Rik Mayall Dies

Many of the papers have speculated that the star of such TV comedy classics as “The Young Ones,” “The New Statesman,” “Blackadder,” and “Bottom” may have had a seizure. His wife Barbara told reporters that Mayall had suffered from epileptic fits since nearly dying in a quad-bike accident in 1998, which left him in a coma for several days.

“We don’t know yet what happened. He had a strong heart, so I don’t think it was a heart attack.

But we just don’t know until the coroner’s report,” she said. A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers were called by London Ambulance Service to a house in Barnes, southwest London, at 1:20 p.m. where “a man, aged in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene.”

The death is not believed to be suspicious, he added. Mayall’s passing was announced by his manager Roger Davidson, who described it as “a terrible shock.” “All we know … is that Rik died at home. He touched many lives, and always for the better,” he said. Tributes were also paid by the comedy producer John Lloyd, the comedian David Walliams and film director Edgar Wright.

“There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing. They were some of the most carefree stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him,” said fellow comedian and co-writer Adrian Edmondson. Both Mayall and Edmondson made their names doing stand-up at London’s Comedy Store. Mayall is survived by three children.