Actor Ewen MacIntosh, who played “Big Keith” in the British TV series “The Office,” has died at the age of 50.
“With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved comedy genius Ewen MacIntosh. His family thank all who supported him, especially Willow Green Care Home. There will be a private cremation for family & close friends soon & a celebratory memorial later in the year,” Just Right Management said in a post on X.
No cause of death has been confirmed, according to the New York Post.
The U.K.’s Daily Mail quoted the management company as saying, MacIntosh “suffered from ill health these past two years and passed peacefully on Feb. 19 from undisclosed causes.”
RIP Ewan MacIntosh 💔
Thank you for giving us one of the greatest scenes in comedy history
pic.twitter.com/QBGC5SPXFa— Dan C 🏴 (@DCopey98) February 21, 2024
“His family are heartened by and deeply appreciate all the outpouring of love for Ewen but would appreciate the privacy for them to grieve at this very difficult time,” the company said.
The Mail reported that MacIntosh had been hospitalized in 2022 and never fully recovered his health.
Comedian Ricky Gervais, who created starred in the show, mourned his passing.
Did you watch “The Office”?
“Extremely sad news. The very funny and very lovely Ewen Macintosh, known to many as ‘Big Keith’ from The Office, has passed away. An absolute original. RIP,” Gervais wrote on X.
Extremely sad news. The very funny and very lovely Ewen Macintosh, known to many as ‘Big Keith’ from The Office, has passed away. An absolute original. RIP. pic.twitter.com/Hhd3zkRVMs
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) February 21, 2024
Ed Scott, CEO of Dodged a Bullet Music, said in a series of posts on X that he was “completely devastated by the loss of my very good friend @ewenmacintosh. He may have had a famous face known by millions as Keith from The Office but the person inside is what I will most remember. Ewen was so full of empathy, kindness, and integrity and above all a really good man. Sending love to his parents Sara and Ewen Sr, his brother Colin and his family, as well as his many friends and fans.”
“Thanks to the incredible care and love provided by the wonderful medical staff and especially the nurses who all loved him when he brought a smile to their days. I saw first hand the empathy and incredible care they gave him was just so reassuring during the toughest of times and am forever grateful to them all. I will really miss you mate,” he wrote.
No one in the history of TV could ever make eating a scotch egg an iconic moment in Comedy History.
Ewan Macintosh, you were one of a kind. pic.twitter.com/9VeyulLrok
— Thomas Mitchells (@IAmTomMitchells) February 21, 2024
“I’m so very sad to hear of the passing of Ewen MacIntosh, a lovely and uniquely funny man who played accountant Keith in The Office. I fondly recall we asked him to improvise an out-of-office message, and he was so hilarious we started writing more and more dialogue for him. He soon stole every scene he was in. A total one-off. A tragic loss. RIP,” Stephen Merchant, the co-writer of the show, posted on Instagram.
Merchant told the BBC MacIntosh was so good at comedy that the writers “started writing more and more scenes with him in and eventually he became our beloved characters.”
With his “delivery and timing,” MacIntosh could “steal scenes from Ricky Gervais or Martin Freeman, which is testament to him,” Merchant said.
The British version of the show ran for two series, from 2001 through 2003. An American adaptation later ran from 2005 to 2013.
