What was Sid James doing at death?

While on a revival tour of The Mating Season, a 1969 farce by the Irish playwright, Sam Cree, James suffered a heart attack on stage at the Sunderland Empire Theatre.

Actress Olga Lowe thought that he was playing a practical joke at first when he failed to reply to her dialogue. When he failed to reply to her ad-libs, she moved towards the wing to seek help.

The technical manager, Melvyn James called for the curtain to close and requested a doctor, while the audience who were unaware of what was happening, laughed believing the events to be part of the show.

An ambulance was called and he was pronounced dead on arrival at the Sunderland Royal Hospital on April 26, 1976. He was 62.