LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Rik Mayall: Adrian Edmondson
built 632 days ago
Rik Mayall is a British comedian and actor. He is well known for his comedy partnership with Adrian Edmondson and was one of members of the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s. When he was three, Mayall and his parents moved to Redditch, Worcestershire, where he spent the rest of his childhood.
Source:
Mayall gained a reputation by appearing at "The Comedy Store" with Edmondson, debuting in 1980. The double act was then billed as "20th Century Coyote". "Coyote" soon became a popular act at the Comedy Store, and Mayall developed solo-routines using characters such as Kevin Turvey and a snotty student poet named "Rick". This success led to Mayall and Edmondson - along with Comedy Store compere Alexei Sayle and other popular acts French and Saunders; "The Outer Limits" (Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson); Arnold Brown; and Pete Richens - to break away and set up their own comedy club, "The Comic Strip", in the Raymond Revue Bar, a local strip club. Mayall's rising popularity led to a regular slot for the Turvey character on the series A Kick Up the Eighties, which was first broadcast in 1981. It was ... around this time that he appeared as "Rest Home" Ricky in Richard O'Brien's "Shock Treatment", the "equal" to his cult smash "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". He played Dentonvale's resident attendant and was love interest to Nell Campbell's Nurse Ansalong. His appearances were popular enough to warrant a documentary based on the character entitled Kevin Turvey - The Man Behind The Green Door, broadcast in 1982.
Source:
Mayall first broke into television with the character Kevin Turvey on the series A Kick Up the Eighties, which was first broadcast in 1981. A role as sociology student and Cliff Richard devotee Rick in The Young Ones sitcom in 1982 ensured wide public acclaim. The series was written by Mayall with long-standing friend Ben Elton and then-girlfriend Lise Mayer. Additional material was provided by comedian and actor Alexei Sayle. With many of his alternative contemporaries, Mayall went on to star in a number of the Comic Strip films. He starred on Saturday Live with Edmondson as "The Dangerous Brothers", a pair of naive but anarchic daredevils, and would perform comedy stunts on stage, often involving the likes of setting each other on fire.
Source:
In 1986, Mayall joined forces once more with Planer, Adrian Edmondson and Elton to star in Filthy Rich & Catflap as "Richie Rich" in what was billed as a follow-up to The Young Ones. While he received positive critical reviews, viewing figures were poor and the series was never repeated on the BBC. In later years, release on video, DVD and repeats on UK TV found the series a cult following. Mayall suggested the series did not last because he was uncomfortable acting in an Elton-written project, when they had been co-writers on The Young Ones.[2]
Source:
The broad 1991-95 Britcom "Bottom" featured "Young Ones" co-stars Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as down-and-out layabouts Richard Richard and Eddie Hitler (no relation to you-know-who), who would venture outside their shabby London apartment for bizarre adventures. All 18 episodes from the series' three seasons are included in this collector's set. 9 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English; Subtitles: English; outtakes; biographies; stand-up routines.
Source:
Rik spent most of his childhood in Worcestershire and attended Kings School, Worcester. He first rose to fame with long-term comedy partner Adrian Edmonson during the alternative comedy boom of the early 1980s and has been at the forefront of the entertainment world ever since.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Adrian Edmondson