Comedic writer and actor Neil Innes, who created a Beatles parody group called the Rutles and frequently worked with the members of Monty Python, has died at age 75, his agent confirmed Monday.
Innes died of natural causes Sunday night, agent Nigel Morton said.
A statement released on behalf of his family said: "We have lost a beautiful, kind, gentle soul whose music and songs touched the heart of everyone and whose intellect and search for truth inspired us all," the statement said. "He died of natural causes quickly without warning and, I think, without pain."
Innes was such a frequent collaborator of the Monty Python troupe that he sometimes was called the "seventh Python." A musician as well as a writer, he wrote songs for the popular film "Monty Python And The Holy Grail," appeared in "Life of Brian" and toured the U.K. and Canada with the group.
He was also a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, later renamed the Bonzo Dog Band. One of the band's hit songs, "I'm The Urban Spaceman," won Innes an Ivor Novello award.
Colleagues posted tributes to Innes on Twitter, including the prominent British actor Mark Gatiss, who fondly wrote, "Sweet dreams, sweet idiot."
Rolling up her royal sleeves
Being a member of the British royal family isn't the easiest job on earth, if TV shows and movies provide accurate pictures. But how much do the royals work? According to official records, prominent members of the royal family worked an average of 84.5 days this year, or about a third of the 253 working days in the U.K. Queen Elizabeth II's only daughter, Princess Anne, was the hardest-working royal for at least the third year in a row, putting in a total of 167 days. Heir to the throne Prince Charles came in second with 125 days of official duties. The 93-year-old queen herself worked 67 days, four more than in 2018. The figures were compiled and published Monday by Britain's Press Association. Details of the monarchy's official engagements are recorded in the Court Circular, a daily list of the events attended by the queen and her family. However, some royal family members carry out private engagements that support their public work, which may not be included in this list.
SEPARATED: Actress Sara Gilbert has filed for legal separation from her wife of five years, singer and songwriter Linda Perry. Gilbert filed the separation documents in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday. The papers cite irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, and requests that neither woman receive spousal support. No details were given on custody arrangements for the couple's 4-year-old son, Rhodes. Gilbert, 44-year-old star of "The Conners," former star of "Roseanne" and creator and former co-host of daytime talk show "The Talk," began dating Perry in 2011 and they married in 2014.
