Anthony Declan James Slattery (9 November 1959 - 14 January 2025) was a comedian and actor still best known for his appearances on the early UK series of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. In the '80s he was in the Cambridge Footlights alongside Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson, and went on to be ubiquitous on TV panel shows and the like. However, his career was curtailed in the mid-'90s by a nervous breakdown caused by undiagnosed bipolar disorder for which he self-medicated with drugs and alcohol.
He faded into obscurity despite recovering and going on to work on a variety of shows and films (including Kingdom (2007) in 2007-8). If you heard him mentioned in modern British pop culture, it would usually be at the end of the sentence "Whatever happened to...?"
Slattery died on 14 January 2025👁 Image
after suffering a heart attack two days prior. His death was confirmed by his longtime partner and fellow actor Mark Michael Hutchinson.
Has appeared in:
- Carry On Columbus
- CASUAL+Y
- Coronation Street
- The Crying Game
- Just a Gigolo
- ITV's Just a Minute adaptation
- Kingdom (2007)
- Peter's Friends
- This Is David Harper
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Associated tropes include:
- Beard of Evil: Grew one in order to play a pantomime villain in 2008.
- Big Guy, Little Guy / Fat and Skinny: With Mike McShane in their double-act improv show S&M. Although Tony was actually 5'11" and slightly overweight himself, Mike was so tall and fat that he looked little by comparison.
- Character Tics: Pushing back his fringe with one hand, especially when nervous or directly after a scene.
- Loveable Sex Maniac: Dominant element of his comedy persona.
- Reality Subtext: Used to mention unnecessarily specific drugs during skits ("Have you been taking methyl dexamphetamine sulphate?"), as he was actually interested in pharmacology and liked to memorize the details of their names and composition.
- Running Gag: 'Patricia.'