Comedian Kelly Monteith has passed away at the age of 80. His health declined significantly in February 2021 when he suffered two strokes resulting in aphasia which rendered him unable to speak.
During the 1970's and 1980's, Monteith appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 35 times and had a short-lived variety show on CBS in 1976. However, Monteith achieved his greatest fame in the U.K. when he became the first American comedian to star in his own show called Kelly Monteith which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1984 which co-starred Gabrielle Drake (the older sister of the late folk singer Nick Drake).
The format of Kelly Monteith was unique as it typically featured Monteith talking to the audience about a scenario and then proceeding to the sketch. This show would influence the work of both Garry Shandling and Jerry Seinfeld on their subsequent shows.
Monteith's brand of humor was typically subtle with a lot of word play though he would engage in occasional slapstick on his show. He generally worked clean which ultimately got him lost in the shuffle after his BBC show ended.
Monteith continued to engage in stand-up comedy and sporadically worked on TV most recently in 2019 on Amazon TV's The Real Geezers of Beverly Hills-Adjacent.
If you are unfamiliar with Monteith's work here is introducing himself to the British public in 1979 in the pilot episode of Kelly Monteith. R.I.P.
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