The UK comedy world is mourning the loss of Warren Lakin, a beloved promoter and the long-term partner of the late comedian Linda Smith. Lakin passed away at the age of 71 from a respiratory tract infection.
A Life in Comedy and Promotion
For decades, Warren Lakin was a driving force behind the scenes of British live entertainment. He spent many years promoting tours and shows for a wide array of comedians, singers, poets, and speakers. He was a co-founder of Lakin McCarthy Productions, the company he ran with Mike McCarthy.
His roster of talent was impressive, including work with Barry Cryer, Susan Calman, Andy Hamilton, Robin Ince, Ruby Wax, and Jon Ronson. However, his most significant professional and personal partnership was with the comedian and broadcaster Linda Smith.
Partnership with Linda Smith and Curating a Legacy
Lakin met Smith in the early 1980s when both were founder members of the left-wing Sheffield Popular Theatre. The group not only produced plays but also hosted cabaret nights where Smith performed her first stand-up routines.
He supported her throughout her rise as a comedy star and her celebrated tenure as a BBC Radio 4 favourite. After Smith's death from ovarian cancer in 2006, Lakin dedicated himself to preserving her memory with characteristic vigour.
His efforts included writing a well-received biography, Driving Miss Smith (2007), producing CDs and a book of her material, and organising a series of tribute shows that raised funds for Target Ovarian Cancer. In a significant move, he donated her personal archive to the University of Kent, which directly inspired the creation of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.
From Journalism to Showbusiness
Born into a Jewish family in Hackney, London, Warren Lakin grew up in the Southend area. After leaving Westcliff High School for Boys, he began his career as a journalist with the East London and Essex newspaper group. Politically active from a young age, he became an NUJ shop steward at just 20.
His shift into promotion began with shows for bands and theatre groups. In the late 1970s, he joined the theatre company Cast, working on their New Variety shows in London venues that were crucial to the birth of the 1980s alternative comedy circuit.
He moved to Sheffield in 1983 to study at the university but abandoned his degree after meeting Linda Smith, choosing instead to focus on Sheffield Popular Theatre and his promotion work. The couple returned to London a decade later.
Colleagues remember Lakin as a uniquely warm, chatty, and effective promoter—"one of the nicest people in showbusiness." His legendary phone conversations could last over an hour, traversing topics from comedy and jazz to politics, Jewish culture, cricket, and his beloved Arsenal FC.
He is survived by his partner, Debra Reay, his brother, Tony, and his sister, Tina.
