Comedy was in the late Barry Cryer’s blood which is probably why the entertainer kept nurses laughing until he passed away earlier this year at Northwick Park Hospital.
“He was a lovely patient who was always joking and making us smile, despite the fact that he was ill,” said Nisanthan Mahalingam, a Macmillan assistant practitioner who looked after him.
“He showed a lot of courage and humour and is a good example to us all. He was so modest and didn’t even mention who he was although I should have guessed from the jokes.”
Nisanthan is part of a team looking after patients requiring end-of-life care ensuring their needs are met and as well as acting as an advocate for families.
“It’s a privilege to be part of someone’s journey and the Cryer family sent a lovely message of thanks which we all appreciated.”
The was born in Leeds but lived in Harrow, in Hatch End, for most of his career spanning over five decades. He performed with such famous performers as Bob Hope, Les Dawson Bruce Forsyth and Spike Milligan amongst many others
Mr Cryer had a wry sense of his own mortality saying: “I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?”
The novelist Jonathan Coe tweeted: “Every single thing he did was in the name of laughter, and lifting our spirits. That’s what I call a life well lived.”
