Few outside of Britain know of The Goodies, a surreal sketch and situation comedy series. It originally aired on the BBC from 1970 to 1980, and probably wouldn’t do well in America today. However, it was pretty funny for its intended British audience, as evidenced by its decade-long run. Also, by the fact that at least one of its viewers found a Goodies skit to be so hilarious that he laughed himself to death.
A Huge Goodies Fan
Alex Mitchell, a bricklayer from King’s Lynn, Norfolk, was a huge fan of The Goodies, his favorite TV show. He looked forward to the weekly episodes, and never missed them. After dinner on the evening of March 24th, 1975, he sat down to watch an episode, like he had been doing for years. Mitchell knew to expect the show’s typical raw and physical humor. What he did not expect, however, was just how funny he would find that evening’s Kung Fu Capers episode.
It featured a black belt in “Ecky Thump”, a Lancastrian martial art that revolved around pelting opponents with black pudding. Something about that tickled Mitchell’s funny bone big time, and he found it extremely hilarious. As he started to chuckle and chortle, his wife complained that he must be the only person who found The Goodies even remotely funny. Mitchell, who enjoyed a good laugh, waved his killjoy better half off, and continued to watch his favorite show.
The Fan Who Laughed Himself to Death
Mitchell might have been better off if on that particular evening, he had turned off the TV, gotten off the sofa, and romanced his missus instead of continue to watch The Goodies. At some point, the episode’s star attacked a kilt-wearing Scotsman with a stick of black pudding. When the Scotsman defended himself with a bagpipe, Mitchell lost it and started to laugh uncontrollably. After nearly half an hour of nonstop laughter, he slid off the couch, the victim of a fatal heart attack.
Mitchell’s demise became quite famous at the time. His widow eventually wrote The Goodies, and thanked them for making her deceased husband’s final moments so pleasant. In 2012, it was discovered that Mitchell had probably suffered from Long QT Syndrome (LQTS). His granddaughter was rushed to the emergency room after a heart attack, and was diagnosed with LQTS. A hereditary disease, it makes an afflicted person’s heart beat irregularly in situations of continuous exertion. Continuous exertion such as that caused by half an hour’s worth of nonstop laughter. The irregular heartbeat can lead to cardiac arrest, which is probably how Alex Mitchell died.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
BBC – Goodies’ Fan Alex Mitchell 1975 Laughter Death Solved
History Halls – The Ancient Greek Philosopher Who Laughed Himself to Death
