Actor and comedian Johnny Beattie has died at the age of 93.
The veteran of the stage and screen, from Govan in Glasgow, starred in Taggart and Rab C Nesbitt, as well as featuring in the film The Big Man, alongside Billy Connolly and Liam Neeson.
In the 1960s he starred in his own sketch show, before later hosting STV game show Now You See It in the 1980s.
As well as a career spanning television and film, Mr Beattie was known for his stand-up comedy and theatre performance.
Fellow comedian Andy Cameron said Beattie was “an absolute gentleman and a great comic, one of the sharpest guys I ever met.”
The pair worked in pantomime together and Cameron said every year they would send each other a Christmas card, with Cameron signing it ‘from yer boy’ and Beattie ‘from yer mammy’.
Beattie is perhaps most recently remembered for playing the role of Malcolm Hamilton in River City.
He was in the role for 13 years, before retiring in 2015.
Former co-star Tom Urie said he left a “legacy of hard work and a legacy of kindness and respect.”
He added: “The way that Johnny carried himself and the way that he presented himself was an example to everyone coming into this industry about how to behave and treat other people because he was never anything less than a true gentleman.”
Beattie had four children; Maureen, who starred in Casualty, Louise, Paul and Mark.
He had been married to wife Kitty for more than 30 years, before they separated. She died in the early 1990s.
In 2007, he was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
The Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow described him as “a great friend” and “one of the few last remaining performers from magical days of variety theatre”.
“He was a great man to sit and talk to about the legends of Scottish theatre and there cannot be a theatre in Scotland that Johnny did not perform and star in.
“He was one of these performers that just went on stage and gave the audience what they wanted, a funny man and Scottish legend.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was “so sad” to hear of Beattie’s death, describing him as a “hugely talented performer and a truly lovely man”.
She added: “Today, we’ve lost a national treasure, and my thoughts are with his loved ones.”
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