Burt Kwouk, the actor best known for playing Inspector Clouseau's manservant Cato in the Pink Panther films, has died age 85.
In a statement, his agent said: “Beloved actor Burt Kwouk has sadly passed peacefully away on 24 May. The family will be having a private funeral but there will be a memorial at a later date.”
Born in 1930 in Warrington and brought up in Shanghai, Kwouk first appeared in the 1958 film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness before joining the cast of the Pink Panther films in 1975. He appeared in several more Pink Panther films, making his final appearance in the 1993 film Son of the Pink Panther.
Kwouk also appeared in several James Bond films such as Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice and the spoof Casino Royale. In 1968, he starred in The Shoes of the Fisherman opposite Laurence Olivier.
He’s also had several TV credits and played Entwistle in Last of the Summer Wine from 2002 to 2010.
Kwouk received an OBE in 2011.
