Len Goodman, a longtime adjudicator on “Dancing with the Stars” and “Strictly Come Dancing” who helped revive interest in ballroom dancing on both sides of the Atlantic, passed away on Monday, according to his agent. He was 78.
Agent Jackie Gill reported that Goodman “passed away peacefully” on Saturday evening. He was suffering from bone cancer.
Goodman, a former professional ballroom dancer and British champion, was the chief judge on BBC’s “Strictly Come Dancing” for 12 years, beginning in 2004.
The dance competition, which pairs celebrities with professional dance partners, has become one of the most popular programs on the network.
Goodman’s witty, Cockney-accented observations endeared him to his audience. After one foxtrot, he remarked,
“You glided across that floor like butter on a crumpet.” He compared a salsa-dancing coupling to “two sausages sizzling on a grill.”
Goodman was the chief judge on the American version of “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” for 15 years until his retirement in November. For several years, he concurrently judged the British and American shows each autumn, traversing the Atlantic each week.
Camilla, the queen consort, was “saddened to hear” of Goodman’s death, according to Buckingham Palace. The wife of King Charles III is a devotee of “Strictly,” and she danced with Goodman at a British Dance Council-hosted event in 2019.
Goodman, according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was “a great entertainer” who would be “missed by many.”
Esther Rantzen, a British journalist, stated that Goodman was “astonished and delighted” by his late-life fame.
She stated,
“One of the reasons he was so successful in the United States was because he was quintessentially British.” “He was firm but fair, humorous but a gentleman, and I hope the nation adopts his favorite expression, ‘pickle me walnuts’.”
Goodman also presented BBC radio programs and produced television documentaries, including one about the Titanic’s demise in 2012. Goodman labored as a shipyard welder for the company that constructed the doomed ship as a young man.
Tim Davie, the director-general of the BBC, described Goodman as a “wonderful, warm entertainer who was beloved by millions.”
Everyone felt as though he was a member of their own family. Len was the driving force behind Strictly’s success. The public and his numerous friends and family will mourn him tremendously.”
Len Goodman also owned the Goodman Academy dance school in southern England and was the recipient of the Carl Alan Award for distinguished contributions to dance.
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