Gorden Kaye (born Gordon Fitzgerald Kaye; 7 April 1941) is a BAFTA-nominated English comic actor, best known for playing René Artois in the British TV comedy 'Allo 'Allo!.

Biographie

Kaye is the author of a 1989 autobiography, Rene & Me: A Sort of Autobiography (with Hilary Bonner, ISBN 0-283-99965-9) in which he describes his experiences as a shy, gay, overweight, typecast youth. The unusual spelling of the name Gorden (usually spelt "Gordon") was the result of a British Actors' Equity Association typing error.

Kaye suffered serious head injuries in a car accident during the Burns' Day storm on 25 January 1990. Although he cannot remember any details of the incident, he still has a scar on his forehead from a piece of wooden advertising hoarding that smashed through the car windscreen.

While recovering in hospital from emergency brain surgery to treat injuries sustained in the accident, Kaye was photographed and interviewed by Sunday Sport journalist Roger Ordish. He sued the Sunday Sport, but the Court of Appeal held that there was no remedy in English law for an invasion of privacy. See Kaye v Robertson.