Laugh-In's Alan Sues Dies at 85
Alan Sues
Laugh-In regular Alan Sues has died. He was 85.
Sues died Thursday night while watching television at his home in West Hollywood, his longtime friend Michael Gregg Michaud told the Los Angeles Times.
"He had been in failing health the last couple of years, but it was nothing you could put your finger on; just old age," Michaud said. "Mentally, he was funny and 'on' as usual. He was a delightfully funny man, with a wonderful career that spanned six decades."
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Born and raised in California, Sues studied theater and made his Broadway debut in Elia Kazan's Tea and Sympathy in 1953. He then joined the improv group The Mad Show, which led to his Laugh-In casting.
During his run on the show from 1968 to 1972, Sues was noted for playing loud, flamboyant and clownish characters, including Big Al, an effeminate sportscaster obsessed with ringing a bell, and Uncle Al the Kiddies' Pal, an unendingly drunk children's entertainer.
Outside of Laugh-In, Sues appeared in such TV shows as The Wild, Wild West and The Twilight Zone, in the memorable episode "The Masks," in which a wealthy old man forces his greedy heirs to wear masks at a party or else be cut off from their inheritance.
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His film credits include Move Over, Darling and The Americanization of Emily.
In the '90s, Sues toured for four years with Singin' in the Rain, playing the Elocution Instructor.
Sues is survived by his ex-wife, Phyllis Sues, to whom he was married from 1953 to 1958.