Air Farce star was ‘a wicked wit’
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2011 (5627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TORONTO — Canadian actor and comedian Roger Abbott, best known for his role on the Royal Canadian Air Farce, has died after a 14-year battle with leukemia. He was 64.
One of his closest friends and co-stars said Abbott died Saturday night at Toronto General Hospital.
“Today’s a tough day, I lost a best friend and my business partner,” said Don Ferguson, who called Abbott a “guiding light” on Air Farce, which began in 1973.
Abbott was first diagnosed with leukemia in 1997 but kept his illness a secret from all but a few close friends and relatives until recently because he didn’t want any special treatment. “He didn’t want it to be a distraction,” said Ferguson. “He was a private person.”
Ferguson, who had been friends with Abbott since they were 13-year-old schoolboys, said the actor had a “wicked wit” on and off the screen.
“There were things he said about people that were bang-on,” he said with a chuckle. “He also had the ability to make an insult sound like a compliment.”
Despite his biting tongue, Abbott, who was a confirmed bachelor, never lacked company.
“He lived alone but he was never lonely,” said Ferguson, adding that Abbott was very close to his friends, his sister and her family.
Abbott was born in Birkenhead, England, and later lived in Montreal and Toronto.
He played a number of characters on Air Farce, including former prime minister Jean Chrétien, former U.S. president George W. Bush and the CBC’s Peter Mansbridge.
“That was part of the fun of Air Farce. We never tried to do perfect impersonations, we tried to do caricatures,” said Ferguson.
CBC, which broadcast Abbott’s show for years, said the comedian was “at the very heart” of the network’s family.
Ferguson echoed her sentiment.
“Like all his friends, I just wish he was still here,” he said. “He’s going to leave a big hole in the lives of everyone who knew him.”
A memorial to celebrate Abbott’s life is being planned.
— The Canadian Press
