Line #41 Creator/RikMayall


1	[[quoteright:306:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rik_7444.png]]
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3	->''"This house will become a shrine, and punks and skins and rastas will all gather round and hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader. 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!''"
4	-->-- [[Series/TheYoungOnes "Rick"]]
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6	Self-proclaimed 'pan-global phenomenon and sex god', Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was a British comedian, writer and actor who made a killing out of portraying [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist complete and utter bastards.]]
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8	Mayall grew up with two drama teachers for parents, and subsequently starred in some of their productions when he was a child. He later studied Drama at Manchester University, which is where he met his HeterosexualLifePartner [[Creator/AdrianEdmondson Adrian "Ade" Edmondson]] (the actor who played Vyvyan on ''Series/TheYoungOnes'').
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10	After performing various stand up routines, Mayall's first major role was in the British television series ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', a [[BritCom British Comedy]] about four students and their increasingly wild and whacky antics. Mayall co-wrote the sitcom with Creator/BenElton and Lise Mayer, and played one of the students, [[TheDanza Rick]], a character based on one of his stand up personas.
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12	From there on, Mayall became a British household name. He would go on to star in ''Series/FilthyRichAndCatflap'', ''{{Series/Blackadder}}'' and ''Series/TheNewStatesman''. He and Ade Edmondson then co-wrote and produced ''{{Series/Bottom}}'', which later led on to them doing five live stage shows based on the sitcom, called 'Bottom Live'. Mayall then went on to play roles in various British television shows, including ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' and ''Series/JonathanCreek'', and also did a handful of films including ''Film/DropDeadFred'', which made him a known name in America.
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14	Mayall was also known for providing voice overs, mostly for children's films and shows, including a television series of ''Literature/WatershipDown'', ''WesternAnimation/TheWindInTheWillows1995'' (as the [[LargeHam hammier-than-a-sandwich]] Mr. Toad), ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' and the voice of the puppy in a series of Andrex commercials. Mayall also loaned his voice for a few video games, he and Marc Silk provided all of the voices for ''VideoGame/HogsOfWar''. He also played the titular "Bombardier" William Charles Bedford in a long running series of adverts for Bombardier Real Ale.
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16	In addition, Mayall also starred in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rui6RG_wY1Q&t=2s a series of commercials]] for Creator/{{Nintendo}} consoles during the [=90s=] aimed at the UK market, advertising such games as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioAllStars'', ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'', ''VideoGame/StarFox'', ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand'', ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', and ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', among others. These commercials mainly riffed on his public persona and the kinds of characters he was known for playing at the time, and earned him a big enough payday for him to pay for his house in London, which he then dubbed "Nintendo Towers".
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18	In 1998, Mayall's career was momentarily put on hold after a nasty quad bike accident that left him in a coma for five days, one he wasn't expected to wake up from. While Mayall always made light of the accident, it left him with memory problems and various health issues, for which he had to take medication for life and had to give up alcohol. Ade Edmondson refused to abandon his friend although he would report after Mayall died that Rik was never the same.
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20	Mayall died on the 9th of June 2014, at just 56 years old, from a heart attack.
21
22	!Filmography includes
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24	* ''Theatre/TheDangerousBrothers''
25	* ''Series/TheYoungOnes''
26	* ''Series/FilthyRichAndCatflap''
27	* ''Series/TheNewStatesman''
28	* ''{{Series/Bottom}}''
29	* ''{{Series/Blackadder}}''
30	* ''Film/DropDeadFred''
31	* ''Film/GuestHouseParadiso''
32	* ''Film/ShockTreatment''
33	* ''Film/CarryOnColumbus''
34	* ''Series/JonathanCreek''
35	* ''WesternAnimation/OscarsOrchestra''- William Tell Jr. (voice role)
36	* ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon''
37	* ''Series/TheComicStripPresents''
38	* ''{{Series/Jackanory}}'' (as well as its grown-up counterpart ''Crackanory'')
39	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jellabies}}'' (a.k.a. ''Jellikins'')
40	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''
41	* ''VideoGame/HogsOfWar''
42	* ''Series/MidsomerMurders''
43	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheGoblin''
44	* ''Theatre/JesusChristSuperstar'' (the 2000 ''Great Performances'' recording, where Mayall played [[https://youtu.be/BaOfBQ5uw6M King Herod]])
45	* ''Series/ManDown'' (his final work)
46
47	!! Tropes associated with him:
48	* BeautyInversion: Frequently covered up his PrettyBoy good looks with grotesque costumes, make-up, and exaggerated expressions for his roles in ''Series/TheYoungOnes,'' ''Series/TheComicStripPresents'' and ''{{Series/Bottom}}''. Fellow comedian Andy de la Tour even commented "Rik was a very beautiful man, but in all his comedy, he made himself ugly."
49	* HeterosexualLifePartners: He and Creator/AdrianEdmondson were inseparable throughout their adult life.
50	* LargeHam: Oh, so very much. He was like Britain's answer to Creator/JimCarrey.
51	* SelfDeprecation: It's noticeable that whilst most of the characters other people created for him ([[{{Series/Blackadder}} Lord Flasheart]], [[Series/TheNewStatesman Alan B'stard]], Gideon Pryke from ''Series/JonathanCreek'') were generally successful dashing rogues, the characters he wrote for himself (Rick from ''Series/TheYoungOnes'', Richie from ''Series/{{Bottom}}'', Kevin Turvey) all tended to be miserable unpopular losers.
52	* TheDanza: Between ''The Young Ones'', ''Shock Treatment'', ''Filthy Rich and Catflap'', and ''Bottom'', Rik did tend a lot of the time to play a character whose name is some variation of "Richard".
53	* WagTheDirector: Rik agreed to appear in ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' as Lord Flasheart on the condition that every single thing he had to say was funnier than Rowan Atkinson's lines.
54	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He was set to appear in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' [[Film/HarryPotter movie adaptations]] as Peeves the trickster ghost, starting with [[Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone the first movie]], he even had a few scenes recorded, but [[AdaptedOut his character ended up being cut]]. Apparently the director, Creator/ChrisColumbus, wasn't satisfied with his design, and never got to fix it.

Context Creator / RikMayall