English comedian and actor born on 7th March 1958 in Essex, died June 9 2014. Reached number 1 in the UK in 1986 with his co-stars from the TV series "The Young Ones" and Cliff Richard with an offbeat version of "Living Doll". Also appeared in the spoof rock band Bad News as Colin Grigson.
He had three children, Rosie , Sydney (b. 1989) and Bonnie (b. 1996), with his wife Barbara Robbin.
Ex-girlfriend: Lise Mayer.
Played Peeves the Poltergeist in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone , but was cut out during editing. But he can be seen for a moment in Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry and his friends are going to the common-room after the feast on the first night.
Played the private detective in the "Peter Gunn" video by The Art of Noise.
Had an older brother Anthony and two younger sisters, Libby and Kate.
Met Adrian Edmondson (they starred together in "The Young Ones" and "Bottom" ) in college.
Stage debut at the age of 6 appearing in a crowd scene in The Good Woman of Setzuan.
Wrote the first draft of Guest House Paradiso , with Adrian Edmondson , whilst in hospital recovering from his quad-bike accident.
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 youre the bastard that keeps sticking needles into me!". He made a full recovery.
He had auditioned for for the roles of Banzai, Zazu and Timon in The Lion King . He was asked to audition for the role of Timon by lyricist Tim Rice , who got the idea for the lyrics of the song "Hakuna Matata" by watching "Bottom" .
He toured the UK with a play based on The New Statesman series in 2006.
On the 12th of June 2014 it was reported that his post-mortem had been inconclusive. His wife commented that he might have had a "significant cardiac event" after coming home from a morning run.
In November 2014, a memorial bench for Rik Mayall was unveiled in Hammersmith, London. The bench is situated at the junction of Queen Caroline Street and Hammersmith Bridge Road. A plaque on the bench reads: In Memory of The Man, The Myth, The Legend. Dr The Rik Mayall. Pan Global Phenomenon. Equality, Opportunity, Wisdom, Freedom & Love. Barbara: Love Is The Answer.
The fifteenth Harry Potter film series cast member to die.
Was left handed.
His final performance was in the Dutch film De Ontsnapping , filmed just weeks before his sudden death, and his last scene ends with him quoting the following soliloquy from Macbeth: "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle. Lifes but a passing shadow...".
Comedy legend Spike Milligan famously called him "the arsehole of British comedy".
(On Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone ) The film, with respect... no, with no respect at all... the film was shit.
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.
I had a very happy childhood, happy teenage years and I was famous by,the time I was 22. A charmed life.
Other people get moody in their forties and fifties - men get the male,menopause. I missed the whole thing. I was just really happy.
With 1,000-seater venues, rather than 5,000-seaters, there are richer,opportunities for sucking the audience in.
