Bill Oddie, of British comedy trio The Goodies, dead at 85

Bill Oddie, a British comic actor who had a second career as a bird expert and wildlife presenter, died on Saturday, his agent said. He was 85.

Oddie first found fame as a member of The Goodies, a comedy trio that also featured Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden. The team’s offbeat comedy series of the same name, featuring sketches and songs, aired from 1970 to 1982 on the BBC, with CBC airing several of the seasons in Canada.

Oddie went on to host BBC wildlife programs, including Birding With Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie Goes Wild and Springwatch.

“Bill was a multi-talented celebrity — wildlife presenter, broadcaster, comedian, writer, songwriter, musician and conservationist,” his agent David Foster said in a statement. “Yet it was never fame that he valued. Instead he encouraged us to respect and protect the environment.”

Born in 1941 in Rochdale, northwestern England, Oddie went on to study English literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He appeared in several productions of the Cambridge Footlights, a prestigious student sketch comedy troupe, alongside future stars such as John Cleese and Graham Chapman of Monty Python.

Those student productions led to work in London’s West End and on Broadway, persuading Oddie to abandon plans to become an English teacher or warden of a bird observatory.

Eric Idle of Monty Python fame paid tribute to Oddie on Monday, sharing several personal remembrances.

“He was a very fine songwriter and I learned a lot from him,” said Idle.

Oddie’s former comedy partner from the Goodies, Brooke-Taylor, died in 2020.

Oddie later transformed his birding hobby into a job, presenting multiple wildlife shows and writing books such as Bill Oddie’s Little Black Bird Book, Birdwatching with Bill Oddie and Follow That Bird.

He is survived by his wife, Laura, and daughters Bonnie, Kate and Rosie.