Current:Home > NewsDancing With the Stars' Len Goodman Predicted His Death 4 Months Before His Passing -AssetScope
Dancing With the Stars' Len Goodman Predicted His Death 4 Months Before His Passing
View
Date:2025-04-16 10:57:29
A prediction Len Goodman made before his death is drawing a lot of attention.
Four months prior to his passing, the Dancing With the Stars judge took part in an interview in which he reflected on death.
"Bing Crosby had the right idea," Goodman told the Daily Mail in December 2022. "He played 18 holes of golf, then, bosh, dropped down dead. I don't want a load of lingering. My dad had the right idea, too. He loved gardening and he had a stroke while he was out in the garden. He was 79 so if I go the way of my dad, that'll be next year."
The Strictly Come Dancing alum even had some suggestions for his obituary.
"Just write: 'He was a dance teacher from Dartford who got lucky,'" he added. "Because that's just about the truth of it."
Goodman died April 22 in a hospice in Kent, England, following a battle with bone cancer, according to the BBC. He was 78 years old, passing just days before his 79th birthday.
This wasn't Goodman's first cancer diagnosis. He previously shared he had a cancerous tumor removed from his prostate gland in 2009 and told the U.K.'s Melanoma Fund in 2020 that he had skin cancer removed.
"I don't make a fuss about stuff like that," the ballroom dancer told the Daily Mail in December 2022. "It's like when you have a car—you keep it serviced but even so, you'll have some trouble with your carburetor and you'll need to get it fixed, and eventually the whole thing will conk out, and there you go. It's more about the journey, and mine has been lovely."
Goodman died five months after he announced he was leaving Dancing With the Stars, citing his desire to spend more time with his family in Britain. After his death, his longtime colleagues and friends paid tribute to their fellow judge.
"Heart broken my dear friend and partner for 19 years the one and only ballroom legend #lengoodman passed away," Bruno Tonioli wrote on Instagram April 24. "I will treasure the memory of our incredible adventures and hundreds of shows we did together. @bbcstrictly @dancingwiththestars they will never be anyone like you we will miss you."
Carrie Ann Inaba also remembered Goodman as, "A Dancer. A teacher. A refined gentleman. A wonderful storyteller. A special soul. A mentor. A family man. And… A treasured friend."
"Saying goodbye at the end of last season broke my heart," she continued in her Instagram post. "But today's news has shattered it all over again. I can't believe that you're gone. You were one of a kind my dear friend. And I will cherish our memories and hold them close, while I join so many others mourning your loss. Thank you for all that you shared with us. Your humor, your wisdom, your wit and your truth. Until we meet again…Rest In Peace Len."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (341)
Related
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Settlement could cost NCAA nearly $3 billion; plan to pay athletes would need federal protection
- Police defend decision not to disclose accidental gunshot during Columbia protest response
- Jalen Brunson is a true superstar who can take Knicks where they haven't been in decades
- 51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
- California man who testified against Capitol riot companion is sentenced to home detention
- Person fatally shot by police after allegedly pointing weapon at others ID’d as 35-year-old man
- Jewish students grapple with how to respond to pro-Palestinian campus protests
- A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
- Caitlin Clark to the Olympics, Aces will win third title: 10 bold predictions for the 2024 WNBA season
Ranking
- Giants, Lions fined $200K for fights in training camp joint practices
- New Jersey governor sets July primary and September special election to fill Payne’s House seat
- Google, Justice Department make final arguments about whether search engine is a monopoly
- What is Sidechat? The controversial app students have used amid campus protests, explained
- How effective is the Hyundai, Kia anti-theft software? New study offers insights.
- 'You can't be gentle in comedy': Jerry Seinfeld on 'Unfrosted,' his Netflix Pop-Tart movie
- Who won Deion Sanders' social media battles this week? He did, according to viewership
- Mariska Hargitay aims criticism at Harvey Weinstein during Variety's Power of Women event
Recommendation
Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
Boeing threatens to lock out its private firefighters around Seattle in a dispute over pay
Instagram teams up with Dua Lipa, launches new IG Stories stickers
Ex-government employee charged with falsely accusing co-workers of joining Capitol riot
Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
Mick Jagger wades into politics, taking verbal jab at Louisiana state governor at performance
Jessie James Decker Shares Postpartum Body Struggles After Welcoming Baby No. 4
Massachusetts woman wins $1 million lottery twice in 10 weeks