Forbes and Gordon Dougall

Robert Carr, who has died aged 56, was an actor whom colleagues regarded as a joy to write for and direct, whether in numerous comic roles to which he applied a natural comedian's timing, or as a straight actor in which he could "send shivers down your spine". He was adored by all who knew him, so much so he was affectionately called Sir Bob, and his sudden death has been greeted with shock and sadness.

Born in East Kilbride to Wilson and Myretta Kerr, Robert Kerr attended Heathery Knowe primary school and Hunter High School. He trained to be a scientific instrument maker before studying drama at RSAMD in Glasgow. As Robert Carr, he then went on to become a familiar face on the Scottish stage, notching up many fine performances at the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, the Traverse and the Tron, as well as with companies including Wildcat and Borderline.

Work on TV included Taggart, The High Life, Still Game and Hamish Macbeth. His latest film work was in the remake of Lassie.

Of his numerous standout roles, Carr's dame for the Tron Theatre pantomime was a sublime and unique creation. A great bruiser of a Glasgow "wumman" with a penchant for surreal theatrical campery and kitsch Christmas songs, his creation made a major contribution to the shows' critical and box office success, and, indeed, the revival of the Tron Theatre itself.

There was not a day in rehearsals when he would not reduce everyone to hysterical laughter. But Carr was more than just a genius clown. He was a clever and instinctive straight actor, too. At the Tron again, he was chilling as the abusive Alex in Michel Tremblay's play, The Real Wurld, directed by Michael Boyd. He received great acclaim, too, as an ageing Bonnie Prince Charlie in Fifth Estate's production of Carlucco and the Queen of Hearts.

Beyond the theatre, Carr was a private man, well known for a compassionate outlook to those less fortunate than himself. Rather than indulge in theatrical extravagance, Carr preferred simple pleasures, and, after a night onstage, would rush to his local pub, the Arlington, in Glasgow's west end, for a pint with his mates. Carr's extended family meant everything to him, and he increasingly turned down roles if it meant he had to travel far from home.

There is now a huge "Bob-shaped" hole left in Scottish theatre and in the hearts of people who knew him. We feel so privileged to have shared time with him. Whenever you dropped him off after giving him a lift in your car, he would stand at the side of the road comically saluting, until you drove off. We salute you now, Sir Bob, and miss you terribly. We offer our condolences to his family who survive him, his father Wilson, brothers Jim and Billy, his sister Margaret and his nieces Amanda, Angela, Lorna and Gillian.

Forbes Masson and Gordon Dougall Bob Carr was one of the most brilliant actors I've worked with, writes Michael Boyd, artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He combined in one big lovely man a deep thoughtfulness, a bold imagination and a childlike playfulness, and, as a result, his work was constantly fresh, immediate and surprising; never a rehash of received ideas.

Bob was blessed with a rare combination of masculine brake-horsepower and a fine feminine dexterity, which paid off most obviously in his anarchic pantomime dames but was equally crucial to the success of his avenging ghosts and dysfunctional patriarchs.

To (probably) misquote his character Billy Bones in David Kane's play, Dumbstruck, he was a "very funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, funny, man". And he made us cry.