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Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall (born 7 March 1958) is an English comedian, writer and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s. Such notability has led him to appear in sitcoms such as The Young Ones, Blackadder, The New Statesman, and Bottom and even onto the big screen in comedy films such as Drop Dead Fred and Guest House Paradiso. Mayall, the second of four children, was born in Harlow, Essex to John and Gillian Mayall. He has an older brother, Anthony,... MORE

Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall (born 7 March 1958) is an English comedian, writer and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s. Such notability has led him to appear in sitcoms such as The Young Ones, Blackadder, The New Statesman, and Bottom and even onto the big screen in comedy films such as Drop Dead Fred and Guest House Paradiso. Mayall, the second of four children, was born in Harlow, Essex to John and Gillian Mayall. He has an older brother, Anthony, and two younger sisters, Libby and Kate. When he was three years old, Mayall 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. After attending the King's School, Worcester, Mayall went to the Victoria University of Manchester in 1976 to study drama, where he befriended his future comedy partner Adrian Edmondson. He also met Ben Elton and Lise Mayer, with whom he later co-wrote The Young Ones. Edmondson and Mayall gained their reputation at the Comedy Store, from 1980. The double act, "20th LESS