Comedian Tony Hendra who played the band manager in musical mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap has died at the age of 79
Comedian Tony Hendra who played the band manager in musical mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap has died at the age of 79.
The British satirist, whose roles included top editing positions at magazines such as National Lampoon and Spy, died on Thursday in Yonkers, New York.
His wife, Carla Meisner, told the New York Times the cause of death was Lou Gehrig s disease, which the writer was first diagnosed with in 2019.
In Rob Reiner s 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, he played Ian Faith, the bumbling band manager who tells Michael McKean s character that having a gig in Boston canceled isn t a big deal because It s not a big college town .
Embassy Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
THIS IS SPINAL TAP, (background l-r): David Kaff, R.J. Parnell, (foreground l-r): Tony Hendra, Harry Shearer, Patrick Macnee, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, 1984.
His best-known roles include starring as the blundering, ill-tempered manager in Rob Reiner s 1984 rock mockumentary.
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.
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Hendra, who also was a former editor of National Lampoon and Spy magazines, died Thursday in Yonkers, N.Y., his wife, Carla Hendra, confirmed.
Hendra s cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Carla Hendra told The New York Times. He was first diagnosed with the disease back in 2019.
Anthony Christopher Hendra was born on July 10, 1941, in Willesden, England. He lived over half of his life in the United States, up until his death.
Hendra got his start in comedy while studying at Cambridge University. In the early 60s, he performed with the Cambridge Footlights theatrical group, along with John Cleese and Graham Chapman, two of the founders of Monty Python, the Times reported.