Graham Cracked

Graham Stark, who served as Peter Sellers’ best man at 4 different weddings, has died of a stroke at the age of 91. His friendship with Sellers led to him appearing, in various roles, in more Pink Panther movies than any actor other than Herbert Lom and Burt Kwouk. Serving in the RAF during World War II, Stark’s color blindness kept him grounded, so he entertained troops as part of the Gang Shows, which led to post-war appearances in a variety of comedy series, including Benny Hill, before scoring his own BBC sketch series, The Graham Stark Show, in 1964. He took a rare serious role in Alfie, taking in a woman and child scorned by Michael Caine’s titular arse. Notable roles on this side of the pond included a cameo as a butler in the video for Adam Ant’s Goody Two Shoes and the blind guy in Superman III.