More tests due after post-mortem on British comedian Rik Mayall proves inconclusive

June 12 2014 12:41 AM

CP28728485 — FiILE - This is a May 31 2000 file photo of British comedian and actor Rik Mayall with his wife Barbara. Mayall, one of a generation of performers that injected post-punk energy into British comedy, has died. He was 56. Mayall’s management firm Brunskill Management said the comedian died early Monday June 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Peter Jordan/PA,File) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE PHOTOGRAPH CAN NOT BE STORED OR USED FOR MORE THAN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DAY OF TRANSMISSION

Original Publication Date: June 12, 2014 12:41AM

Publication Updated: January 8, 2025 10:57PM

LONDON – A coroner’s office says a post-mortem examination has failed to determine what killed comedian Rik Mayall.

Mayall, a pioneer of British alternative comedy and star of sitcom “The Young Ones,” died suddenly on Monday. He was 56.

West London Coroner’s Court said Thursday that more tests would be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Police said they were called to Mayall’s house by London Ambulance Service, where the performer was pronounced dead. Police officers said the death was not believed to be suspicious.

In the 1980s Mayall was part of the Comic Strip, an influential group of alternative young comics that included Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Adrian Edmondson.

In 1998 he was seriously injured in all-terrain vehicle accident that left him in a coma for several days.

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