'My wonderful, generous, foul-mouthed and hysterical father. We love you daddy': Family's moving tribute to comedy genius Rik Mayall who they describe as 'the man, the myth, the legend'

Mr Mayall's daughters and wife post tributes and pictures on Facebook

Bonnie, 18, wrote: 'We will never forget him and neither will the world'

Rosie, 27, and her mother, Barbara Robbin, 58, posted recent photos



Family friend tells how Mr Mayall 'chatted happily' just before he died



Comic Strip founder Peter Richardson said his son spoke to him yesterday



He said: 'He seemed so happy and so healthy... it could have been a seizure'

Mr Mayall's wife says her husband had 'strong heart' but may have had a fit

She found his body yesterday at their home in Barnes, south west London

Adrian Edmondson says he was 'privileged' to have shared his 'most carefree stupid days' with long-term collaborator and friend

Mr Mayall was left in a coma for five days in 1998 after a quad bike accident

Rik Mayall’s devastated family used social media yesterday to pay tribute to the ‘wonderful, generous, foul-mouthed’ comedy star.

As friends revealed that Mayall appeared happy and healthy only half an hour before his death, his daughter Bonnie, 18, wrote: ‘My dad was loved not only by my family, but by many, many others.

‘We will never forget him and neither will the world. RIP to the man, the myth, the legend – my wonderful, generous, foul-mouthed and hysterical father. My idol now and forever. We love you daddy.’

At the same time, her older sister, Rosie, 27, and make-up artist mother, Barbara Robbin, 62, posted recent photos of Mr Mayall, who was found by his wife at their family home in Barnes, south west London, late yesterday morning.

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Family: Rik Mayall's wife, Barbara, and daughters, Rosie, 27, pictured, and Bonnie, 18, paid tribute to him today Daughter's tribute: The star's youngest child, 18-year-old Bonnie, wrote movingly on Facebook Mr Mayall's wife, Barbara Robbin, 62, put this intimate shot of her husband on her Facebook page this morning Proud: Mayall's daughter Rosie, 27, posted this photograph of her father on her Facebook page 'We love you daddy': Mr Mayall, pictured in 2002 with son Sidney, now 26, left, and daughter Rosie, now 27, right



Father and son: Sidney with his comedian father in 2003 at a London film premiere

Their tributes came after family friend and Comic Strip founder, Peter Robinson, 62, told how his son spoke to Mr Mayall just half an hour before he died, saying he 'chatted away happily' and 'seemed so happy and so healthy'.

Mr Richardson, 62, spoke of his 'shock' this morning at his friend's sudden death yesterday, and added: 'We still don't know quite what happened, but it was a seizure of some sort. It was very quick.'

Referring to Mr Mayall's 1998 quad bike accident, which left him in a temporary coma, Mr Richardson said: 'Well, he had 16 years after the quad bike - at the time I don't think people thought he would survive that.

'But he lived for another 16 years, and it was just shocking that he went: he was so happy and seemed very healthy when he did go.'



Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Richardson added: 'He's got a very wonderful family, he was a very loving father. All I can say is Rik's had a very happy life.'

Last picture: Rik Mayall was photographed walking his dog on Sunday, the day before he died

Mystery: Comic Strip founder Peter Robinson, right, said today he still didn't know how Mr Mayall, left, died

Like father like son: Mayall pulling funny faces with his son Sid, who is now 25, in 1999

The director's tribute came a day after Mr Mayall's wife, Barbara Robbin, said her husband had ‘a strong heart’, and added: ‘I don’t think it was a heart attack, but we just don’t know until the coroner’s report.’



The 58-year-old make-up artist and mother of Mr Mayall's children, Rosie, 28, Sidney, 26, and Bonnie, 18, said: ‘Maybe he had a fit, maybe it was his heart. We just don’t know.’

Today, comedian Harry Enfield wrote of Mr Mayall, saying he was 'my hero', and describing him as 'a generous performer, happy to share with his fellow comics rather than compete'.

Mr Enfield wrote in the Evening Standard: 'I was so in awe of him that I couldn't relax in his company', and told how he bumped into him in London, and was unnerved when he realised that Mr Mayall was talking to himself, swearing and 'quite obviously totally nuts' as he walked towards him. Then he realised Mr Mayall had seen him first, and put on the act on purpose.

