Irish actor Frank Kelly, who was perhaps most famous for his role as Father Jack in sitcom favourite, Father Ted, has died aged 77.
In a career that spanned 60 years, Kelly appeared in soaps and comedies such as Emmerdale, Glenroe and Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie (2014).
His first role was a prison officer in The Italian Job (1969), where he can be seen escorting gangster Charlie Croker (Michael Caine) out of prison. However he became most known for his role as the drunken Father Jack Hackett in the Irish comedy series Father Ted.
Kelly had suffered several health problems in recent years. He received the all-clear from bowel cancer in 2011. He was treated for skin cancer last year and also had heart problems. As well as this, last November Kelly revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but would continue to work.
The actor passed away exactly 18 years after the death of his co-star Dermot Morgan, otherwise known as Father Ted, who died on Sunday 28th February 1998.
