John Byrne, the acclaimed Scottish artist and playwright best known for creating the BBC series Tutti Frutti, has died at the age of 83. His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully on Thursday, with his wife Jeanine at his side.
Born in Paisley, Byrne trained at the Glasgow School of Art and initially worked as a painter and designer, creating album covers for his friend, singer Gerry Rafferty. He later turned to playwriting, achieving success with his Slab Boys Trilogy, which debuted in 1978 and drew on his experiences as a young man in a carpet factory. The play was later performed on Broadway, starring Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, and Val Kilmer.
Byrne reached a wider audience with the 1987 BBC Scotland series Tutti Frutti, a six-part drama about a Scottish rock band attempting a comeback. Starring Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson, the show won six Baftas. A follow-up, Your Cheatin' Heart, aired in 1990 and featured Tilda Swinton.
Throughout his career, Byrne continued to paint, and his work is held by institutions including the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art. In later years, he created murals, including one for the King's Theatre in Edinburgh and another celebrating Billy Connolly's 75th birthday.
BBC Scotland director Steve Carson described Byrne as "an incredibly gifted artist, across so many disciplines." Artist Alison Watt paid tribute on social media, calling him "supremely gifted as an artist and playwright, generous, funny and the most stylish man I've ever met."
