Satirist John Fortune dies at 74

Fortune – who found fame on Bremner, Bird and Fortune – died peacefully after being ill for “quite a while”.

Bremner said: “He was, first and foremost a lovely man. He 
was very well read, a very literary man.

“He was very much a father figure and a mentor to me.”

Fortune’s agent Vivienne Clore said the veteran satire comic died with his wife Emma and dog, Grizelle at his bedside.

In a statement, she said: “It is with great sadness that I write of the death of John Fortune this morning aged 74.

“He is survived by his adored wife, Emma, and three children.”

Fortune, who recently suffered a stroke, met his comedy partner John Bird in the 1960s when they were at Cambridge.

The pair became household names for The Long Johns sketches in which the double-act made witty characterisations of bumbling politicians, military figures and businessmen.

Bremner, one of the UK’s best-loved impressionists, said: “Some of the happiest and most fulfilling times of my life are working with The Two Johns as they became known.

“In a quiet way, he was one of the pillars of the anti-establishment. He was fearless as a satirist, because there was nothing that he wouldn’t do.

“He was braver than many of us in what he would do in a satirical sketch.”