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Tony Hendra, the British satirist and National Lampoon alumnus who played the band manager on This Is Spinal Tap, died Thursday in Yonkers, New York. He was 79.
Hendra’s wife Carla confirmed his death to The New York Times, citing the cause as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The actor was diagnosed in 2019.
This Is Spinal Tap’s director Rob Reiner also shared the news of Hendra’s passing on Twitter, writing, “Tony Hendra who played Spinal Tap’s manager, Ian, has sadly passed away. A brilliant satirist who when learning that the band’s Boston gig had been canceled, told them not to worry that Boston wasn’t a big college town. R.I.P.”
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Born in Willesden, Middlesex, England in 1941, Hendra mostly worked in the U.S. He began writing and performing while a student at Cambridge University, where he was a member of the Footlights revue in 1962 alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. He moved to the States in 1964 with comedy partner Nick Ullett. The two opened for Lenny Bruce at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York’s Greenwich Village and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.
In 1970, Hendra began writing for National Lampoon magazine and a year later became the first editor hired by founders Doug Kenney and Henry Beard. In 1972, he co-created National Lampoon’s first album Radio Dinner, on which Hendra performed a parody of John Lennon titled Magical Misery Tour. The following year, he produced, directed and co-wrote with Sean Kelly the Lampoon’s off-Broadway revue Lemmings, starring John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Rhonda Coullet, Christopher Guest and Alice Playten.
Hendra would remain an editor of the Lampoon until 1975, when he became co-editor-in-chief with Kelly until 1978.
Hendra also is known for serving as head writer and co-producer in 1984 of the first six shows of the British satirical television series Spitting Image and for starring in the mockumentary classic This Is Spinal Tap as the band’s blundering, ill-tempered manager Ian Faith. Other notable writing credits include 1996’s The Great White Hype, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum and Damon Wayans.
As an actor, he appeared in the Whoopi Goldberg comedy Jumpin’ Jack Flash and television shows such as Miami Vice, Suits and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Hendra had been married to Carla Christine Meisner since 1990. They have three children. He was previously married to Judith Hilary Christmas.
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