Rik Mayall

On 9 April 1998, the actor met with a serious bike accident. He was airlifted to Plymouth's Derriford Hospital after suffering skull injury. He was in a coma for several days but eventually came back to consciousness.

On 9 June 2014, Mayall died from a heart attack at his home in London. He had just returned home from jogging. He was 56 at the time of his death. His body was buried in his family ranch at East Allington, Devon.

Richard Michael “Rik” Mayall was born on March 7, 1958 in Harlow, Essex, England to John Mayall and Gillian, both of whom were drama teachers. He was raised alongside his elder brother, Anthony, and younger sisters, Kate and Libby.

At the age of three, he moved with his family to Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, where he performed in his parents’ stage plays.

Mayall studied at King's School, Worcester, and later went on to attend the University of Manchester to study drama. There he met his friend cum future comedy partner Ade Edmondson. At the university, he also met his future girlfriend, the writer Lise Mayer.

Rik Mayall, along with Edmondson, initially performed at The Comedy Store in the early 1980s. Apart from performing in their double acts, Mayall also gave solo performances as a solo comedian, using characters such as an anarchist poet named Rick and Kevin Turvey.

He then went on to set up the comedy club ‘The Comic Strip’ along with fellow comedians Edmondson, Alexei Sayle, Peter Richardson, Nigel Planer, Pete Richens, Arnold Brown and French and Saunders.

Mayall began playing his character Kevin Turvey in the sketch show ‘A Kick Up the Eighties’ that was first broadcast in 1981. Soon after this, he appeared in the American dark comedy flick ‘Shock Treatment’. During this time, he also had a minor role in the horror movie ‘An American Werewolf in London’.

The comedian continued to perform with Edmondson, frequently appearing together as "The Dangerous Brothers". Soon the duo, along with their Comic Strip group mates, began appearing in short films under the name ‘The Comic Strip Presents’. The series debuted on 2 November 1982 and continued for many years, with Mayall playing a wide variety of roles.

Mayall went on to write and act in BBC’s sitcom ‘The Young Ones’ in 1982. In the sitcom, he maintained his double-act with Ade Edmondson. While Mayall played Rick, a sociology student, Edmondson appeared as the violent punk star Vyvyan. Following the success of the first series, the second one was premiered in 1984.

In 1993, Rik Mayall starred in ‘Rik Mayall Presents.’ The series featured six individual comedy dramas, namely ‘Micky Love,’ ‘Dancing Queen,’ ‘Briefest Encounter,’ ‘Dirty Old Town,’ ‘The Big One’ and ‘Clair de Lune.’ Mayall played various characters in the series and went on to earn the Best TV Comedy Actor at that year’s British Comedy Awards for his remarkable performances.