Rik Mayall has died

[SiHart]

Shocking news

British comedian and actor Rik Mayall has died aged 56, according to his management team.

He played the obnoxious, poetry-writing anarchist Rick in The Young Ones alongside his friend Adrian Edmonson before the duo later went on to star in their sitcom Bottom.

Mayall also appeared in shows including Blackadder and The New Statesman.

He was left seriously ill after a quad bike accident in 1998 which left him in a coma for several days.

Mayall's film roles included the comedies Drop Dead Fred and Guest House Paradiso.

His big break came at The Comic Strip Club, performing with comedy partner Adrian Edmondson as 20th Century Coyote in the 1980s which led to cult television hit The Comic Strip Presents.

He co-wrote The Young Ones with Lise Mayer and Ben Elton, which shared cult status and schoolboy humour with later sitcom Bottom.

Mayall and Edmonson's slapstick comedy often involved fires, explosions, and hefty blows to the head with a frying pan.

Mayall also famously played the loud-mouthed and lecherous Lord Flashheart in BBC comedy series Blackadder, starring Rowan Atkinson.

He appeared in the second and fourth series, shouting catchphrases such as "woof!" and "let's do-oo-oo it!".

But his early, anarchic characters gave way to the smooth, scheming Conservative politician Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman, which ran on ITV from 1986 to 1992.

[Dave Tudor]

I can't believe it.

[Dirk Gently]

That's terrible news!! I always liked Rick & Ade's duo's & the Bottom stage shows were brilliant as they tried not to corpse at each other.

That really is upsetting & quite shocking at his age.

[Nyder]

How awful and upsetting news.

[MacNimon]

That certainly is a shocker...very sad and unexpected news.

[Dirk Gently]

I would love this to have been Rik's last act ...but alas it's probably just a 'fan'.

[Rob McCow]

Tragic. Poor Rik.

[Andrew Curnow]

I have to admit, I've never been a real fan of his comedy, just not my cup of tea - but to have suddenly seen this news earlier today is such a genuine shock. Far, far too young - and loved by so so many. Although I was never really into it, The Young Ones was a huge part of our early teen years for a lot of people my age. And he was in Blackadder, some Jonathan Creeks, New Statesman... Kevin Turvey even! A man whose performances always seemed so, so full of life ("Lord Flashheart, hurrah!"). Very, very sad indeed.

[Dirk Gently]

Just thought I'd mention that there is an episode of Bottom & 2 episodes of The Young Ones on Gold tonight starting at 10:40.

[Darren]

Very sudden and shocking!

[Philipnet]

Bottom.

I remember him from Bottom.


News is coming out that it was probably related to his bike accident years ago
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/c...-accident.html

[Perry Vale]

This house will become a shrine, and punks and skins and rastas will all gather round and hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader. And all the grown-ups will say, "But why are the kids crying?" And the kids will say, "Haven't you heard? Rick is dead! The People's Poet is dead!"

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Another very sad loss to the world of comedy.

I do wish there wasn't as much speculation regarding the cause of death. Sudden unexpected deaths with no suspicious circumstances are sadly a more common occurrence than many realise and it will be a very painful time for those closest to him so I hope they are allowed privacy to grieve.