Reg Varney dies aged 92

[Pip Madeley]

Stan Butler has gone to the great bus depot in the sky.

Comedy actor Reg Varney, best known for playing driver Stan Butler in ITV sitcom On The Buses, has died aged 92. He died following a short illness in a nursing home in Budleigh Salterton, Devon, where he had recently been admitted with a chest infection. His daughter Jeanne Marley, 59, said her father had died "peacefully" on Sunday afternoon.

On The Buses was one of the most successful British comedies of the 1970s, with 60 TV episodes. Varney's partnership with co-star Bob Grant, who played randy conductor Jack Harper, saw them become household names for a generation of TV viewers. The series, which ran for seven years from 1969 and spawned three feature films, followed the two characters as they dodged work and did their best to wind up inspector Cyril "Blakey" Blake, played by Stephen Lewis.

Mrs Marley said he had only recently been admitted to the nursing home after he had begun suffering from a chest infection. She said: "He's always been very young for his age, when he was in On The Buses he was playing a 35-year-old, but he was actually 50."

I'll watch an On The Buses tomorrow in his memory.

[Wayne]

I'm very fond of On the Buses,& Stan Butler was a great character. I've only seen bits & pieces of Reg's other work, but it's clear that he was a great performer.
I don't feel too sad though, 'coz Reg had a good innings, & from interviews & such, he came across as the sort of bloke who was grateful for his life. He was the same age as my Grandad actually.
Rest In Peace Reg.

[Dirk Gently]

That's sad news. He was the catalyst for one of the greatest catch phrases ever!

R.I.P Reg.

[Stuart Wallis]

I agree with his daughter, he always did seem younger than he was, and he also seemed to be a very nice person.

[WhiteCrow]

I was just looking this up, and there seems to be only a couple of the On The Buses cast left alive, which seems a little sad, as you don't imagine it being that long ago - the others being Stephen Lewis (who you'd imagine was older than Reg) and Anna Karen who played Olive (and was a stripper in her youth!?!).

[michael]

yes see this in the paper sad day
r.i.p Reg. made me lol lot of times

[Carol Baynes]

He made me laugh, and that's a lovely thought to have of him.