Rik Mayall

RIK MAYALL d2014. English comedian, writer, actor and voice-over artist who was a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s. He formed a comedy partnership with Ade Edmundson and appeared in numerous cult classic sitcoms including ; The Young Ones (1982–84) / Filthy Rich and Catflap (1987) / The New Statesman (1987–94) / Bottom (1991–95) / Blackadder and in the comedy films Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Guest House Paradiso (1999). He sadly died aged just 56 in 2014. At the time of his death, he was described by Danny Cohen (director of BBCTV) as a "truly brilliant" comedian with a unique stage presence, whose "fireball creativity" and approach to sitcom had inspired a generation of comedy stars ...