Kate Beckinsale paid tribute to her late father Richard Beckinsale on Tuesday as she marked the 45th anniversary of his sudden death.  The actor, famed for his roles in popular shows Rising Damp and Porridge, suddenly died on March 19, 1979 at the age of just 31, leaving behind his devastated wife Judy Loe and young daughters Kate and Samantha.  Richard's tragic death came as a shock to the young family as he died in his sleep from a heart attack, which was later revealed to be a congenital defect.

There had been no real indication of what was to come, and it was in fact Judy who was the family's focus then, as she was in hospital recovering from an operation.  The day before his death, Richard had taken Kate - who was just five-years-old at the time - to visit her mother in hospital and had no physical complaints, simply saying he felt tired.  Kate Beckinsale paid tribute to her late father Richard Beckinsale on Tuesday with a series of throwbacks as she marked the 45th anniversary of his death (pictured with mother Judy Loe) Richard, known for his role as Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcom Porridge sadly, passed away in 1979 aged just 31, adult movie when Kate was five-years-old Richard left behind daughters Kate (left) and Samantha who he shared with his first wife Margaret.

She was raised by her stepfather and did not know Richard was her father until she was 11 That evening, Richard attended a party for The Two Ronnies before returning to the family home in Sunningdale, Berks. The last anyone heard from the rising comedy star was in a phone call he made to friends before going to bed, in which he noted he had pains in his arms and chest but made light of it. Tragically, Richard never woke up.  While his devastated friends and loved ones struggled to come to terms with the loss, just three days later the BAFTA Awards honoured Sydney Lotterby, producer of Porridge follow up Going Straight, and Richard's friend and co-star Ronnie Barker.

At the ceremony, sex Sydney was too upset to speak.  Meanwhile, Ronnie broke down in tears as he paid tribute, saying: 'The death of my friend Richard Beckinsale has robbed me of the joy of this award but the pride of winning it still remains.' That summer saw the release of the film version of Porridge, in which Richard was seen in his role as Lennie Godber. He continues to be seen on TVs across the nation on reruns of his popular shows.  Yet for his daughter Kate, the memories of losing her father are too distressing to contemplate.  Of losing her father, the Hollywood actress said in 2013: 'It was a terrible loss.

It's so weird as a five-year-old to look out in the street and see people reading the paper and crying while you're crying and your mum is crying and your granny's crying. 'Even though it was the worst loss that I have experienced I was able to share it with people who genuinely, teenage porn even if they didn't know him, really seemed to love him. 'I feel not many people are in that position - to have lost somebody and porn blog also to feel like that's something really relevant to other people.