.
One of his most memorable storylines was when he got a wig, for which he was
roundly ridiculed by all the Rovers regulars.
In 1981 Fred Gee married Eunice Nuttall to try to increase his chances of
getting his own pub.
But his hopes were scuppered when she turned out to have stolen from the till
in a pub where she previously worked ... and after six months she ran off with
a local councillor.
After his illness, Mr Feast hoped that Coronation Street might offer him the
chance to return, but the call never came.
He had been in hospital, both in Scarborough and Bridlington, for the last
year.
Mr Feast and his wife were married for 44 years and have three daughters and
three grandchildren.
His funeral will be held next Thursday.
Jennifer Nicol
Joseph Wibben wrote:
> On 28 Jun 1999 15:49:32 GMT, soaps...@aol.com (SoapSpurts) wrote:
>
> <statement of Fred愀 death snipped>
>
> RIP - he shall be remembered as a good actor, and celllarman
> extraordinnaire..
>
> Just the thought of Fred G. driving Mrs. Walker愀 car into a lake,
> along with the facial expressions of those who were in the car: I
> shall remember him by that..
>
> Josef
> (from Muenster, Germany)
Thanks for saying what I was about to say, Josef. I really did enjoy
Fred. He played a good part especially with Doris Speed (Annie Walker).
When I saw the note of his passing I immediately pictured the Rover car
in the lake!!.
Jenny Nicol
Nigel Morgan
<ni...@sprint.ca> writes
Indeed, and I shall never forget Mrs Walker's despairing cry of "Fred,
Fred!"
Nigel
Please visit our website at: http://www.fintco.demon.co.uk/siblets
Paul
>Just the thought of Fred G. driving Mrs. Walker愀 car into a lake,
>along with the facial expressions of those who were in the car: I
>shall remember him by that..
By coincidence that episode has just been transmitted by Granada Plus as
part of their normal 1983 repeats. I had forgotten how funny it was to see
the Rover roll into the lake with Bet Lynch and Betty Turpin still sitting
inside, and even funnier to see Fred Gee rescue Bet Lynch by giving her a
piggy-back to dry land and accidentally plant her down onto a cow pat....
Classic Coronation Street comedy!
Regards