Such was the first and last tweet from Rik Mayall on the very day that he died of a heart-attack.
Or so it would appear.
Mayall was a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s. He formed a comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, and appeared in numerous cult classic sitcoms, including The Young Ones (1982–84), Filthy Rich & Catflap (1987), The New Statesman (1987–94), Bottom (1991–95), Blackadder, and in the comedy films Drop Dead Fred (1991) and Guest House Paradiso (1999). His acting style was described as energetic “post-punk”.
At the time of his death, Mayall was described by Danny Cohen, director of BBC Television, as a “truly brilliant” comedian with a unique stage presence, whose “fireball creativity” and approach to sitcom had inspired a generation of comedy stars.
The comedian had previously had a close brush with death sixteen years earlier. In 1998, Mayall was severely injured after crashing a quad bike near his home in Devon.
Mayall’s daughter Bonnie and her cousin had asked him to take them for a ride on the bike—a Christmas gift from his wife—but he refused because it was raining, and he later went alone. Mayall’s wife Barbara looked out of the window and saw him lying on the ground with the bike. Believing he was joking, she initially left him for a few minutes.
Mayall was airlifted to Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital, with two haematomas and a fractured skull. During the following 96 hours, he was kept sedated to prevent movement which could cause pressure on his brain. His family was warned that he could die or have brain damage. After five days in a coma doctors were on the verge of turning off the actor’s life-support when he finally started showing signs of consciousness.
He wasn’t so lucky on the fateful summer day in 2014, reportedly the victim of an “acute cardiac event” after his regular morning run, according to his wife. Although a post-mortem examination proved inconclusive.
Edmondson, Mayall’s life-long friend, paid tribute in his typical style.
“There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing.” he 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 bastard.”
Mayall’s final tweet prophetically announcing “don’t expect to hear from me any time soon” was supposedly posted just hours before he died.
However, it appears that Mayall originally posted the exact same tweet four years earlier on 13th April 2010. In the interim the star’s Twitter account had been closed due to inactivity but reinstated soon after it was announced he had passed.
