So it goes: Mike Reid dead at 67

From today’s Guardian:

Mike Reid, the former star of EastEnders who made his name as a stand-up comedi­an, died of a heart attack at his home in Spain yes­ter­day, aged 67.

I’m pleased the obit­u­ary men­tions Runaround, the kids game show he hos­ted in the 70s. I grew up on that show (along with Crackerjack and Basil Brush of course).

Mike Reid was a true EastEnder and reminded me of quite a few people I knew grow­ing up in Manor Park. Whenever I caught a glimpse of him on that show it got a little bit less unreal:

Reid was born in Hackney, east London, in 1940 and began to earn money almost as soon as he could walk, accord­ing to his auto­bi­o­graphy, T’rific. During the 50s and 60s he was a mem­ber of a north London gang that hijacked lor­ries, blew up safes and settled scores with shotguns.