Rik Mayall

Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall in 1999
Born	Richard Michael Mayall (1958-03-07)7 March 1958 Harlow, Essex, England
Died	9 June 2014(2014-06-09) (aged 56) Barnes, Richmond-upon-Thames, London, England
Cause of death	Acute cardiac event
Spouse(s)	Barbara Robbin (m. 1985–2014) (his death)
Children	3
Awards	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, 1997
Comedy career
Medium	Television, Film, Stand-up
Years active	1980–2014
Genres	Subversive comedy, Physical comedy

Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English comedian, actor, and writer. His acting style was described as energetic "post-punk". He was a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s, forming a comedy partnership with Ade Edmonson, and appearing in numerous cult classic sitcoms, including The Young Ones (1982–84), The Comic Strip Presents... (1983–2012), Blackadder (1983–89), Filthy Rich & Catflap (1987), The New Statesman (1987–94), and Bottom (1991–95). He also starred in the comedy films Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Guest House Paradiso (1999). He won an Emmy Award in 1997 for his voice-over work in the television film The Willows in Winter.

In 1998, Mayall suffered a serious head injury in a quad bike accident near his Devon home, and was in a coma for several days. He subsequently recovered. He died of a sudden cardiac event on 9 June 2014 at the age of 56. At the time of his death, he was described by Danny Cohen, director of BBC Television, as a "truly brilliant" comedian with a unique stage presence, whose "fireball creativity" and approach to sitcom had inspired a generation of comedy stars.

Mayall, the second of four children, was born in Harlow, Essex, to John and Gillian (Harrild) Mayall. He had an older brother, Anthony, and two younger sisters, Libby and Kate. When Mayall was three years old, he and his parents—who taught drama—moved to Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, where he spent the rest of his childhood and performed in his parents' plays.