Jones says his old friend "inspired love and utter loyalty and he gave it in return" following his death from a heart attack Griff Rhys Jones has paid a moving tribute to his longtime comedy partner Mel Smith after his sudden death aged 60 .
The
pair worked together on Not The Nine O'Clock News before becoming a
long-running double act in Alas Smith and Jones, which ran from 1984 to
1998, and setting up Talkback Productions.
And after Smith's death from a heart attack, Jones remembered the man he had shared his career with for so long.
Jones
said: "I still can't believe this has happened. To everybody who ever
met him, Mel was a force for life. He had a relish for it that seemed
utterly inexhaustible.
"He inspired love and utter loyalty and he
gave it in return. I will look back on the days working with him as some
of the funniest times that I have ever spent.
"We probably
enjoyed ourselves far too much, but we had a rollercoaster of a ride
along the way. Terrific business. Fantastic fun, making shows. Huge
parties and crazy times. And Mel was always ready to be supportive.
Nobody could have been easier to work with.
"We never had an
argument about which part we should play or how we were going to do
something. We never had an argument, in fact. We loved performing
together. He was a very generous and supportive actor. We had a good
deal of fun.
"Mel was not a pressure person. He was a gentleman
and a scholar, a gambler and a wit. And he was a brilliant actor. But he
never took himself or the business too seriously. We are all in a state
of shock. We have lost a very, very dear friend."
Rowan Atkinson was another member of the Not The Nine O'Clock News to pay tribute.
Atkinson, who also worked with Smith on Bean, the first Mr Bean film, said he was "truly sad" to hear about his death.
He
said in a statement: "Mel Smith - a lovely man of whom I saw too little
in his later years. I loved the sketches that we did together on Not
the Nine O'Clock News.
"He was the cast member with whom I felt the most natural performing empathy.
"He had a wonderfully generous and sympathetic presence both on and off screen.
"He was also an excellent theatre and movie director, doing a wonderful job on the first Mr Bean movie.
"If
you direct a comedy movie that takes 245 million dollars at the box
office you've done something pretty special, and I never thought he was
given enough credit for this success.
"I feel truly sad at his parting."
Many others from the world of comedy paid tribute on Twitter,
both to Smith's own comedic ability and to the assistance he gave to
young talent.
Comedian Stephen Fry wrote: "Terrible news about my
old friend Mel Smith, dead today from a heart attack. Mel lived a full
life, but was kind, funny & wonderful to know."
Actor and
comedian Peter Serafinowicz said: "Very sad to hear about Mel Smith. He
did something very kind for me early in my career even though he hardly
knew me. Such a funny man."
Actress Sheridan Smith commented: "Such sad news about Mel Smith."
Father
Ted co-creator Graham Linehan tweeted: "Very sad to hear news of Mel
Smith's death has been confirmed. He and Griff gave Arthur and I our
break. Was always so kind & generous to us."
Helen Lederer wrote: "RIP Mel Smith.Pioneering, powerful and funny."
The son of a former coal miner turned bookie, Mel was born and brought up over a fish and chip shop in Chiswick, west London.
He studied at Oxford University, where he was part of the university's dramatic society.
One
year the society shared a venue with Cambridge Footlights who were
directed by John Lloyd - creator of Not The Nine O'Clock News.
Mel signed up to do the series for £100 an episode.
The
satirical series, shown on BBC2 when the actual Nine O'Clock News was
on BBC1, also featured Griff Rhys Jones, Rowan Atkinson, Pamela
Stephenson and Chris Langham. Rowan Atkinson, Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith and Pamela Stephenson from the television show 'Not the Nine O'Clock News'
The largely self-contained sketches ranged from a few seconds to a few minutes in a half hour show.
It ran for four series from 1979 to 1982 and was a springboard for many future comedy series.
When
the series ended Mel briefly teamed up with Bob Goody before teaming up
with Griff Rhys Jones for a long-running comedy partnership in Alias
Smith and Jones.
Comedy conversations which saw the two sit
opposite each other at a table with their heads resting on their hands
were a regular feature.
The pair were also business partners,
founding TalkBack Productions, the company behind Smack the Pony, Da Ali
G Show, I'm Alan Partridge and Big Train.
The company was sold in 2000, later becoming Talkback Thames.
He dabbled in film, directing Bean his greatest success, and had a hit single with Kim Wilde for Comic Relief in 1987, their version of Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree with added comedy lines from Smith and Jones reaching number three.
Alas Smith and Jones finished in 1998 but the pair were reunited for a revival of The Smith And Jones Sketchbook in 2005.
ITV's
director of television Peter Fincham, who was Smith and Jones' business
partner at Talkback Productions as well as their agent, paid tribute to
an "extraordinary natural talent".
He said: "Life was always exciting around Mel.
"He
was my friend and business partner for many years and had extraordinary
natural talent with the rare gift of wearing it lightly.
"Being
funny came naturally to him, so much so that he never seemed to give it a
second thought. Mel and Griff were one of the great comedy acts and
it's hard to imagine that one of them is no longer with us."
Not
The Nine O'Clock News creator John Lloyd said: "Mel did an extraordinary
thing - he taught us all how to make comedy natural.
"He was a brilliant theatre director... Not only was he a great actor, he was a wonderful editor."
Griff Rhys Jones has paid a moving tribute to his longtime comedy partner Mel Smith after his sudden death aged 60 .