He added: 'RIP perfect, unrepeatable, Richard Dangerous.'



An English Heritage-style blue plaque has gone up on a bench in Hammersmith, West London, in tribute to the comedian, whose sitcom, Bottom, was filmed there. A QR code on the plaque links to a YouTube clip showing the opening sequence of the hit show, which starred Mr Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as flatmates living on the dole.



On Sunday, the day before he was discovered dead at his home, Mr Mayall was photographed walking his dog in south west London.

A spokesman for the family said: ‘It is a terrible shock. All we know at this stage is that Rik died at home. We are all deeply saddened by this news, from the enormous number of fans Rik had to those who worked with him and knew him as a man as well as a fine actor. He touched many lives, and always for the better.’

Tribute: This English Heritage style blue plaque has gone up in Hammersmith, west London - a QR code on the plaque links to a YouTube clip showing the opening scene from Bottom that was filmed there

Double act: Rik Mayall and his wife Barbara with Jennifer Saunders and Ade Edmondson at Leicester Square in London in May 2000

Shock: A spokesman for Mr Mayall's family described the comedian's death as a 'terrible shock'

Doffing his cap: Mr Mayall saluted a photographer, and punched the air while walking close to his family home



A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed that police officers were called by the London Ambulance Service to a house in Barnes, south-west London, at around 1.20pm where a man in his fifties was pronounced dead at the scene. They went on to stress that the death was not believed to be suspicious.A post-mortem examination is due to be held to determine the comedian’s cause of death – and yesterday Mr Mayall’s body was taken away from the house in a private ambulance as his family looked on.

Police officers attended the address as is routine in any sudden death, but found no suspicious circumstances, so the case was passed to the West London coroner, based in Hammersmith.We were called at 12.07 to an address in the Barnes area.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We sent two single responders by car, an advanced paramedic and an ambulance crew to the scene.

'Sadly, the patient died at the scene.'



DJ LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO GET MAYALL'S 2010 WORLD CUP SONG TO NO. 1

Today DJ Jon Morter launched a campaign to get Rik Mayall's 'lost' World Cup anthem from 2010 to the top of the charts in his honour.

Speaking on the eve of this year's World Cup, Mr Morter urged people to buy Mr Mayall's song, Noble England, which features him reciting the stirring speech from Shakespeare's Henry V over a football chant. Mr Morter, who organised a successful campaign to get Rage Against The Machine's song, Killing In The Name, to Number One in 2009, said: 'I want everyone to buy it to get it up to Number One for Rik's memory.' He said: 'The song didn't do very well in 2010 because there were a lot of others out there but it's a fantastic song. 'It's now time on the eve of the 2014 World Cup for everyone to realise how good this fantastic song is, and buy it from Amazon or iTunes.'



Mr Mayall, his wife Barbara Robbin, left, and eldest child Rosie, now 28, second from right, at a 2004 event

Scene: A police car outside the comedian's London home. Officers were called to the house at around 1.20pm on Monday where 'a man, aged in his 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene'

Emergency call: A London Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed they had been called to the house at 12.07 on Monday

Born to drama teacher parents in Harlow, Essex, Rik Mayall began his career in show business as one half of a duo with long-time collaborator and university friend Adrian Edmondson.

'There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing,' Edmondson, 57, said.

'They were some of the most carefree stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him. And now he's died for real. Without me. Selfish b******.'

Considered one of Britain's comedy greats, he played a number of celebrated brash, crude and vulgar characters in sitcoms including The Young Ones, Blackadder, The New Statesman and Bottom.

Mr Mayall also featured on the big screen in films Drop Dead Fred and Guest House Paradiso.

Today his Twitter account, which he used only once, was reactivated, and a photograph was posted showing a signed letter and photo apparently sent by the star to a girl with a heart condition. The message said: 'Smile at the world and the world will smile back'.



Kindness: Mr Mayall's Twitter account appears to have been reactivated and carried this photo today - showing a letter apparently written by the star to an ill girl who asked for a signed photo

Just days before his death, the star had been filming in Portugal for a Dutch movie, in which he had a supporting role as a landlord in a film based on Dutch novel De Ontsnapping, or The Escape, by Heleen van Royen.

