CitizenBBN
06-09-2014, 10:13 PM
Died young, only 56. Not disclosed yet what happened, though I know he was in a coma in the 90s after a bike accident.
For those who may not place him he was on the edge of the British punk comedy of the 80s, co writing and starring in The Young Ones which aired on MTV here in the states. he was in a group with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who did appearances on the show. Saunders is best known for Absolutely Fabulous. They were deeply satirical, vicious even.
If you're REAL hard core Brit comedy fan you also know his appearances on Black Adder, in II and IV as Lord Flashheart. He and Rowan Atkinson always have had had this quasi-friendly rivalry, and he was a huge influence on a lot of guys since then. Ben Elton cowrote The Young ones with hm and then wrote for Blackadder. Flashheart was a huge cult character out of that show.
He did other very good shows that almost no one in the US knows about, you have to dig deep for shows like Bottom, which was a kind of satire on Waiting for Godot. You know you've hit high brow Brit comedy when it's a satire of an Absurdist play 90% of people wouldn't know exists.
(Though I'll admit my favorite character on Young Ones was Vyvian, played by his friend Adrian Edmonson)
For those who may not place him he was on the edge of the British punk comedy of the 80s, co writing and starring in The Young Ones which aired on MTV here in the states. he was in a group with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who did appearances on the show. Saunders is best known for Absolutely Fabulous. They were deeply satirical, vicious even.
If you're REAL hard core Brit comedy fan you also know his appearances on Black Adder, in II and IV as Lord Flashheart. He and Rowan Atkinson always have had had this quasi-friendly rivalry, and he was a huge influence on a lot of guys since then. Ben Elton cowrote The Young ones with hm and then wrote for Blackadder. Flashheart was a huge cult character out of that show.
He did other very good shows that almost no one in the US knows about, you have to dig deep for shows like Bottom, which was a kind of satire on Waiting for Godot. You know you've hit high brow Brit comedy when it's a satire of an Absurdist play 90% of people wouldn't know exists.
(Though I'll admit my favorite character on Young Ones was Vyvian, played by his friend Adrian Edmonson)