Sam Kelly (19th December 1943 - 14th June 2014) was born in Manchester although he was raised in Liverpool. After three years as a civil servant, he decided upon a change of profession and trained as an actor at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts from 1964 to 1967. He has since enjoyed a long career in theatre and television and has specialised in comedy roles. He is best known to the public for the role of Captain Hans Geering in the initial years of the BBC sitcom Allo, Allo and as Ted Liversidge in the ITV sitcom Barbara from 1995 to 2003.