British Comedian Inman Dead at 71

British children of the seventies and American viewers of PBS will probably have no problem identifying the catchphrase "I'm Free". Issued with regularity by the character Mr. Humphries on the sitcom Are You Being Served? it punctuated popular culture, even beyond it's sell-by date. Alas, the actor behind the trilling phrase, John Inman, died yesterday aged 71.

I wasn't the greatest fan of the show, even as a kid, although it's innocently naughty humour was far superior to the annoying Benny Hill and occasionally as good as that put out by the Two Ronnies, Morcambe and Wise, and Dick Emery. I just wanted to note that even given the fashion excesses all around him in the late sixties and early seventies, John Inman was one hell of a snappy dresser:


Just shorten those collars a bit and you'd be all set today.