BRITISH comedy has produced many classic sitcoms in its time – none more so than On The Buses.
The ITV show aired from 1969 until 1973 and followed the antics of drivers and other staff at a bus depot in the Home Counties.
While the show brought plenty of laughs and spawned spin-off shows, the real life experiences of some of the cast members was sadly more tragic.
Anna Karen
Anna played Olive in On The Buses in all seven series of the sitcom.
She continued to act and appeared in EastEnders as Aunt Sal, sister of Peggy Mitchell, played by Barbara Windsor, who became her lifelong friend.
Anna was married to actor and comedian Terry Duggan from 1967 until his death in 2008.
The actress tragically died in a fire at her home in Ilford, London on February 22.
Three fire engines and 20 firefighters rushed to the scene on Windsor Road, shortly after 10.30pm
It took the crew less than hour to get the fire on the ground floor of the terrace house under control.
However, despite their best efforts, Anna died at the scene at the age of 85.
Stephen Lewis
Stephen played Inspector Cyril “Blakey” Blake, the arch-enemy of the conductors played by Reg Varney and Bob Grant.
Stephen appeared in the three On The Buses spin off films and series, Don’t Drink the Water.
In the 1990s he regularly appeared on The Generation Game alongside his longest ever role as Clem “Smiler” Hemingway in the BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.
He played the role until he was forced to leave the programme due to ill health and he passed away at the age of 88 in 2015 at the Cambridge Nursing Home, in Wanstead.
Reg Varney
Actor Reg was cast as conductor Stan Butler but left midway through the last series in the hope of moving into films.
However it didn’t really work out that way and in later life he toured the world on cruise ships as an entertainer.
Reg’s health took a turn in later life and while he survived two heart attacks and a stroke, he died in 2008 aged 92 in a nursing home following a chest infection.
Bob Grant
Cheeky bus conductor Jack Harper was played by Bob Grant, but in the years that followed the sitcom he felt typecast and struggled to get other roles.
In the 1980s he made the first attempt to take his own life as he battled depression, before a second failed attempt in 1995.
Despite moving to Gloucestershire for a fresh start with wife Kim, mounting bills and continued mental health problems lead to Bob making a third and final attempt to end his life in 2003.
He died aged 71.
Doris Hare
Doris took over the role of ‘Stan’s mum’ from the second series.
The actress had appeared on the West End and with the Royal Shakespeare Company before her time on the sitcom and had just turned down the role of Ena Sharples in Coronation Street.
She continued to act in the 1970s and 80s and her final screen role was in 1994’s Second Best.
Doris passed away aged 95 at the Middlesex based actor’s retirement home, Denville Hall in 2000.
Michael Robbins
Michael played the misogynistic Arthur Rudge, Olive’s husband.
After On The Buses, he continued to act with small roles in shows including Minder, One Foot in the Grave and Dempsey and Makepeace.
Sadly, Michael died of prostate cancer at his home in Surrey in 1992, aged 62.
