Alan Sues, ‘Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In’ Comic, Dies at 85

Comic actor Alan Sues, most remembered for his role on the TV show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, died Thursday at age 85.

“We lost a very funny man last night, our dear friend Alan Sues, whom you may remember as the funny sportscaster on ‘Laugh-In,’ ” Ruth Buzzi, a comedienne who appeared in several episodes of Laugh-in with Sues, posted on Twitter. “Alan Sues was one of those guys even funnier in person than on camera. Across a dinner table, over the phone…hysterical. We’ll miss him.”

The LA Times reports that Sues passed away at his home in West Hollywood while watching television. According to Sues’ long time friend Michael Gregg Michaud, the cause of death at this time is being attributed to a heart attack.

“He had been in failing health the last couple of years, but it was nothing you could put your finger on; just old age,” said Michaud. “Mentally, he was funny and ‘on’ as usual. He was a delightfully funny man, with a wonderful career that spanned six decades.”

Sues, born March 7, 1926, in Ross, Calif., later served in the Army during World War II, performed at the Pasadena Playhouse in the late 1940s and made his Broadway debut in “Tea and Sympathy” in the early 1950s.

He also began performing as a stand-up comedian in New York in the 1950s. Prior to “Laugh-In,” Sues took on roles in “The Americanization of Emily,” “Move Over Darling” and a famous part in “The Masks,” an especially creepy episode of “The Twilight Zone.”

Sues played Moriarty in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s revival of William Gillette’s “Sherlock Holmes” in 1975. He also appeared in TV series “The Brady Brides,” “Punky Brewster” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” along with television commercials for Peter Pan Peanut Butter in the 1970s.

Prior to his death, Sues had been finishing up an audio book titled “Oh, nothing…” He described the project on his website as “a collection of show stories, personal anecdotes and whatever else happened to enter my mind at the time of recording.”

Sues is survived by a sister-in-law, two nieces and a nephew.

In memory of Alan Sues, check out the following clip of Laugh-In where he plays Uncle Al, the kiddies pal.