John Sessions has died at the age of 67 after suffering from a “heart condition”, his agent said.
The comedian and star of Whose Line Is It Anyway? reportedly died on Monday (November 2).
John Sessions ‘died at his home’
John’s agent, Alex Irwin, said that he was at home when he died.
According to The Telegraph, Alex said John “died at his home in South London from a heart condition”.
Terrible news. Not just a fantastic comedian, but a brilliant actor.
The star’s friend, actress Ronni Ancona, called him a “rare commodity” as she paid tribute to him.
Speaking to the newspaper, she said of the late funnyman: “He was that rare commodity, a towering intellect who was able to translate his vast intelligence into highly-accessible, unadulterated comedy.”
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John rose to fame in the ’90s with appearances on shows such as Have I Got News For You? and QI.
He was also an actor, having featured in the comedy show Stella Street and the 1989 film Henry V.
Tributes pour in for Have I Got News For You? legend
Fans and those working in the TV industry paid tribute on social media.
Presenter and podcaster Samira Ahmed said: “Loved this man. John Sessions used to give brilliant talks at my daughter’s primary school about Shakespeare and stuff. (He was a friend of the headmistress). He rightly assumed none of the children knew who he was till the day my daughter asked him about Stella Street. (Blame me).”
The QI Twitter account wrote: “John Sessions was a panellist on QI’s first ever episode: Series A, Episode One, ‘Adam’. His incredible wit and encyclopaedic knowledge played a huge part in the show’s history and everyone at QI is deeply saddened to learn of his passing.”
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TV producer Scott Handcock said: “Just heard about John Sessions. Terrible news. Not just a fantastic comedian, but a brilliant actor. Humble and generous in equal measure. I’ll never forget “the Umbrella Story”…”
Scriptwriter David Lemon tweeted: “Gutted to hear about John Sessions. Interviewed him years ago for a documentary on ‘Brief Encounter’ and he was lovely; not ‘on’ or showy; just a really bright, articulate witty person. He also told me a great story about Gormenghast.”
Loved this man. John Sessions used to give brilliant talks at my daughter’s primary school about Shakespeare and stuff. (He was a friend of the headmistress). He rightly assumed none of the children knew who he was till the day my daughter asked him about Stella Street.(Blame me)
— Samira Ahmed (@SamiraAhmedUK) November 3, 2020
https://twitter.com/scott_handcock/status/1323619643798540288
Gutted to hear about John Sessions. Interviewed him years ago for a documentary on ‘Brief Encounter’ and he was lovely; not ‘on’ or showy; just a really bright, articulate witty person. He also told me a great story about Gormenghast.
— David Lemon (@DavidLemon777) November 3, 2020
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