Only Fools and Horses Legend John Sullivan - RIP

[Ed De Gramo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13176198

The showbiz world has been robbed of another legend :boo hoo::boo hoo:

[Sir David Gray]

I just noticed this on the BBC website and was just away to start a thread on it.

I'm sad to hear of John Sullivan's passing, especially since he was only 64 years old.

As far as I'm concerned, he put together the greatest comedy that Britain has ever seen and is ever likely to see. It is almost impossible to imagine any sitcom coming close to Only Fools and Horses in terms of its popularity. Over 24 million people watched the 1996 Christmas special 'Time On Our Hands', those kinds of viewing figures for a sitcom would be unheard of now.

It is hard to describe how funny Only Fools actually was (and still is) as its humour is completely timeless and, unlike many of the comedies that are made nowadays, it was never crude.

I never get tired of watching the repeats on G.O.L.D. and that scene with Del Boy falling through the bar will be forever remembered as one of the funniest things that has ever been on television.

There will never be another Only Fools and Horses and there will never be another John Sullivan.

May he rest in peace.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Sad to hear. The man was a comedy genius.

[.Sean.]

I've just started the very same thread on the private forum.

I'm gutted, genuinely. I've every single episode on DVD and i'm familiar with the majority word for word. Downheartening news to hear when you wake on a Saturday. RIP John.

[Elephant Stone]

Sad news. Only Fools is easily my favorite program ever, he must have had some talent. RIP.

[heidtheba]

RIP John

Glad to see respects being paid to a true genius. What made him so fantastic, IMHO, was not his ability to make people laugh, but his ability to include some of the most touching moments I remember on TV, ones where I'm not ashamed to say brought a tear to my eye. Some notables include
- Del faking a lift problem so that Rod opens up about Cassandra's misscarriage
- Rod telling Del that his baby was to be called after the lads mother - gets me every time
- Grandads funeral - truly touching and the bit with the wrong hat was a masterstroke

John should have been given something in New Years honours lists - if people can feel aggrieved that Bruce Forsyth is due one then Mr Sullivan certainly was.

Thanks for the memories John.

[Jonnyboy]

I just noticed this on the BBC website and was just away to start a thread on it.

I'm sad to hear of John Sullivan's passing, especially since he was only 64 years old.

As far as I'm concerned, he put together the greatest comedy that Britain has ever seen and is ever likely to see. It is almost impossible to imagine any sitcom coming close to Only Fools and Horses in terms of its popularity. Over 24 million people watched the 1996 Christmas special 'Time On Our Hands', those kinds of viewing figures for a sitcom would be unheard of now.

It is hard to describe how funny Only Fools actually was (and still is) as its humour is completely timeless and, unlike many of the comedies that are made nowadays, it was never crude.

I never get tired of watching the repeats on G.O.L.D. and that scene with Del Boy falling through the bar will be forever remembered as one of the funniest things that has ever been on television.

There will never be another Only Fools and Horses and there will never be another John Sullivan.

May he rest in peace.


RIP John

Glad to see respects being paid to a true genius. What made him so fantastic, IMHO, was not his ability to make people laugh, but his ability to include some of the most touching moments I remember on TV, ones where I'm not ashamed to say brought a tear to my eye. Some notables include
- Del faking a lift problem so that Rod opens up about Cassandra's misscarriage
- Rod telling Del that his baby was to be called after the lads mother - gets me every time
- Grandads funeral - truly touching and the bit with the wrong hat was a masterstroke

John should have been given something in New Years honours lists - if people can feel aggrieved that Bruce Forsyth is due one then Mr Sullivan certainly was.

Thanks for the memories John.

You guys have summed it up perfectly.

JS was a master of his craft and may he rest in peace

[essexhibee]

RIP John

Glad to see respects being paid to a true genius. What made him so fantastic, IMHO, was not his ability to make people laugh, but his ability to include some of the most touching moments I remember on TV, ones where I'm not ashamed to say brought a tear to my eye. Some notables include
- Del faking a lift problem so that Rod opens up about Cassandra's misscarriage
- Rod telling Del that his baby was to be called after the lads mother - gets me every time
- Grandads funeral - truly touching and the bit with the wrong hat was a masterstroke

John should have been given something in New Years honours lists - if people can feel aggrieved that Bruce Forsyth is due one then Mr Sullivan certainly was.

Thanks for the memories John.

Wonderful post.

I will never forget the moment when Del and Rodney are back in the flat and Rodney says he had got over grandads death easily. The response from dels character was truly touching and brilliantly scripted.

R.I.P John. Absolutely gutted and I agree with above that it has saddened my say.

[essexhibee]

I just noticed this on the BBC website and was just away to start a thread on it.

I'm sad to hear of John Sullivan's passing, especially since he was only 64 years old.

As far as I'm concerned, he put together the greatest comedy that Britain has ever seen and is ever likely to see. It is almost impossible to imagine any sitcom coming close to Only Fools and Horses in terms of its popularity. Over 24 million people watched the 1996 Christmas special 'Time On Our Hands', those kinds of viewing figures for a sitcom would be unheard of now.

