Veteran actor and former MADC chairman Alan Meadows, who became a household name following a notorious pantomime incident in 1985, died on Thursday. He was 83.

Announcing the death on its social media page, the theatre group described Meadows as a selfless and loyal pillar of the club. 

“Alan was a rock to the club and his family, especially to his beloved wife, Nella, to whom we pass on deepest sympathy and sincere condolences,” MADC said. 

Meadows had a long and diverse career, performing in everything from Shakespearean classics to contemporary productions.

However, he is perhaps best remembered for his role as the dame in MADC’s 1985 Christmas pantomime, Robinson Crusoe, which became the setting for a dramatic clash between theatre and politics.

During the performance at the Manoel Theatre, Meadows - known for his sharp wit - was engaging with the audience when he made a joke about water shortages in Sliema.

Quoted in M magazine in 2007, Meadows said: “I was down in the audience giving out sweets to the kids and cracking a joke about the people from Sliema. I was saying how you could easily recognise them by their unpleasant odour, due to their sparse bathing opportunities". 

According to Meadows, his remark offended a senior member of the Labour administration who was sitting in one of the theatre’s official boxes. The unidentified individual began heckling and insulting Meadows with homophobic slurs. 

“My riposte, in Maltese, was that it takes one to recognise one,” Meadows said. 

Alan Meadows (seated centre) performing in 1985's Robinson Crusoe.

The actor then threw a sweet up to his box, further aggravating the aggressor, who picked up a chair. 

“He was instantly restrained by others in the box. The drama continued off stage and some heavies rushed to the stage door in an attempt to intimidate the cast,” Meadows recalled.  

The Christmas pantomime has sold out since that incident. 

Renowned dame, actor and script-writer Alan Montanaro said Meadows was “a friend and a gentleman, who never had a bad word to say about anyone. He will be sorely missed.” 

Meadows’ son Tristan wrote: “My dad passed away yesterday. His passing has left a hole in my life but his last days were hard to witness and his ordeal is over. Daddy was the rock in our lives and we miss him so much already. But to quote terry Pratchett, my favourite writer: Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?"