Are you being served?

THIS WEEK'S HONORARY UNSUBSCRIBE goes to John Inman.

An actor, Inman was best known as "Mr. Humphries" on the Brit sitcom
"Are You Being Served?" (1972-1985), set in a London department store.

Originally, Humphries was a side character in a cheap suit who only had five
lines of dialogue in the pilot episode. But producer David Croft asked Inman
to "camp it up" -- and Inman pushed it to the hilt, calling out "I'm
free!" and mincing over when a customer stopped in.

Gay rights groups protested the stereotypical swishiness, but the
character was well loved by the public, including in the U.S. where it ran on
PBS. The show was thrust to the top of the British charts and ran for 13 years.
Comedy seemed to be in Inman's blood: his first job was as a window
dresser at, yes, a London department store. During his off times, he'd
stand still in the window himself with a sign around his neck reading:
"Available in Other Colours".

In 1976 he won the BBC's Personality of the Year and TV Times's
Funniest Man On Television award. In recent years Inman suffered
chronic ill health, including hepatitis. He died March 8 at 71.