Rik Mayall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rik Mayall
Mayall in 1999
Birth name	Richard Michael Mayall
Born	(1958-03-07)7 March 1958 Matching Tye, Essex, England
Died	9 June 2014(2014-06-09) (aged 56) London
Resting place	Pasture Farm, Totnes, Devon
Medium	Film, stand-up, television
Education	King's School, Worcester
Alma mater	University of Manchester
Genres	Alternative comedy, black comedy, character comedy, physical comedy, surreal humour
Spouse	Barbara Robbin ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	3

Richard Michael Mayall (born March 7, 1958 – died June 9, 2014) was a famous English actor, comedian, and writer. He became a pioneer of a new style of comedy called "alternative comedy" in the 1980s. He worked closely with his friend Ade Edmondson after they met at Manchester University.

Rik Mayall starred in many popular comedy TV shows. These include The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents..., Blackadder, The New Statesman, and Bottom. He also appeared in comedy movies like Drop Dead Fred. He even won an Emmy Award for his voice work in The Willows in Winter. People often described his comedy as very energetic and "post-punk."

Mayall passed away suddenly at his home in London on June 9, 2014, when he was 56 years old. Many people, including BBC Television director Danny Cohen, praised him as a "truly brilliant" comedian. They said his unique style inspired many future comedy stars.

Early Life and Education

Rik Mayall was born on March 7, 1958, in Matching Tye, near Harlow, Essex. He was the second of four children. His parents, Gillian and John Mayall, were both drama teachers. When Rik was three, his family moved to Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire. He grew up there and often performed in plays directed by his parents.

He attended King's School, Worcester, where he earned a scholarship. In 1975, Mayall went to the University of Manchester to study drama. He graduated in 1978. It was at university that he met his future comedy partner, Ade Edmondson. He also met Ben Elton, another student, and Lise Mayer. Rik and Lise later worked together to write The Young Ones.

Becoming a Comedy Star

Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson first became well-known at The Comedy Store in London, starting in 1980. They performed as a comedy duo called 20th Century Coyote. Rik also created his own characters, like Kevin Turvey and a very proud poet named Rick.

This led to Rik and Ade, along with other rising comedians, starting their own comedy club. It was called "The Comic Strip". Rik's Kevin Turvey character became popular and got a regular spot on the TV show A Kick Up the Eighties in 1981. He also appeared in the movie Shock Treatment.

In 1982, a TV show called Kevin Turvey – The Man Behind The Green Door was made about his character. Rik and Ade also performed as "The Dangerous Brothers". They played clumsy daredevils who did very wild things. This style later appeared in their show Bottom.

Channel 4 offered the Comic Strip group a chance to make six short films. These became The Comic Strip Presents..., which first aired in November 1982. This series continued for many years, and Rik played many different characters. It was known for its funny, rebellious humor and parodies. One famous parody was Bad News on Tour, a fake documentary about a heavy metal band.

Around the same time, the BBC became interested in The Young Ones. This was a sitcom written by Rik, his girlfriend Lise Mayer, and Ben Elton. It had a wild and chaotic style, similar to Comic Strip. The show was a big hit when it first aired in 1982. Rik played Rick, a proud sociology student who loved Cliff Richard. Ade Edmondson played Vyvyan, a violent medical student. Nigel Planer played Neil, a hippie, and Christopher Ryan played "Mike the cool person."

The first series was very successful, and a second one was shown in 1984.

Household Name and New Characters

Rik Mayall continued to work on The Comic Strip films. He also returned to stand-up comedy on Saturday Live, which started in 1985. He and Ade Edmondson had a regular segment as "The Dangerous Brothers".

In 1985, Rik introduced another famous character. He had a small role as "Mad Gerald" in the first series of Blackadder (1983). He then returned to play the very bold and funny Lord Flashheart in Blackadder II. He played a similar character, Squadron Commander Flashheart, in Blackadder Goes Forth. In that episode, he reunited with Ade Edmondson, who played the German flying ace Baron von Richthofen. Years later, Rik also played Robin Hood in Blackadder: Back & Forth.

In 1986, Rik starred as Richie Rich in Filthy Rich & Catflap, alongside Nigel Planer, Ade Edmondson, and Ben Elton. This show was seen as a follow-up to The Young Ones. It made fun of old-fashioned entertainment. While Rik received good reviews, the show didn't get many viewers at first. However, it later became popular when released on video and DVD.

In the same year, Rik had a No. 1 hit song in the UK. He and his Young Ones co-stars teamed up with Cliff Richard to record "Living Doll" for the first Comic Relief charity campaign. Rik played Rick one last time for Comic Relief and supported the charity for the rest of his life.

In 1987, Rik Mayall co-starred with Ade Edmondson in an episode of the sitcom Hardwicke House. He also appeared on the children's TV show Jackanory. His wild storytelling of Roald Dahl's George's Marvellous Medicine was very memorable.

In 1987, Rik played Alan Beresford B'Stard in the sitcom The New Statesman. Alan B'Stard was a funny, over-the-top character who was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). The show ran for four series and was very successful. In 1989, Rik also starred in Grim Tales, where he narrated Grimm Brothers fairy tales with puppets. In the early 1990s, he appeared in funny commercials for Nintendo games. He even bought his house in London with money from these ads and called it "Nintendo Towers."

