British Actor Richard O'Sullivan Dies Aged 82

Richard O'Sullivan, the actor best known for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms Man About the House and Robin's Nest, has died at the age of 82. The Royal Variety Charity announced that O'Sullivan died peacefully surrounded by his close family at Brinsworth House, the charity's care home in west London where he had resided for 23 years.

O'Sullivan's career began as a child actor in the 1950s, appearing in The Yellow Balloon in 1953 and a production of Love's Labour's Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1956. His early film work included roles in The Young Ones and Wonderful Life alongside Sir Cliff Richard, as well as a role as Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII in the 1963 film Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

He gained widespread fame in Man About the House, which ran for six series starting in 1973. The show featured a plot where a man shared a London flat with two single women, a premise described as daring for the era. To avoid disapproval from their landlords, the characters claimed that O'Sullivan's character was gay. O'Sullivan also starred in the series Dick Turpin from 1979 to 1982 and the 1980s sitcom Me and My Girl.

Giles Cooper of the Royal Variety Charity described O'Sullivan as a master of effortless charm and a true giant of British television. The actor's son, James O'Sullivan, praised his father as being as funny and charming in real life as he was on screen, while thanking the staff at Brinsworth House for their care.