As well as his starring role in the frequently controversial BBC sitcom, where he played outspoken dockyard worker Alf, Warren Mitchell was famous for his successful stage career.
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The news of his passing was revealed by his great nephew Jerry Barnett on Twitter before being confirmed in a family statement and Jerry has spoken out about what a “very amusing man” Warren was.
He told Mirror.co.uk: “He was a wonderful and very amusing man who always had the family in stitches with laughter”.
“He has been in poor health for a few time, but was cracking jokes to the last”, the family added.
‘Opinionated male chauvinistic pig at times, I suppose, ‘ said Mitchell, who was married to his wife Constance, for six decades and had two daughters and one son with her. ‘As my wife Connie once said to me, “You are like that very bad Alf Garnett, only he’s amusing and you’re not”‘.
Sometimes the satire of the show was lost because people regarded Garnett as a loveable old rogue whose views were quite acceptable.
Born in north London’s Stoke Newington, he served in the Royal Air Force and then went on to read physics at University College, Oxford.
After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Mitchell worked steadily throughout the 1950s and early 1960s with roles in the likes of the BBC’s Requiem for a Heavyweight, Manuela, Carry On Cleo and Help!, but his big breakthrough came in 1965 when he was cast as Alf Garnett.
Off-screen, Mitchell was an ardent Tottenham Hotspur supporter, but his character Garnett was a West Ham United fan.
Mitchell suffered a mild stroke in 2004 during the run of The Price but returned after just a week off. There were also performances in The Sweeney, Lovejoy (BBC), Waking the Dead (BBC), Kavanagh QC.
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He is survived by his wife and their three children.
