Watched the 'Culture' episode of Bottom earlier as a tribute. Mayall was awesome in that classic episode.

I found out about 6pm yesterday that Rik Mayall was dead, and it still hasn't sunk in that he has gone. I am still in genuine shock. Like many people of a certain generation he was my absolute comedy hero. This is going to take some time to sink in. I am genuinely trying to hold back tears. I still cannot believe this...

Like many of us of a certain age group I grew up with the humour of The Young Ones, Filthy Rich & Catflap and Bottom. I also loved his other incarnations as Kevin Turvey, The Dangerous Brothers, Alan B'stard, Lord Flashheart and Adonis C'nut. The guy was a comedy powerhouse and nearly everything that came out of his mouth was a quotable work of art. I am totally shocked he has gone. I was lucky to see him live in stand up during the late 80s and then live again around 2006 in Brighton for the New Statesman Tour. His stage presence was immense.

It is like a close member of my family has just gone and left me alone. I grew up with Rik's humour and it shaped my own sense of humour and comedy style. When ever I was feeling sad as a young lad, later teens or even as a grown man, a quick dose of Rik Mayall on the box never failed to raise a smile. My early writing was influenced by him. I still quote numerous quips from The Young Ones and Bottom all the time and have done for many many years. I am truly beyond gutted.

And all the grown ups will say, "but why are the kids crying?"
And the kids will say "Haven't you heard? Rick is dead! The People's Poet is dead!'
And then one particularly sensitive and articulate teenager will say,
"Why kids, do you understand nothing?
How can Rick be dead when we still have his poems?"

R.I.P Rik.

Couldn't agree more, Def.

At first, it didn't hit me so hard but then there was this disbelief and then I couldn't get it out of my head. My formative years in comedy were waiting all year for new series of Red Dwarf and Bottom, then saving to buy the DVDs of each, then watching them. Then watching them again. And again. And again and again and again.

The New Statesman was utterly brilliant too, and luckily saw him in the stage show in 2006 (as well as in Hooligan's Island way back when).

I can't imagine anyone who writes or is involved in comedy who hasn't been influenced by him in some way, as he was 'The Man' for about twenty years.

RIP Rik. Livening up the great Guest House Paradiso in the sky.

Dan

Hey Swerytd

I forgot about the live shows. I went to see Bottom Live 2001: An Arse Oddity. Seeing Rik & Ade live was simply brilliant. At the start Rik wasn't even on stage, but making innuendo noises offstage, that alone brought rapturous applause from the audience.

I was lucky to see him in 2006 as shortly after the show I went to see he was taken ill and his understudy had to stand in for a good number of shows afterward.

So sad.

They're doing a little tribute to Rik on Radio 2 at the minute.

Awww, so sad.

I bought Rik a beer once at Elstree Studios, without realising who he was. He was talking to Laurence Marks, probably about plots for New Statesman etc and I needed to talk to Laurence. Only realised who he was when I handed him the beer.

I see Laurence has nice things to say about him in this BBC video. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27776568

As a writer, the following 30 seconds is just absolutely perfect sitcom writing that I could only dream of coming up with: Pin the tail on the donkey

Dan

Quote: Deferenz @ 10th June 2014, 11:01 AM BST

And all the grown ups will say, "but why are the kids crying?"
And the kids will say "Haven't you heard? Rick is dead! The People's Poet is dead!'
And then one particularly sensitive and articulate teenager will say,
"Why kids, do you understand nothing?
How can Rick be dead when we still have his poems?"

View original

This.

Watched Bad News Tour today, for the umpteenth time. Still brilliant.

"Shut up you tart! He's trying to get out of paying me!"

Watching 'Mr Jolly Lives Next Door' tonight, in tribute.

Another vital part of my comedy upbringing has died.

The thing with Rik was that he was a very good actor, not just a 'comic actor'. He was only able to be so good at the outrageous and the slapstick because he had a talent for grounding it in some form of reality,

Sympathies to his family.

'Never ever bloody anything ever.'

Let's get him to No.1 for the World Cup. It would be a nice tribute https://www.comedy.co.uk/videos/7598/rik_mayalls_noble_england/

Dan

He also did the voices on my favourite Playstation game
"The Hogs of War"
RIP Rik

Stephen Fry says in his autobiography that when he first me Rik Mayall he was in awe and a little frightened of him.
Not because he was horrible but at his immense comedic talent.
It made him feel very average and inadequate.

Very sad. The only comedy quotes me and my non-writer friends have consistently used over the years are Rik Mayall: Bad News (TV and tapes) and Young Ones (esp. University Challenge). I even snuck a Crop Rotation question into a Christmas quiz last year

I remember watching as a young un The Young Ones with the baby sitter as a special treat, then Friday Night Live with me dad. Then finding a video of Kevin Turvey and being blown away. Then he was on Jackanory doing George's Marvelous Medicine. And everyone knew Bad News was better than Spinal Tap or you were a spasmo bottom burp. As Alan Bstard he might have been the best satire of the Thatcherite greed is good bollocks and I love the one moment he switched back to Rick. That whole golden age of alternative comedy, he was the crown prince and supreme jester of anarchic, funny comedy. And yet in Bottom you'd see him everynow and then do some great character acting, inbetween punching Ade in the balls. He was one of the greatest comics this country produced, it's hard to believe such a wild talent could rise up again these days.