1990s and Beyond

In 1991, Ade Edmondson and Rik Mayall starred together in the play Waiting for Godot in London. While working on this play, they came up with the idea for Bottom. This show was commissioned by the BBC and ran for three series between 1991 and 1995. Rik played Richard 'Richie' Richard, and Ade played Eddie Elizabeth Hitler. The show became a huge favorite with fans.

After the second series, Rik and Ade took a stage version of Bottom on tour. It was a big success, filling large venues. They did four more successful tours in 1995, 1997, 2001, and 2003. A movie version, Guest House Paradiso, was released in 1999.

Rik Mayall also starred with Phoebe Cates in the movie Drop Dead Fred (1991). He played the main character, Fred, a mischievous imaginary friend who returns from a woman's childhood. He also lent his voice to the character Froglip in the 1992 animated film The Princess and the Goblin. In 1993, he starred in Rik Mayall Presents, a series of six comedy dramas. His performances won him a Best Comedy Performer award at the British Comedy Awards.

In 1995, Rik provided the voice of Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows. From 1999, he was the voice of Kehaar, a black-headed seagull, in the animated TV show Watership Down.

In 1998, Rik Mayall was in a serious quad bike accident. While he was recovering in the hospital, he and Ade Edmondson wrote the first draft of their movie Guest House Paradiso. Rik returned to work doing voice-overs. His first acting job after the accident was in the 1998 Jonathan Creek Christmas special.

2000s and Final Years

In 2000, Rik Mayall voiced many characters for the video game Hogs of War. He also appeared in the video production of Jesus Christ Superstar as King Herod. In 2002, Rik teamed up again with writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran for the sitcom Believe Nothing, but it only lasted one series.

In 2004, Rik voiced Edwin in the BBC show Shoebox Zoo. In September 2005, he released a funny, partly fictional autobiography called Bigger than Hitler, Better than Christ. In 2006, Rik played Alan B'Stard again in the play The New Statesman 2006: Blair B'stard Project. This time, B'Stard had switched to become a Labour MP.

Rik was cast as the poltergeist Peeves in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). However, all of his scenes were cut from the final movie. He didn't find out until the movie's premiere.

Rik Mayall also provided the voice for the Andrex puppy in TV commercials and for King Arthur in the children's cartoon series King Arthur's Disasters. In September 2009, he had a supporting role in the TV show Midsomer Murders.

In April 2010, Rik released an England Football song called "Noble England" for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He performed a speech adapted from Shakespeare's Henry V. After his death in 2014, fans campaigned to get "Noble England" to No. 1 during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and it reached No. 7 on the charts.

On March 5, 2011, Rik Mayall appeared on Let's Dance for Comic Relief. He came on stage and playfully attacked Ade Edmondson with a frying pan during Ade's ballet performance. This was the last time the duo performed together in public.

In August 2012, the BBC announced that Rik and Ade's characters, Richie and Eddie, would return in a new TV show called Hooligan's Island. However, the project was later canceled because Ade wanted to work on other things.

In October 2013, Rik appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom Man Down. He played the father of the main character, even though he was only ten years older than the actor playing his son.

Rik Mayall's last recorded performance was poetry and voice-overs for the band Magic Eight Ball's album, released in November 2014. His final TV appearance was in Crackanory, which aired after he passed away on September 24, 2014.

Personal Life

Rik Mayall married Barbara Robbin, a Scottish make-up artist, in 1985. They had three children together.

Death

On June 9, 2014, Rik Mayall passed away at his home in Barnes, London. He was 56 years old and died suddenly from a heart attack after a morning jog. His funeral was held on June 19, 2014, in Dittisham, Devon. Many famous friends and co-stars attended, including Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ade Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle, and Ben Elton. Ade Edmondson was one of the pallbearers. Rik was buried on his family's property in East Allington, Devon, as he had wished.

Legacy and Recognition

An unofficial blue plaque for Rik Mayall in Hammersmith, London

Rik Mayall is remembered as one of the greatest comedy performers.

• In 2005, a Channel 4 poll called Comedians' Comedian voted Mayall among the top 50 comedy performers of all time.
• In 2008, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Exeter.
• In 2010, Rik was present in Blackpool for the laying of the first slab in the Comedy Carpet. This carpet celebrates famous comedians and includes one of his lines from The Young Ones.
• Also in 2010, a poll of "Top 100 Stand-Up Comedians" placed Mayall at 91st.
• After his death in 2014, The Guardian newspaper described him as an actor whose "onscreen performances were so full of life." They said his characters were "vast mad scribbles, jammed to the margins with noise and energy." They also noted how he could "upstage an entire fleet of world-class comedians" in Blackadder.
• In 2014, an unofficial blue plaque appeared in Hammersmith, London, as a tribute to Mayall. It referenced the opening of his show Bottom. A memorial bench for Mayall was also unveiled in Hammersmith on November 14, 2014, in the same spot where a bench from Bottom used to be.
• A 20-foot (6-meter) high mural of Mayall was created by artist Gnasher on the Playhouse in Harlow, Essex, where Rik was born.

Film Appearances

Television Appearances

Stage Performances

Video Games

Books by Rik Mayall

• Bigger than Hitler – Better than Christ (2005) (partly about his own life)

Audiobooks Narrated by Rik Mayall

Awards and Nominations

• 1993 – British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor – Won
• 1997 – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance – Won

See also

In Spanish: Rik Mayall para niños