Ballroom dancer and longtime 'Dancing With The Stars' judge Len Goodman dies at 78
Ballroom dancer and longtime 'Dancing With The Stars judge Len Goodman dies at 78
Len Goodman, a renowned ballroom champion and a longtime judge on Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing with the Stars, passed away at the age of 78 from bone cancer.
According to his agent Jackie Gill, Goodman passed away quietly and surrounded by family on Saturday in a hospice in Kent, England. Goodman leaves behind a wife, a son, and two grandchildren.
"Len Goodman was a wonderful, warm entertainer who was adored by millions... and felt like a member of everyone's family," BBC Director-General Tim Davie said in a statement. "The public, as well as his numerous friends and family, will greatly miss him."
Ballroom dancing was Goodman's first professional gig. After winning the British Championships in the 1970s, he began dancing at the age of 19 and eventually retired in his late 20s to start a dance studio.
A few decades later, he found his way to television and achieved renown all over the world. Goodman served as the chief judge on both DWTS (from 2005 until 2022) and the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" (from 2004 to 2016).
He judged the British and American shows concurrently for several years, "crisscrossing the Atlantic weekly," according to the Associated Press.
Additionally, Goodman was the author of several books, including his 2009 memoir, Better Late Than Never: From Barrow Boy to Ballroom, and he received the Carl Alan Award, known as the "Oscars of the dance world" for his remarkable contributions to dance.
After season 31 (he has participated as a judge in all but two of them), Goodman announced his departure from DWTS in November of last year. He claimed he wished he could spend more time in Britain with his family and grandchildren.
When doing a live event, you must be on your game and quick to respond. And as one gets older, things start to get more difficult," he later told People magazine. "I figured it's best to leave before I start dozing off or dribbling on the show," the actor said.
Goodman said that he will spend some of his retirement siftings through old DVDs to revisit his favorite moments from previous seasons.
I cannot express my gratitude to everyone who helped me along the way for my fantastic run of luck, he remarked.