The father-of-three was last seen on TV during last year’s Christmas special of the comedy drama series Man Down and he also contributed to a black comedy sketch, which aired in August last year, called Don’t Fear Death.



The film included the line that death is ‘your passport to complete and utter freedom. No pulse, no responsibilities. Carpe mortem – seize death’.

Meeting: Mr Mayall met fan Esther Kay last week, and posed for a picture with her. She wrote on Twitter: 'Absolutely gutted'

Last performance? Rik Mayall pictured a few days ago on the set of his latest project in Portugal, has died Privileged: Mr Mayall's Bottom co-star and friend Adrian Edmondson, right, led the tributes to the comedian saying: 'There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing'

His death comes 16 years after Mr Mayall, best known for his role in 1980s comedy The Young Ones, nearly lost his life and suffered serious head injuries in a quad-bike accident in 1998.

The crash at his farm in south Devon left him in a coma for days, and the father to Rosie, 27, Sidney, 25, and Bonnie, 18, was left suffering from epilepsy.



Yesterday Laurence Marks, the co-writer of The New Statesman in which Mayall played Alan B’Stard, said the accident had a lasting impact on the actor’s health and that his death was ‘not wholly unsurprising’.

He told Radio 4: ‘After Rik had his tragic collision with a tree on his quad bike, I suspect his health started to deteriorate.’

Star: The 56-year-old, who was married with three children, is considered one of Britain's greatest comedy actors and writers for his work in Bottom, The Young Ones and Blackadder

Rik Mayall in 2000 with his wife, the Scottish make-up artist, Barbara Robbin arriving at the Odeon Leicester Square in London for the premiere of his friend Ben Elton's film Maybe Baby. The couple had three children, Rosie, Sidney and Bonnie

Mr Mayall had told the Mail last year: 'The main difference between now and before my accident is I’m just very glad to be alive.

'Other people get moody in their forties and fifties - men get the male menopause. I missed the whole thing. I was just really happy.'

Ben Elton, another university contemporary of Mr Mayall and co-writer of The Young Ones described the star as an 'inspiration'.

'I met Rik when I was 18 and his friendship and extraordinary comic talent have been an inspiration to me ever since,' he said.

'I owe him so much, he changed my life utterly when he asked me to co-write The Young Ones with him and he was with me on the day I met my wife. He always made me cry with laughter, now he's just made me cry.'

Mr Mayall's Young Ones co-star, Nigel Planer, told the BBC he was 'very, very sad and upset that we've lost Rik, who was inspirational, bonkers, and a great life force'.

He described Mr Mayall as 'a brilliant comedian and someone who made everyone else's lives more fun. He will be really, really missed'.

Mr Mayall's character in the comedy was a Cliff Richard loving student and in 1986 the pop star recorded a charity version of his hit single Living Doll with the show's lead actors for Comic Relief.

Sir Cliff said: 'I became a fan of his when he was in The Young Ones show and was always thrilled when he used my name during his series.

'I am so sad at his parting.'

Other stars joined the tributes to Mr Mayall, taking to Twitter to express their sadness at news of his death.

Among those paying tribute was David Walliams, who said: 'I am heartbroken that my comedy idol growing up, Rik Mayall, has died. He made me want to be a comedian.'

Stephen Fry, who also starred in Blackadder, said on Twitter: 'Simply distraught to hear of the death of Rik Mayall. An authentic comedy genius and a prince among men.'



Comedian Rory Bremner wrote: 'Oh no. Awful news about Rik Mayall - a fireball of creative comic energy and inspiration. Such brilliant raw talent.'



British novelist Tony Parsons tweeted: 'Rotten news about the death of Rik Mayall - decades too soon.



Social media joke: Mr Mayall briefly took to Twitter in April 2010 - this is his only tweet - sent because he wanted to stop someone else getting his Twitter handle

'He taught a generation to laugh at the world - and ourselves. Rik Mayall, RIP.'

BBC director of television Danny Cohen said: 'Rik Mayall was a truly brilliant comedian.



'His comic timing was outstanding and his screen presence unique. For a generation of viewers he was a true comedy hero'.



Actress Helen Lederer, who appeared in The Young Ones, tweeted: 'Rik Mayall, I loved you. Gutted. The man who taught me not to crash laughs, has crashed. Real love to wife, children. Massive loss.'

