It was sad to hear about the passing of Rik. He wasn’t well known in America and I think Drop Dead Fred didn’t help. However, if you watched MTV in the mid-Eighties when their music-video format was losing steam, you probably saw the US debut of The Young Ones. I haven’t seen an episode in a while so I can’t say how well the show has held up over the years. During the initial showings in 1985, I did find it funny, even funnier when I got older since Rik’s character was rather universal for those attending college; the loud-mouth Lefty with little talent and whose beliefs falter when the rubber hits the road.
Rik’s appearances in the Black Adder series’ were hilarious, namely the WWI flying ace. I think the humor was doubly funny due to Rik being the character who got the girls after being the butt of jokes in The Young Ones.
Besides Fred, you may recognize his brief appearance in the American comedy-horror flick, American Werewolf in London. He was pub patron before the gruesome event that made David Naughton a monster.