British comedian and actor Rik Mayall, perhaps best known to American audiences for playing the title character in the absurdist cult film Drop Dead Fred, has died at age 56, the Daily Mirror reports.
In his home country of the United Kingdom, Mayall was well known for a series of over-the-top comedy TV shows, most notably the early 1980's cult hit The Young Ones, in which he played an awkward, left-wing poser living with three other stereotyped and obnoxious college students.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plantTalking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
-
2024: the year of Black country artistsIn the Spotlight Beyoncé debuted 'Cowboy Carter' at the top of the country charts, shining a spotlight on artists like Shaboozey
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these 6 enlightening museum exhibitionsThe Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appealSpeed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
-
Kris Kristofferson, singer-songwriter, is dead at 88Speed Read The musician wrote hit songs for Janis Joplin and Johnny Cash before starring in Hollywood movies
-
Shannen Doherty, star of '90210,' dies at 53Speed Read The 'Charmed' actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015
