Rik Mayall is an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Exeter.
The 9 minute video showing his acceptance speech from 2008 can be found on YouTube here.
Rik.
Rik Mayall died in June 2014.
It was a heart attack.
He was 56.
He’d just been jogging.
Then – just died.
Performer.
Rik Mayall was a performer.
On camera certainly.
Off camera probably.
In his early years, he spent time failing exams, drinking a lot, bobbing in and out of lots of relationships and – by the sound of it – having a bloody good time.
Five Mantras.
Rik said he had five mantras for life.
They are:
- All men are equal therefore no one can ever be your genuine superior.
- It is your future. It is yours to create. Your future is as bright as you make it.
- Change is a constant of life. So you must never ever lose your wisdom.
- If you want to live a full and complete human life, you have to be free. Freedom is paramount.
- Love is the answer.
Rik further summarised.
- Equality.
- Opportunity.
- Wisdom.
- Freedom.
- Love.
Presentation.
Rik’s personal presentation of this is important though.
Because I love Rik Mayall’s uniqueness.
Such talent and couldn’t-care-lessness is so rare.
And for it only to have been on this earth for 56 years, or just 672 months, is a travesty.
Let’s see if his legacy impacts you.
Because it impacted me.
2 Comments
Great speech, I’ll be showing this clip to my 14 and 16 year old kids. Wonderful philosophy.
I loved Rik Mayall, from the moment I saw him in The Young Ones in 1982 when I was in the lower sixth form at school, that series certainly resonated with a 17 year old student.
His performances as Lord Flashheart in Black Adder and as Alan B’Stard in The New Statesman were simply sublime.
A great talent lost far, far too soon.
A truly incredible talent and larger than life character who I had the privilege of meeting in the 1980’s. His mantras should be part of the national curriculum, we all need to hear them, we miss you Rik. X