Sudden death: Comedian Rik Mayall has died at the age of 56, his management company said

Comedy star Noel Fielding wrote: 'Growing up there was no-one funnier! We will really miss you Rik Mayall you genius.'



Trainspotting writer Irvine Welsh wrote: 'Rik Mayall spread a lot of fun and laughter. Very sad to see him taken before his time.'

Monty Python star Eric Idle said: 'Very sad to hear of the passing of Rik Mayall. Far too young. A very funny and talented man.'

Writing on Twitter, Bob Mortimer said: 'Last time I saw him he grabbed my crotch and said 'Not eaten yet then?' So sad.. Funniest man of his generation.'

The comedian would probably have struggled with the Twitter tributes, having been scornful about the social network in his one and only tweet.

He wrote in April 2010: 'Opening my very own Twitter to stop another b****** from doing it. So f*** off and don't expect to hear from me anytime soon. Live Rik x'.

He never tweeted again.



Mr Mayall had a lower profile in recent years but recently had said he wanted to do another series of Bottom with comedy partner Adrian Edmondson, but the pair fell out.

'I thought it would be fun and Ade thought it would be fun but then he had a change of heart. It’s a shame,' he said.



'Of course, I f****** tried to persuade him to change his mind. But if he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t want to.'

Mr Mayall married Scottish make-up artist Barbara Robbin in 1985 while he was still with his long-term girlfriend and writing partner Lise Meyer.

The pair met when they were both working at the BBC in Glasgow, where he claims she fell for his Midlands accent.

Mr Mayall once described how he ‘jumped in a cab, packed a case and my passport and got on a train to Glasgow’ when he found out the then Miss Robbin was pregnant. They got married in Barbados.

From poetry-writing anarchist Rick to swashbuckling Lord Flashheart: The comedy creations immortalised by Rik Mayall



Rik Mayall shot to fame after her played the obnoxious, poetry-writing anarchist Rick in The Young Ones alongside his friend Adrian Edmondson before the duo later went on to star in their sitcom Bottom.

The pair – known as The Dangerous Brothers because of their propensity for hitting each other over the head – found fame after meeting at Manchester University.

In the 1980s Mr Mayall and Edmondson were both part of the Comic Strip, a hugely influential group of alternative young comics that also included Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

Comedy classic: Mayall (right) starred in The Young Ones as Rick, who lived in a student house with Adrian Edmondson as the punk Vyvyan (left), Nigel Planer as hippie Neil (top), Christopher Ryan as wide boy Mike (bottom)

Comedy gold: The New Statesman was written by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran at the request of, and as a starring vehicle for, its principal actor, Rik Mayall (pictured here) Comedy partners: Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson perform on Saturday Live in 1985 Swashbuckling: Mayall as Lord Flashheart in BBC comedy series Blackadder Varied performer: Mayall performing a stand up routine in 1985 (left) and in Blackadder Goes Forth (right)







Comedy duo: Rik Mayall (right) and his long-time Adrian Edmondson (left) revel in pulling silly faces for the camera. The pair starred in the hugely successful BBC sitcom Bottom, which aired between 1991 and 1995

Rik Mayall, right, and Adrian Edmondson, seen at the Hammersmith Apollo on Bottom's live tour

The old ones: Mr Mayall, back right, looking wide-eyed with comedy co-stars Ade Edmondson, back left, Nigel Planer, centre, Jennifer Saunders, front left, and Dawn French, right in the 1980s

Pioneer: Mr Mayall, right, with the jazz artist Jools Holland, left, and actor and comedian Robbie Coltrane in Walking to New Orleans, a programme in the 80s that followed an unusual pilgrimage to the Mecca of blues and jazz, New Orleans

