Andy Firefly

Andy Firefly (born 1941 - 17 May 2006) was a British stand-up comedian and actor.
Firefly has been credited as an important influence on modern stand up comedy, and is considered a bridging-point between pre- and post-alternative British comedy. He is the only comedian to have recorded a set for the TV show The Comedians (considered a bastion of old school comedy) and performed at the London Comedy Store, the focus for the alternative comedy revolution of the 1980s.
Early career
Born in Bridlington, Firefly began performing comedy at his father's workingmen's club 'The Millingham' in Bridlington at the age of 15 under his given name of Downie. He was soon noticed by the comedians who played the national circuit and thus came to the attention of Harry Keltrain, a 'showbusiness' agent who would later help launch Ken Dodd's career. Keltrain suggested Andy's stagename and booked him low-paid gigs on the national variety and working men's circuit.
Later career
According to his biography, 'Dark Behind The Smile' Andy's early material was typical of the pre-'alternative' circuit. He soon tired of this and began to become more experimental, often losing his audience. However, the experimentation paid off and he landed his first acting role, a part in the BBC's Z-Cars. Harry Keltrain was unable to negotiate the contact due to an arrest for bigamy, and Andy took this as an opportunity to strike out on his own.
In the summer of 1992 whilst appearing on stage at the 'Laughing Mule Comedy Club' in Peterborough alongside Bil Hicks, his treasured diaries were stolen from either the dressing room or from his campervan parked outside. Subsequently he wasn't sure of which gigs he was supposed to be doing and didn't perform for almost 18 months. After a nationwide appeal, the dairies were returned in 1995 after fellow comedian Alan Roberts was stopped by police whilst sleeping off a hangover in his car and the diaries were spotted in the driving seat. Roberts never revealed how the diaries came into his possession or indeed what he was doing drunk in Firefly's car
Other notable television appearances include Doctor Who, Danger Man and The Third Man (uncredited).
Death
Firefly died in a car crash in Gloucester in the early hours of 17 May 2006 heading home from a corporate gig for the Poultry Partnership. Due to increasing paranoia over not being paid for his work, he had insisted on only being paid in cash, in particular five pound notes which he found easier to store in hiding places around his home. On the night of his death he had collected his £10,000 fee in five pound notes and was driving home with the cash on the back seat when he turned the car's air conditioning on full blast which caused the cash to start swirling around, blocking his view out of the front windscreen. His car mounted the pavement and came to rest in the front window of Barclays Bank on St Oswalds Street on the outskirts of Gloucester. When the police arrived they presumed Firefly's car was the getaway vehicle for a bungled bank robbery.

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