Ian Lavender, the last surviving star of British sitcom 'Dad's Army,' has died

LONDON (AP) — Actor Ian Lavender, who played a hapless Home Guard soldier in the classic British sitcom “Dad’s Army,” has died, his agent said Monday. He was 77.

Agent Hilary Gagan said Lavender had been ill for some time and died with his wife and sons at his side.

Lavender was the last surviving main cast member of “Dad’s Army,” about a ragtag volunteer unit assembled to defend their seaside English town from potential Nazi invasion during World War II.

Originally broadcast between 1968 and 1977, it attracted as many as 18 million viewers an episode -- a third of the British population -- and remains perennially popular in reruns.