The will of comedy legend Brian Murphy has been revealed following his death aged 92.
Murphy, who worked into his final years in acting roles, left a huge sum to his family after he passed away at his home in Kent in February.
The comedy star has left a fortune of £617,000 to his wife, Hi-de-Hi! actress Linda Regan and two sons, Trevor and Kevin, from his first marriage.
The TV icon’s will stipulated that his money should be left in trust to Linda, 75, and his two children.
Murphy was best known for his roles in 1970s British sitcoms Man About The House and George And Mildred, as well as his later appearances in Last Of The Summer Wine.
He married his wife Linda in 1995. The actress paid tribute to her husband by saying: ‘My love for you will never die. RIP sweetheart.’
She said in an earlier statement: ‘I was lucky to have in my lifetime found my soulmate, Brian, who I will love forever.’
Murphy’s friend and agent, Thomas Bowington, described Murphy as a ‘joyful and profoundly good-hearted man’ and paid tribute to his ‘talent and humanity’.
Pictured: Murphy with his wife, Hi-de-Hi! star Linda Regan, who he has left part of his fortune to
Pictured: Yootha Joyce (left) and Brian Murphy (right). Murphy continued acting in his final years, although he was best known for his roles in 1970s comedy sitcoms
Throughout his early career, Murphy worked closely with theatre director Joan Littlewood. In the popular sitcoms Man About The House and George And Mildred he played George Roper.
More recently he featured in episodes of the BBC‘s Holby City, The Catherine Tate Show, and ITV‘s Benidorm.
The actor was born on the Isle of Wight in 1932 and his career began in the 1950s when he joined the Theatre Workshop.
The pioneering group was founded by Joan Littlewood and her partner Gerry Raffles and was dedicated to modernising theatre and opening up the industry to working-class audiences.
Murphy performed in Shakespeare productions directed by Littlewood and even appeared in her only feature-length film Sparrows Can’t Sing.
But he was famous for his role as landlord George Roper in ITV sitcom Man About The House, which starred Richard O’Sullivan as Robin Tripp. The storyline for the series was considered daring in the 1970s as it explored the dynamics between a man (O’Sullivan) sharing a flat with two women.
Other stars of the show were Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett, as flatmates Chrissy and Jo, while Yootha Joyce played Roper’s domineering wife Mildred.
Joyce and Murphy later starred in their own spin-off George And Mildred which was equally successful.
Pictured: Murphy (left) alongside Yootha Joyce (right) as George and Mildred in the hit 1970s sitcom
Murphy died aged 92 at his home in Kent in February this year
Murphy (right) alongside fellow Man About The House actress Yootha Joyce (centre) and Are You Being Served? star John Inman (left)
In 2023, Murphy and his wife Linda joined the cast of award-nominated podcast sitcom Barmy Dale.
The husband and wife duo starred as Felicity Palmer, Mayoress of Barmy Dale and Lord Palmer, husband of Felicity.
Speaking to the Express in 2016, Murphy said he was still keeping in touch with his former Man About The House co-stars, including visiting Richard O’Sullivan, who played Robin Tripp.
He said: ‘I still keep in touch with Sally Thomsett and Paula Wilcox, who played Jo and Chrissy in Man About The House.
‘Together, we’ve visited Richard O’Sullivan, who’s in a retirement home after suffering a stroke.’
At the time, he explained he had still been working, including his small roles in Casualty, Benidorm and Holby City.
He had also done promotional work for Talking Pictures TV who show classic films and B-movies on Sky and Freeview. As a collector of old films, it was a subject ‘close to his heart’.
Speaking about his wife and work slowing down, he added: ‘It’s nice not working so much now because I can spend time at home with Linda. We met while appearing in Wife Begins At 40 at Eastbourne. She played my wife and we hit it off straight away.
‘We married in 1995. I can’t grumble about my lot because I’m very happy. I’ve brought up a family and been working relatively solidly for 60 years. It has been a lot of fun.’
