Reg Varney has taken his last bus ride
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:13 amLONDON (AP) — Reg Varney, a comic actor who played a cheery Cockney bus driver in British sitcom "On the Buses," died Sunday, his daughter said. He was 92.
Daughter Jeanne Marley said Varney died at a nursing home in Budleigh Salterton, southwest England, after a short illness.
Born in east London in 1916, Varney began his career as a singer, piano player and comic in the rough-and-tumble world of pubs, music halls and working men's clubs. He joined the Royal Electrical Engineers during World War II but continued to perform as part of a touring show entertaining the troops.
After the war he kept touring the music hall circuit and played a variety of television roles before becoming a household name in Britain with "On the Buses." Varney played Stan Butler, a happy-go-lucky driver tormented by the ire of his irascible boss, Inspector Blake.
With its cheeky humor and large doses of slapstick, the show was a huge hit, running for seven series between 1969 and 1973. It was exported around the world, spawned three feature films and a stage show, and remains enduringly popular.
Varney also secured his place in history by making the world's first withdrawal from an electronic automated teller machine, at a branch of Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London in 1967.
Varney's wife Lilian died in 2002. He is survived by his daughter, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Daughter Jeanne Marley said Varney died at a nursing home in Budleigh Salterton, southwest England, after a short illness.
Born in east London in 1916, Varney began his career as a singer, piano player and comic in the rough-and-tumble world of pubs, music halls and working men's clubs. He joined the Royal Electrical Engineers during World War II but continued to perform as part of a touring show entertaining the troops.
After the war he kept touring the music hall circuit and played a variety of television roles before becoming a household name in Britain with "On the Buses." Varney played Stan Butler, a happy-go-lucky driver tormented by the ire of his irascible boss, Inspector Blake.
With its cheeky humor and large doses of slapstick, the show was a huge hit, running for seven series between 1969 and 1973. It was exported around the world, spawned three feature films and a stage show, and remains enduringly popular.
Varney also secured his place in history by making the world's first withdrawal from an electronic automated teller machine, at a branch of Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London in 1967.
Varney's wife Lilian died in 2002. He is survived by his daughter, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
