Movies

Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative comedy in the 1980s.

Mayall starred in numerous successful comedy series throughout his career, including The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents..., Blackadder, Filthy Rich & Catflap, The New Statesman, Bottom and Believe Nothing. Mayall also starred in the comedy films Drop Dead Fred and Guest House Paradiso; he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his voice-over work in The Willows in Winter. His comedic style was described as energetic "post-punk".

Mayall died suddenly at his home in London on 9 June 2014 at the age of 56. BBC Television director Danny Cohen praised him as a "truly brilliant" comedian with a unique stage presence, whose "fireball creativity" and approach to sitcom had inspired a generation of comedy stars.

Early life
The second of four children, Mayall was born on 7 March 1958 at 98 Matching Tye near Harlow, Essex, to Gillian (née Harrild; 1930–2018) and John Mayall (1925–2011). He had an older brother, Anthony, and two younger sisters, Libby and Kate. When Mayall was three years old, he and his parents—who taught drama—moved to Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, where he spent the rest of his childhood and performed in his parents' plays.

He attended King's School, Worcester, to which he won a free scholarship. He failed most of his O-levels and scraped through A-levels. In 1975, Mayall went to the University of Manchester to study drama. He claimed that he failed to get a degree, or that he did not even turn up to his finals, but in reality he graduated with lower second-class honours in 1978. It was there that he met his future comedy partner Ade Edmondson; Ben Elton, a fellow student; and Lise Mayer, with whom he later co-wrote The Young Ones.