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IMDbPro

Rik Mayall(1958-2014)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Music Department
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001060
Rik Mayall at an event for Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
When a potentially lethal virus is created within his new lab, Dr Geoff Burton is shocked to discover he is not only the unwitting cause, but also its first victim.
Play trailer2:26
Errors of the Human Body (2012)
8 Videos
99+ Photos
Rik Mayall, one of the first and foremost alternative comedians in the UK, was born in a village called Matching Tye, just outside Harlow in Essex. His parents, John and Gillian were both drama teachers. His acting debut was at the age of seven when he appeared in one of his father's stage plays. He met his comedy partner and best friend Adrian "Ade" Edmondson at Manchester University in 1975. Soon he and Ade began performing together as a comedy act called "Twentieth Century Coyote" at the now legendary Comedy Store in London. They later moved their act to a venue called "The Comic Strip" and it was there that they were discovered by producer Paul Jackson. Rik and his friends such as Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Alexei Sayle, Peter Richardson and Nigel Planer were boomed onto television screens with immense success. He wrote The Young Ones (1982) with Ben Elton and Lise Mayer. You loved it or you hated it, but you can't deny the impact it had on British Sitcom. His career was launched, and at only twenty-four years of age he became one of the most popular comedians in Britain. He wrote and starred in various other series and films over the years such as The New Statesman (1987); his role in it as Alan B'Stard earned him a BAFTA. He had his brief touch of Hollywood in 1991 when he starred as the title role in Drop Dead Fred (1991), but he soon returned to the British TV screens with Bottom (1991) a show which only ran for 3 seasons from 1991 to 1995 but was so popular that he and his co-star Adrian Edmondson toured with live shows based on the series around Britain every two years or so up until 2014. In 1998 he had a severe accident and ended up in a coma after he crashed with his quad-bike at his farm in Devon. Luckily he recovered and starred in films and shows such as Guest House Paradiso (1999) and Day of the Sirens (2002). In 2002 he proved that he was back and ready for action in the comedy series Believe Nothing (2002) which reunited him with Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, the writers of "The New Statesman". In 2003 he toured the UK alongside Adrian Edmondson with the fifth Bottom Live show.
BornMarch 7, 1958
DiedJune 9, 2014(56)
BornMarch 7, 1958
DiedJune 9, 2014(56)
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,0001060
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos132

Barry Humphries and Rik Mayall in Shock Treatment (1981)
Cliff De Young, Jessica Harper, and Rik Mayall in Shock Treatment (1981)
Cliff De Young and Rik Mayall in Shock Treatment (1981)
Cliff De Young, Jessica Harper, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Cliff De Young, Jessica Harper, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Nell Campbell, Jessica Harper, Barry Humphries, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Nell Campbell, Jessica Harper, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Cliff De Young, Nell Campbell, Jessica Harper, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Cliff De Young, Nell Campbell, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Nell Campbell, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Cliff De Young, Nell Campbell, Jessica Harper, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)
Nell Campbell, Jessica Harper, Rik Mayall, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Shock Treatment (1981)

Known for

Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, and Christopher Ryan in The Young Ones (1982)
The Young Ones
8.2
TV Series
  • Rick
  • Alien Spotter
  • Bobby Malvenes
  • Dicky
  • Fly #1
  • TV Announcer
Phoebe Cates and Rik Mayall in Drop Dead Fred (1991)
Drop Dead Fred
5.9
  • Drop Dead Fred
  • 1991
Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island (1997)
Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island
7.7
Video
  • Richard Richard
  • 1997
Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour (1995)
Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour
8.0
Video
  • Richie Rich
  • 1995

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Isa Hoes and Edwin Jonker in The Escape (2015)
    The Escape
  • Crackanory (2013)
    Crackanory
  • One by One (2014)
    One by One
  • Rik Mayall, Gwyneth Powell, Greg Davies, Jeany Spark, Mike Wozniak, and Roisin Conaty in Man Down (2013)
    Man Down
  • Andy Quirke in Damo and Ivor (2013)
    Damo and Ivor
  • Don't Fear Death (2013)
    Don't Fear Death
  • Alan Davies in Jonathan Creek (1997)
    Jonathan Creek
  • The Comic Strip Presents (1982)
    The Comic Strip Presents
    • ...
  • Errors of the Human Body (2012)
    Errors of the Human Body
  • Eldorado (2012)
    Eldorado
  • The Itch of the Golden Nit (2011)
    The Itch of the Golden Nit
    • (voice)
  • This Side of the Afterlife
    • (voice)
  • Victoria Silvstedt, Danny Dyer, Craig Fairbrass, Rik Mayall, and Billy Murray in Just for the Record (2010)
    Just for the Record
  • Neil Dudgeon and John Nettles in Midsomer Murders (1997)
    Midsomer Murders
  • Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie in Agatha Christie's Marple (2004)
    Agatha Christie's Marple

Writer

  • Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004)
    Churchill: The Hollywood Years
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour (2003)
    Bottom Live 2003: Weapons Grade Y-Fronts Tour
  • Chris Barrie, Steve Coogan, Adrian Edmondson, and Jennifer Saunders in More Great Comedy Moments (2003)
    More Great Comedy Moments
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Bottom 2001: An Arse Oddity (2001)
    Bottom 2001: An Arse Oddity
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Guest House Paradiso (1999)
    Guest House Paradiso
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Big Bottom Live - The Best of Bottom Live (1999)
    Big Bottom Live - The Best of Bottom Live
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island (1997)
    Bottom Live 3: Hooligan's Island
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Bottom Fluff (1996)
    Bottom Fluff
  • Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour (1995)
    Bottom Live: The Big Number 2 Tour
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Bottom (1991)
    Bottom
  • Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall in Bottom Live (1993)
    Bottom Live
  • The Comic Strip Presents (1982)
    The Comic Strip Presents
  • Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, and Nigel Planer in Filthy Rich & Catflap (1987)
    Filthy Rich & Catflap
  • Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger (1986)
    Dangerous Brothers Present: World of Danger
  • Comic Relief

Music Department

  • Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, and Christopher Ryan in The Young Ones (1982)
    The Young Ones
    • (uncredited)

Videos8

Trailer
Trailer 0:45
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:05
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:51
Trailer
Bande-annonce [OV]
Trailer 1:44
Bande-annonce [OV]
Theatrical Version
Trailer 2:26
Theatrical Version
Errors of the Human Body
Trailer 2:25
Errors of the Human Body
Drop Dead Fred
Trailer 0:31
Drop Dead Fred
Chilly Dogs
Trailer 1:13
Chilly Dogs

Personal details

Edit
    • March 7, 1958
    • Harlow, Essex, England, UK
    • June 9, 2014
    • Barnes, Richmond upon Thames, London, England, UK(cardiac arrest)
    • 1985 - June 9, 2014 (his death, 3 children)
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    Theatre, 1996: in "Cell Mates" on West End. The play was short-lived, because co-star Stephen Fry became depressed and left the play after only a few performances.
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 5 Interviews

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He was seriously injured in a quad bike accident in 1998 and was in a coma for several days. His first words on regaining consciousness were to the doctor: "So you're the bastard that keeps sticking needles into me!". He made a full recovery.
  • Quotes
    One of my hobbies is people-watching. I love to sit outside a cafe watching people go by. I use things that I see in different characters that I play.
    • Frequently performed alongside Adrian Edmondson

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