It's very sad news.
He was neither one of those simplistic comedians always going for safe subjects to get easy universal laughs nor was he a snooty, superior intellectual who thought that people should just be in awe of him and be grateful for his very presence.
He was an extremely intelligent and funny man, but a very humble one who cared for the ordinary person. He just did his 'job' so very well and never feted celebrity.
I did feel sorry for him - and laugh with him in equal measure - when he sang on ISIHAC. He knew that singing wasn't one of his many talents (made even more evident by the presence of Barry Cryer and others, who do have very good voices), but still got on and had a go.
I always remember one of his silly, quite throwaway comments from when we saw him live ten years ago or so:
"My parents never had a particularly privileged background. They lived for years in a council house but they eventually had to leave - shortly after I was born and they called me Jeremy!"