LONDON — Former British exhibition dance champion Len Goodman, a longtime judge on the BBC reality show Strictly Come Dancing and its American spin-off Dancing With the Stars, died Saturday at a Kent hospice . England. he was 78 years old.
The cause was bone cancer, his agent Jackie Gill said on Monday. added.
Mr Goodman was the lead judge on the BBC’s program Strictly Come Dancing for over a decade until 2016. From 2005 until last year, he also served as a judge on the US version of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.” “se-VEN!
“He kept his sense of humor during his illness and dealt with it with great dignity,” Gill said. “He was always a true gentleman. He loved what he did and never took anything for granted.”
Leonard Gordon Goodman was born in Bethnal Green, London, his agent said. At the age of six he moved to Blackfen, Kent, England, now part of London, and attended Westwood Secondary School. According to Gil, he started dancing when he was 19, a relatively late age for someone who would go on to become a professional.
Goodman has had a successful career as a dancer, winning Dual of the Giants, British Rising Stars, British Exhibition Championships (4 times) and World Exhibition Championships. After that, I opened a dance school called Goodman Academy in Dartford, England.
His first marriage ended in divorce and he married dancer Cherry Kingston in 1972. He later had a son, James, with his partner Leslie. In 2012, he married Sue Barrett.
In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Goodman has two grandchildren.
