British comic actor, mental health campaigner Brian Rix dies

LONDON – A British charity says Brian Rix, a comic actor who used his fame to draw attention to the struggles of people with learning disabilities, has died. He was 92 and had been ill for some time.

Rix became a household name in theatre and television in the 1950s and 1960s with the Whitehall Farces, comedies named after the theatre in which they were performed.

When his oldest daughter, Shelley, was born with Down’s Syndrome in 1951, he refused the advice of doctors to put her away and forget about her and instead used his celebrity to promote charitable work.

Rix served in several positions at the charity, Mencap, which said his “tireless campaigning has perhaps done more to improve the lives of people with a learning disability than any other.”