'JESUS WASN'T THE ONLY RESURRECTED AT EASTER': RIK MAYALL'S JOKES ABOUT WANTING TO GET BACK ON TV WITH ADE EDMONDSON

Comedian Rik Mayall even managed to joke about how he was 'clinically dead' for five days in 1998, telling the Mail last year 'Jesus wasn’t the only one to be resurrected at Easter'. The star shattered his skull on Maundy Thursday 16 years ago and was in a coma, with his family told by doctors to say their goodbyes shortly before he miraculously recovered. He said: ‘And as I was technically dead for five days I beat our Lord Jesus 5-3'. Kept alive by a life-support machine after crashing near his Devon home. On the sixth day the doctors told his make-up artist wife Barbara they were going to switch the machine off. There was a slim chance his brain would start working by itself, they told her, but they also warned her to she must be prepared for the worst. But then the machine monitoring his brain started beeping, he said, adding: ‘There was independent life in there'. The family exchanged presents on the same day every year afterwards. ‘The main difference between now and before my accident is I’m just very glad to be alive,' he said. 'Other people get moody in their forties and fifties – men get the male menopause. I missed the whole thing. I was just really happy.’ In the weeks before the Mail interview he believed his long-standing working relationship with Adrian Edmondson was back on for the first time in a decade as the pair worked on reviving their cult comedy series Bottom. Rik said: ‘The BBC came to us about reviving these characters and we wrote two episodes in which we were really old b******s and they were very funny and the BBC liked them. But then Ade changed his mind. 'He said we weren’t old enough – I said that’s why it’s called acting. He wants to wait ten f****** years until we’re older, but I won’t be able to see or walk by then. I loved working with him. I was on my knees laughing. But he wants to be a musician and he wants to talk about walls in Yorkshire.’

Even when they were in The Young Ones, a sitcom about slovenly students that was much loved by those it satirised, in the early 80s it was still very much the Rik and Ade show. But after Rik’s accident in 1998 they worked on their own projects.

Considered one of Britain's comedy greats, Mayall memorably played conniving Conservative politician Alan B'stard in the sitcom The New Statesman and swashbuckling Lord Flashheart in Blackadder.



He and Edmondson also created and starred 'Bottom,' a surreally violent slapstick series about two unemployed slobs.

He also featured on the big screen 1991 fantasy Drop Dead Fred - which gained him a U.S. cult following - and 1999 British comedy Guest House Paradiso.

Paying tribute, Blackadder producer John Lloyd said Mr Mayall was 'just extraordinary'.

Speaking to BBC News, he said: 'It's really a dreadful piece of news. I remember going to the very first night of the Comedy Store and thinking "Where does this come from?".

'It was the most extraordinary thing, him and Ade Edmondson doing the Dangerous Brothers, they were called, and you just felt you were in the presence of something, a whole revolutionary thing.'

Mr Mayall, who was born in Harlow, Essex, to drama teacher parents, also appeared in shows including Filthy Rich & Catflap.

One of his most recent roles was in Channel 4's Man Down, in which he played the father of comic Gregg Davies, with whom he bore an uncanny facial similarity.

Davies said: 'He was my comedy hero. I could not believe that I got the opportunity to work with him and did not stop pinching myself throughout the filming.



'He was hilarious, warm and passionate on and off camera and being in his presence was always humbling.'

Actress Gemma Jones, who starred with Mayall in ITV comedy All About George, said she had heard about his death only as she arrived for the premiere of her new film NOW: In The Wings On A World Stage.

'I literally just heard about that as I came here. I'm very sad because I worked with him on a television series. It's very sad because he was young.'

She said his legacy will live on through his comedy shows.

'I think The Young Ones will remain in everybody's minds of that generation,' she added.



In recent weeks, Mr Mayall had been working on a Dutch film in Portugal. Last year, he appeared in an episode of the gentle BBC comedy-drama Jonathan Creek.



He has been a front-runner to play Jonathan originally but as he said ‘I was tragically unavailable’ because of his accident so the part went to Alan Davies.

In an interview with The Daily Mail in March last year, Mr Mayall said of his quadbike accident: 'As I was technically dead for five days, I beat our Lord Jesus 5-3.'



It was the day before Good Friday in April 1998 that the star had the accident which left him with a fractured skull and bleeding on his brain.



He was clinically 'dead' – being kept alive by a life-support machine – for five days.



On the sixth day, the doctors told his make-up artist wife Barbara they were going to switch the machine off.



There was a slim chance his brain would start working by itself, they told her, but they also warned her to say goodbye.



But then the machine monitoring his brain started beeping. 'There was independent life in there,’ he said.



The New Statesman starred Rik Mayall as Conservative MP Alan B'Stard. Here is Mayall in the first series which aired in 1987

Rik Mayall as Alan Beresford B'Stard in the sitcom late 1980s and early 1990s The New Statesman, satirising the Conservative government of the time