Question:
The last two weeks saw the deaths of two terrific English actors that I enjoyed immensely: Ian Richardson and John Inman. They were as different as night and day. Richardson was funny only when he was being creepy; Inman was a great comedian. I have the "House of Cards" series which made Richardson's name here, and a lot of the "Are You Being Served" shows which despite being fairly dated (a la mid-70s/80s) are still often very funny.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
Joe

Answer:
House of Cards was fantastic. Richardson's death was a bit of a shock given he was due to start filming Midsomer Murders the following week, and had just done the Hogfather for Sky TV. He'll be missed.
And of course, who can forget Mr Humphries in Are you Being Served? That role was a bit of a double edged sword though - I don't think John Inman ever really got to do anything wildly different after that - it was all camp males and panto dames.

Answer:
Ian Richardson was on The Politics Show (BBC) a few weeks before his death. Our next Prime Minister was trying cosy up to him. He talked about his casting for the House of Cards. The writer had envisaged, and the producer expected, that Urquarhart would be a burly, physically intimidating bully of a man. They were very surprised when the director cast Richardson - until the first day of shooting when they saw the terror that he could produce by a frosty glare or a glacial 'tut-tut-tut'. He was also a big mentor to Helen Mirren and just missed her most recent triumphs.
John Inman was from Sunny Lancashire! He was raised in Blackpool - which vies with Coney Island as the first holiday resort for the working masses (of course it's Blackpool). He was very much of that style - end-of-the-pier, good clean (filthy) fun. My folks were always quite strict about what we could watch on the telly as kids- but we all sat down together to watch Mr Humphries' outrageously gay man and Mrs Slocombe's pussy innuendos. Happy days.