20. “Ecky Thump” Leads to a Tragicomic Demise
As Alex Mitchell guffawed uproariously at “Ecky Thump”, his wife, no fan of The Goodies, complained that he must be the only person who found the show even remotely funny. Mitchell, who enjoyed having a good laugh, waved his killjoy missus away. He might have been better off had he gotten off the couch and romanced her instead of continuing to watch TV. When the episode’s star attacked a kilt-wearing Scotsman with a stick of black pudding, and the Scotsman defended himself with a bagpipe, Mitchell lost it. He started laughing uncontrollably, and after 25 minutes of nonstop laughter, he slid off the sofa, having suffered a fatal heart attack.
Mitchell’s tragicomic death became quite famous, and his widow eventually wrote The Goodies a letter, thanking them for making her deceased husband’s final moments in life so pleasant. In 2012, it was discovered that Mitchell had probably suffered from Long QT Syndrome when his granddaughter was rushed to the emergency room after a heart attack and was diagnosed with LQTS. The disease, which is hereditary, causes an irregular heartbeat if the afflicted person undergoes continuous exertion or stress – such as laughing nonstop for 25 minutes. That can trigger a cardiac arrest, which is probably what did in Alex Mitchell.