Dear Tony Slattery, I've got to get something off my chest....

[Hey, Punk!]

I have nothing more profound to say than it's painful to see how he looks now. So sad.

[QDRPHNC]

I was shocked when I saw what he looks like now. The last time I saw Tony Slattery was when I left the UK, in 1995.

[Norton Canes]

The grimly funny thing about it for me was that in Whose Line, Slattery was renown for his outrageous, show-stopping lewd outbursts. Well, he certainly got one in here.

[Zetetic]

It was all this talk about 'cutting down', which is a bit like telling a self-harmer that they can just slap themselves a bit.

An attempt at harm reduction, whilst recognising that coping mechanisms are important, perhaps.

[the science eel]

An attempt at harm reduction, whilst recognising that coping mechanisms are important, perhaps.

Yeah, I suppose so. I mean, their intentions were honourable. But if he'd had seizures then his situation is chronic. He has to stop.

[Norton Canes]

Wasn't the seizure caused by an attempt to dry out?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Wasn't the seizure caused by an attempt to dry out?

Yes. He tried to go cold turkey and had a seizure which may have caused him brain damage.

[the science eel]

Typically you'd have a seizure when you stop drinking suddenly after a prolonged bout. They're part of withdrawal - along with DTs. Alcohol withdrawal is more dangerous than withdrawal from cocaine or heroin addiction, if not carefully monitored. It can be fatal.

[MinnieTimperley]

BEWARE THE BOOZE C&Bers

[Jockice]

Didn't he say that he hadn't had a day without alcohol for many years? If that's the case it must have been a very short dry-out attempt. Or maybe he usually started drinking as soon as he wakes up. He certainly looks like it.

[Bazooka]

Typically you'd have a seizure when you stop drinking suddenly after a prolonged bout. They're part of withdrawal - along with DTs. Alcohol withdrawal is more dangerous than withdrawal from cocaine or heroin addiction, if not carefully monitored. It can be fatal.

Yep, someone has to ween themselves of it slowly for the body to adjust, removing it instantly from a heavy drinker is like stopping you breathing, the body and brain suddenly completely lack something that the body has been running on.

He needs to go completely sober with the help of medication at the start, high dosage B vitamin supplements etc, he is dependent which means moderating when he already has underlying depression, and alcohol is a depressesnt means it will be heavily likely he will return to heavier drinking.

[the science eel]

Yeah. I think he's fucked.

When you get to a certain age, it's very very difficult to stop. Alcoholics are more likely to manage recovery if they start young. If the real heavy drinking doesn't start until you're in your 30s, say (look at Cook), it's often a lifetime thing and it kills you.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Slattery's lucky to have made it to 60, then. Cook didn't.

[the science eel]

Fuck. He wasn't far off tho' was he?

[Dewt]

My dad became an alcoholic in his 30s and recovered in his 50s.

[Hey, Punk!]

My Dad's been an alcoholic for about 25 years now, he looks fine but I don't want to see his insides. Those two sentences need not be related, as I wouldn't want to see his insides at all. Alcohol would be the least of his worries.

[Jake Thingray]

The following theory is, I'll admit, something I often go over about myself and have been accused of doing myself, but I wonder if Slattery coming across as a frightfully posh Englishman, in his performing peak, could be because his Irish identity is something he associates with trauma, in his case the abuse by the priest and how he could presumably have never told anyone about that, for fear of being labelled being "bold" and disruptive. Hence getting in with Stephen (who judging by last night, continues to almost be a parody of himself) and that lot, and becoming one in a long line of smug posh Cambridge Footlighters guaranteed an easy route into showbusiness, before and since. While I couldn't stand him as a performer, the honesty and apparent desire to help others shown in last night's programme was commendable, and as others have said on this thread, he's very lucky to have Hutchinson, with his selfless love.

[the]

The following theory is, I'll admit, something I often go over about myself and have been accused of doing myself, but I wonder if Slattery coming across as a frightfully posh Englishman, in his performing peak, could be because his Irish identity is something he associates with trauma, in his case the abuse by the priest and how he could presumably have never told anyone about that, for fear of being labelled being "bold" and disruptive.

I can't be bothered to dig out a quote for accuracy, but in his 'audience with' type shows he has talked about having his well-spokenness regimentally imposed onto him during his school years (with a possible allusion to it being beaten into him) - there was supposedly a concerted effort to get rid of any 'rough edges'.

[Icehaven]

I can't bring myself to watch this. He was a big comedy hero/crush of mine in the 90s and the recent interviews and articles have made me so sad I don't think I could stand actual footage of him.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Tony Slattery and Nick Hancock - paedwraith 90s ghasts

Bye guys

[Ambient Sheep]

Wtf?!

[madhair60]

My dad became an alcoholic in his 30s and recovered in his 50s.

Yeah and he was never fun to be around again. Sorry for using your dad's pain for this quite weak joke. If it's any consolation I'm addicted to gambling.

[Dewt]

No he's a prostate glands dickhead

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Tony Slattery and Nick Hancock - paedwraith 90s ghasts

Bye guys

In English!?

[Dewt]

No he's a prostate glands dickhead

This sounds like I was calling you a dickhead

I meant my dad is a dickhead of the prostate gland variety

[poodlefaker]

Somehow I don't think the trip to see his old friend the multimillionaire never-out-of-work Stephen Fry helped much. Wonder when he last saw him? Perhaps he should have pressed his nose against Emma Thompson's conservatory to get a glimpse of her Oscars, or got a bus past Hugh Laurie's country estate.

Agree he should think about cutting down on the plonk; stick to the lighter reds: Fleurie, Chinon etc.

[Hand Solo]

Somehow I don't think the trip to see his old friend the multimillionaire never-out-of-work Stephen Fry helped much. Wonder when he last saw him? Perhaps he should have pressed his nose against Emma Thompson's conservatory to get a glimpse of her Oscars, or got a bus past Hugh Laurie's country estate.

Didn't Fry feature him in his documentary about Manic Depression? And in that Kingdom show he was a regular in?

I just looked at his IMDB and didn't realise he was in Corrors for 5 episodes, but everything else seems to have been a bit part.

[Mrs Wogans lemon drizzle]

Somehow I don't think the trip to see his old friend the multimillionaire never-out-of-work Stephen Fry helped much. Wonder when he last saw him? Perhaps he should have pressed his nose against Emma Thompson's conservatory to get a glimpse of her Oscars, or got a bus past Hugh Laurie's country estate.

Agree he should think about cutting down on the plonk; stick to the lighter reds: Fleurie, Chinon etc.

Stephen Fry seemed uncomfortable in that clip.  I image he could probably smell the booze on Tony.

[Dewt]

It's impossible to read anything from Fry because he had the luvviness turned up to 393,605. "Darling! I would part oceans for you! You must visit! No, you must climb into my very skin! I will slice open my intestines and you can snuggle up in them for warmth, such is my devotion to you."

Cunt'll never call.

[Janie Jones]

I can't bring myself to watch this. He was a big comedy hero/crush of mine in the 90s and the recent interviews and articles have made me so sad I don't think I could stand actual footage of him.

I've just watched the doc, it made me cry. Not much to feel optimistic about but I hope he can somehow get some control and some contentment.