Comedic writer and actor Neil Innes, who created a Beatles parody group called the Rutles and frequently worked with the members of Monty Python, has died at age 75. his agent confirmed Monday.
Innes died of natural causes Sunday night, agent Nigel Morton said.
A statement released on behalf of his family said: "We have lost a beautiful, kind, gentle soul whose music and songs touched the heart of everyone and whose intellect and search for truth inspired us all," the statement said. "He died of natural causes quickly without warning and, I think, without pain."
Innes was such a frequent collaborator of the Monty Python troupe that he sometimes was called the "seventh Python." A musician as well as a writer, he wrote songs for the popular film "Monty Python And The Holy Grail," appeared in "Life of Brian" and toured the U.K. and Canada with the group.
He was also a member of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, later renamed the Bonzo Dog Band. One of the band's hit songs, "I'm The Urban Spaceman," won Innes an Ivor Novello award.
Colleagues posted tributes to Innes on Twitter, including the prominent British actor Mark Gatiss, who fondly wrote "Sweet dreams, sweet idiot."
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More