It is hard to describe how funny Only Fools actually was (and still is) as its humour is completely timeless and, unlike many of the comedies that are made nowadays, it was never crude.

I never get tired of watching the repeats on G.O.L.D. and that scene with Del Boy falling through the bar will be forever remembered as one of the funniest things that has ever been on television.

There will never be another Only Fools and Horses and there will never be another John Sullivan.

May he rest in peace.

Fantastic post.

[Hermit Crab]

Legend - RIP John. Time to dig out all the DVDs of only fools to watch to cheer me up.:not worth

[AFKA5814_Hibs]

Never, ever tire of watching Only Fools and Horses, the best British comedy of all time IMO, from the early episodes with Grandad right through to the last episodes they made, always guaranteed to laugh out loud.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Wonderful post.

I will never forget the moment when Del and Rodney are back in the flat and Rodney says he had got over grandads death easily. The response from dels character was truly touching and brilliantly scripted.

R.I.P John. Absolutely gutted and I agree with above that it has saddened my say.

That scene you refer to after the funeral always brings a tear to my eye, Sullivans writing and David Jasons acting was a match made in heaven. Always found the speach Del makes to Damien when he is standing with him in his arms in the hospital when he was just born very moving too.

Grandad talking about watching the soldiers returning from war in the fallout shelter is another one!

I'll leave it at that or could be here all night!

[Sir David Gray]

That scene you refer to after the funeral always brings a tear to my eye, Sullivans writing and David Jasons acting was a match made in heaven. Always found the speach Del makes to Damien when he is standing with him in his arms in the hospital when he was just born very moving too.

Grandad talking about watching the soldiers returning from war in the fallout shelter is another one!

I'll leave it at that or could be here all night!

You're absolutely right, there's so many moments in Only Fools and Horses that could be described as being "genuinely great" that it would simply not be possible to list them all in one night and do them all the justice that they deserve at the same time.

John Sullivan's ability to turn the most tragic of scenes into a comedy moment in the space of one line was one of Only Fools and Horses' greatest strengths.

One of my personal favourites as an example of this ability was a scene from the episode 'Modern Men' when Del and Rodney go to visit Cassandra in the hospital after she had just suffered a miscarriage.

As Rodney is trying to comfort Cassandra, Del is sobbing away in the background. Rodney is trying to gently persuade Del to leave the room so he and Cassandra can have a heart-to-heart.

Rodney-This might be a good time for us to be on our own, to discuss a few things.

Del-Yes, I think you're right bruv'...Cassandra, me and Rodney are just going outside for a little chat.

Another couple of favourites of mine involved Trigger.

The first is from the episode 'Three Men, a Woman and a Baby' when there is a contest in the pub to guess the name of Del's baby, which is due to be born. Trigger is on the lookout to find out any clues.

He asks Rodney if Del's thought on any names yet and Rodney tells him;

"If it's a girl, they're going to name it Sigourney after the actress, Sigourney Weaver."

Trigger-"And what if it's a boy?"

Rodney-"Well if it's a boy, they're going to name it Rodney."

Trigger-"Yeah, who after?"

Rodney-"After me, Trig."

He then tells Mike;

"If it's a girl, they're going to name it Sigourney after an actress and if it's a boy, they're naming it Rodney...after Dave!"

:faf:

Then in the episode 'Mother Nature's Son', when Del is instructed by the council to remove a hazardous chemical from his allotment, he gets a loan of Denzil's van to transport it and Trigger goes with them because he says that he will be able to get them access to a waste disposal depot, which he says is open 24 hours a day. As they arrive, they find that it is closed...

Denzil-It's closed!

Trigger-Well it is a bit late, innit!?

Del-What d'ya mean "a bit late"? You said it was open 24 hours a day!

Trigger-Yeah, but not at night!

:faf:

Absolutely classic and it's comedy of the very highest standard. :agree:

[.Sean.]

I'm currently watching the utterly fabulous Jolly Boys Outing. Testament to the publics love of Sullivan will be this Thursdays viewing figures of Rock & Chips.

[.Sean.]

I think his genius can be summed up with his creation of Trigger:

'Del knows what he's talking about - and I don't see what the Beatles' manager has to do with it.'

That and the 'Mozart - karaoke version' has me laughing out loud every time without fail.

However, by far and away his finest hour was writing the episode that featured Raquel and Tony, the singing dustman. Sublime almost covers it.

[Leicester Fan]

Not just Only Fools and Horses he also wrote Citizen Smith, Dear John and Just good friends.
Probably carried on writing longer than he should have but he's left us a great legacy of laughs.

[Sir David Gray]

I think his genius can be summed up with his creation of Trigger:

'Del knows what he's talking about - and I don't see what the Beatles' manager has to do with it.'

That and the 'Mozart - karaoke version' has me laughing out loud every time without fail.

However, by far and away his finest hour was writing the episode that featured Raquel and Tony, the singing dustman. Sublime almost covers it.

The character of Trigger was quite simply pure genius.

I remember watching a programme on Only Fools and Horses and when John Sullivan was being interviewed, he said that although you could probably include all of Trigger's scripts on one page, every single thing that he says is just absolutely hilarious.

