LANCE PERCIVAL DIES AGED 81 (VOICE FOR PAUL AND RINGO IN THE 60s CARTOON)

Lance Percival appeared in a number of BBC shows including The Mate Market

Actor Lance Percival, who starred in British hit comedy in Up Pompeii, has died at the age of 81.

Among his notable film roles were Carry On Cruising, Postman's Knock and Darling Lili.

On TV, he appeared in the late '70s series Shoestring and Citizen James. 

He also provided the voice for both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the 1960s cartoon The Beatles.

Born John Lancelot Blades, he died on 6 January following a long illness. 

His TV career began performing satirical calypso songs on comedy shows such as the That Was The Week That Was.

He was later given his own series, The Lance Percival Show and Lance at Large, a 1964 sitcom which also featured Bernard Bresslaw, Gladys Bacon and Eric Barker.

His love of calypso music also saw him release a cover version of Shame and Scandal (in the Family), which reached number 37 in the UK charts in 1965.

Following on from voicing roles in The Beatles cartoon, he went on to be cast as Old Fred in the band's surreal Yellow Submarine animated film.

Lance Percival, photo by Steve
Cowgill

 

In the 1971 film version of Up Pompeii, which followed on from Frankie Howerd's TV series, Percival starred as Bilius. He also appeared in the sequels, Up the Chastity Belt and Up the Front, which moved the action to World War One.Later roles included a stint in the shortlived 1989 BBC children's drama Bluebirds, which also starred Barbara Windsor and a young Martine McCutcheon.

His son Jamie told BBC News: "When he spoke about his showbiz life, he spoke fondly of his time on That Was the Week That Was, and he always loved Ned Sherrin, who discovered him performing at the Blue Angel Club. "He was an amazing dad. He was involved in my life right up to the present day. He came to every rugby game I was in, and we watched sports together, and we held Ryder Cup parties."He was loved by all his family and will be very much missed."

Percival's funeral will be held on 20 January at Putney Vale Crematorium