British actor and comedian Rik Mayall, who appeared in the TV series Blackadder, died Monday at age 56, his agent said.
The agent, Kate Benson, said she did not know the cause.
He played the obnoxious, poetry-writing anarchist Rick in The Young Ones alongside his friend Adrian Edmondson. The duo later went on to star in the sitcom Bottom.
A pioneer of the 1980s alternative comedy scene, Mayall also appeared in Blackadder and The New Statesman.
His manager Roger Davidson said: "It is a terrible shock. All we know at this stage is that Rik died at home.
"He touched many lives, and always for the better."Edmondson added: "There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing.
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."
His big break came at The Comic Strip Club, performing with comedy partner Adrian Edmondson as 20th Century Coyote in the 1980s, which led to cult television hit The Comic Strip Presents.
He co-wrote The Young Ones with Lise Mayer and Ben Elton, which ran for 12 episodes between 1982 and 1985. It shared cult status and schoolboy humour with later sitcom Bottom.
Mayall and Edmondson's slapstick comedy often involved fires, explosions, and hefty blows to the head with a frying pan.
The pair met at Manchester University before forming the on-stage comedy duo The Dangerous Brothers.
Mayall's film roles included the comedies Drop Dead Fred and Guest House Paradiso.
Anarchic characters He also famously played the loud-mouthed and lecherous Lord Flashheart in BBC comedy series Blackadder, starring Rowan Atkinson.
The actor appeared in the second and fourth series, shouting catchphrases such as "woof!" and "let's do-oo-oo it!".
But his early, anarchic characters gave way to the smooth, scheming Conservative politician Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman, which ran on ITV from 1986 to 1992.
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