Smith admitted that he suffered from depression and battled an addiction to painkillers, which led to him being hospitalised in 1999 with severe stomach ulcers. He appeared pale and slurred his words on Celebrity Mastermind in 2009, when he was said to be suffering from a virulent throat infection. Smith's screen appearances had become scarce in recent years. His last role was as a hotel manager in Stephen Poliakoff's TV drama series Dancing on the Edge this year.
Rhys Jones led the tributes yesterday, describing Smith as a "force for life to everybody who met him". Smith attended Oxford University while Rhys Jones was at Cambridge and they became known to each other while performing at the Edinburgh Fringe.
John Lloyd, producer of Not the Nine O'Clock News, said his friend had been ill for some time.
"Mel did an extraordinary thing - he taught us all how to make comedy natural," he told the BBC. "Mel was a very kind person and open to new ideas. He would always take on a part in Not if the others didn't want to do it."
Lloyd added that Smith liked a drink and recalled their last lunch together, which began at Claridges at 12.30pm and ended at 9pm when Gordon Ramsay joined them for coffee.
Stephen Fry tweeted: "Terrible news about my old friend Mel Smith, dead today from a heart attack. Mel lived a full life, but was kind, funny & wonderful to know."
Graham Linehan, co-writer of Father Ted, said he was very sad to hear the news. "He and Griff gave Arthur [Mathews, Father Ted co-creator] and I our break."
Rowan Atkinson said he was "truly sad" to hear about the death.
"Mel Smith - a lovely man of whom I saw too little in his later years," he said. "He had a wonderfully generous and sympathetic presence both on and off screen."
Smith, was born in Chiswick, west London, where his father owned a greengrocer's then a bookmaker's shop. He attended Latymer Upper School before going on to New College, Oxford.
He joined the university's dramatic society, which appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe. The society shared a venue with the Cambridge Footlights, where Smith was spotted by the producer John Lloyd, who went on to cast him in Not the Nine O'Clock News, which began in 1979.
Smith is survived by his wife, Pam.
We enjoyed ourselves far too much, says friend
"I still can't believe this has happened. To everybody who ever met him, Mel was a force for life. He had a relish for it that seemed utterly inexhaustible.
"He inspired love and utter loyalty and he gave it in return. I will look back on the days working with him as some of the funniest times that I have ever spent.
"We probably enjoyed ourselves far too much, but we had a rollercoaster of a ride along the way. Terrific business. Fantastic fun, making shows. Huge parties and crazy times. And Mel was always ready to be supportive. Nobody could have been easier to work with.
"We never had an argument about which part we should play or how we were going to do something. We never had an argument, in fact. We loved performing together. He was a very generous and supportive actor. We had a good deal of fun.
"Mel was not a pressure person. He was a gentleman and a scholar, a gambler and a wit.
"And he was a brilliant actor. But he never took himself or the business too seriously.
"We are all in a state of shock.
"We have lost a very, very dear friend."
- Independent, Telegraph Group Ltd