The actors that Sullivan got to portray his characters were spot on as well. Roger Lloyd Pack was absolutely perfect for the role of Trigger as he displayed that gormless look so well.

I know Jim Broadbent was initially earmarked for the role of Del Boy, before turning it down, but David Jason was simply brilliant in this role. He potrayed the "wide boy" image brilliantly

Although it's easy to say this now, I just don't think that Only Fools and Horses would have been half as successful as it was, without these actors being cast in these roles.

Sullivan got his cast absolutely bang on the money and it just gave Only Fools and Horses all the ingredients you need to having the closest thing you can get to the perfect comedy.

[ArabHibee]

Not just Only Fools and Horses he also wrote Citizen Smith, Dear John and Just good friends.
Probably carried on writing longer than he should have but he's left us a great legacy of laughs.
:agree:

[PeeJay]

Sullivan got his cast absolutely bang on the money and it just gave Only Fools and Horses all the ingredients you need to having the closest thing you can get to the perfect comedy.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember seeing Sullivan (on DVD) saying that originally he didn't actually want Jason to play Dell Boy, but someone else...

... never saw any OFAH until I bought the boxed set a couple of years ago; it was interesting watching how things developed from Episode 1 all the way up to the end...

Thought the Batman and Robin episode was brilliant.

Sullivan was an inspired writer and 64 is far too young an age to move on!

[heretoday]

Only Fools and Horses is one of those shows that grows on you as you get older.

It's not unlike Laurel and Hardy in that respect. You start to laugh more at the inevitability of things not going to plan!

I didn't like it when it was current as David Jason isn't a favourite but that's just me.

[Phil D. Rolls]

So farewell then John Sullivan
Some people say you were a legend
But I think you were a real man
That understood real things
You plonker
Yes that was one of your catchphrases
But you certainly were not

Rodney Trotter age 14

[seanraff07]

RIP John. Always been a fan of Only Fools and Horses, may watch a few episodes tonight actually.

[Sir David Gray]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember seeing Sullivan (on DVD) saying that originally he didn't actually want Jason to play Dell Boy, but someone else...

... never saw any OFAH until I bought the boxed set a couple of years ago; it was interesting watching how things developed from Episode 1 all the way up to the end...

Thought the Batman and Robin episode was brilliant.

Sullivan was an inspired writer and 64 is far too young an age to move on!

I think you're correct about David Jason. I believe Jim Broadbent was lined up for the role of Del Boy before he pulled out at the last minute.

Sullivan then turned to David Jason and the rest, as they say, is history.

I started watching Only Fools probably about seven or eight years ago and I bought the DVD boxset about three years later.

I always check out the scheduling for GOLD on Sky each day to see if an episode is on and if it is, I almost always watch it. I love when they have an Only Fools weekend special.

It may be wrong of me to do this but any time I watch another comedy, I always compare it to Only Fools and I think that's maybe why I struggle to laugh at much else, although I like bits and pieces from other comedies, such as Fawlty Towers.

You're absolutely right about the Batman & Robin episode. Not only was the actual scenes where Del and Rodney were dressed up as Batman and Robin absolutely brilliant, but this episode also contained one of the funniest moments in the entire Only Fools series.

I'm talking about the scene where Trigger is talking about his award for services to roadsweeping and he pays tribute to the broom that he has had over the past 20 years;

Trigger-20 years. That's a long time, Dave.

Rodney-Yeah. Well it's two decades, innit?

Trigger-Well I wouldn't go that far but it's a long time!

:faf:

Then Del Boy, sceptical about Trigger's claim that he's had the same broom for 20 years, questions if he's actually swept any roads with it;

Trigger-Course! But I look after it well. We have an old saying that's been handed down by generations of roadsweepers - "Look after your broom."

Rodney-"...And your broom will look after you"?

Trigger-No, Dave. It's just "Look after your broom."

Rodney-Oh that old saying (?)

Trigger-Yeah. And that's what I've done for 20 years. This old broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.

Sid-How the Hell can it be the same bloody broom then?

Trigger-Well here's a picture of it! What more proof do you need?

:faf:

So simple and yet so brilliant. :agree:

I also watched the top 40 moments of Only Fools and Horses today and I was reminded of another moment that is just really superb.

After calling Rodney "Dave" for the umpteenth time, Rodney finally decides to ask Trigger outright about this;

Rodney-Trig. Why do you call me Dave? My name's not Dave, my name's Rodney.

Trigger-I thought it was Dave!

Rodney-No, it's Rodney!

Trigger-Are you sure!?

Rodney-Yeah, I'm positive! I've looked it up on me birth certificate and me passport and everything. It is definitely Rodney!

Trigger-Oh well, you live and learn!
So what's Dave, a nickname, like?

Rodney-No!!! You're the only one who calls me Dave! Everybody else calls me Rodney. And the reason they call me Rodney is because Rodney is my name!

Trigger-Oh well. I shall have to get used to calling you Rodney.
Hear, Basil. Are you going to get this meeting started? Me and Dave ain't got all night!

Rodney-Rodney!!!

Trigger-Yeah, yeah...!

:faf: