John Inman: 1935-2007
Thursday, 29 March 2007 | 17:50John Inman played the inimitable Mr. Humphries on the BBC’s long-running britcom Are You Being Served?, which is perhaps my favourite television series. While Humphries was his most popular character (also reprised years later in the spinoff series Grace And Favour (called Are You Being Served – Again? in North America), Inman was first and foremost an accomplished stage actor, and he continued working in pantomimes in Britain up until he fell ill in late 2004. However, it was his work as the camp and sexually ambiguous Mr. Wilberforce Claiborne Humphries that won him admirers the world over. Are You Being Served? enjoyed audiences of 22 million viewers at its peak in the 1970s, largely due to the charming and effervescent personality of John Inman. His catchphrase, which became as iconic as his character, was “I’m free!”, delivered in a sing-song falsetto.
Above are just two short clips featuring John Inman in Are You Being Served?, which ran from 1972-1985. (Also featured are Trevor Bannister, playing young Mr. Lucas, and Arthur Brough, playing the grumpy old Mr. Grainger.) I have repeatedly watched all 69 episodes, and have committed to memory much of the dialogue. The series takes place in the fictional Grace Brothers Department Store in London, and the cast of characters are the various sales assistants and managers. The humour is both crass and innocent, balancing both crude double entendres and witty repartee. Poking fun at the British class system is a central theme of the series, and each episode features a different member of the ensemble cast. The storylines are hilarious, if somewhat predictable, and one can tell that the actors are genuinely enjoying themselves on the stage – which is always a pleasure to see.
John Inman died as a result of complications of Hepatitis A, on March 8th, the day I left for Paris; but as I didn’t watch any news while I was away, I didn’t find out about his death until the day I arrived back in Canada. His funeral was held on Friday, March 23rd, in London.
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