Legendary 'DWTS' judge Len Goodman predicted his death in 2022
LONDON, ENGLAND: Len Goodman seemed to be prepared for the inevitable in the months leading up to his demise. The beloved 'Dancing With The Stars' judge predicted when he retired six months ago that he expected to die in 2023 since his father died at 79.
Tributes poured in from across the globe after Goodman died at the age of 78 in a hospice in Tunbridge Wells in Kent following a short illness. The dance maven was battling bone cancer and succumbed to the disease on Saturday night, April 22. He would have been 79 on Tuesday, April 25.
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'A dance teacher from Dartford who got lucky'
Goodman retired as head judge on 'DWTS' in December 2022 to spend time with his family. In a conversation with the Daily Mail just weeks after his retirement, he said, "My dad had the right idea. 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 reality star explained that he was retiring to spend more time with his wife, Sue, and his grandchildren, Alice, seven, and Jack, four. At one point, he suggested that his interviewer, Jenny Johnston, could write his obituary. "Just write, 'He was a dance teacher from Dartford who got lucky.' Because that's just about the truth of it," he told her.
Was Len Goodman unwell?
Goodman's fans wonder whether he already knew that he was seriously unwell. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2009 and recovered after surgery at a London Hospital. In September 2021, it emerged that he underwent surgery the previous year for a small facial melanoma. "I don't make a fuss about stuff like that," he told the newspaper, adding, "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."
Len Goodman's legacy
Following his retirement, Goodman founded the Goodman Dance Academy in Kent. Besides, he had been an examiner for the National Association of Teachers of Dance, a Fellow of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, and an adjudicator for the World Dance Council. As noted by Daily Mail, his "unrivaled knowledge of Latin and Ballroom, as well as his fondness for well-turned metaphors" made him a hit with fans in his later years.
Goodman notably made several TV and radio appearances in the UK and also served as a presenter for several shows. He later starred in the Strictly Live Tour for many years and produced a number of DVDs for dance teachers as well as an instructional DVD for the general public called 'Dance With Len Goodman.' The star published his autobiography 'Better Late Than Never: From Barrow Boy to Ballroom' in 2009. This was followed up with two other books, titled, 'Len's Lost London' and 'Dancing Around Britain.'
Auditioning at age 60
In a conversation with the Daily Mail in 2022, Goodman said that he still couldn't digest the fact that he auditioned for 'Strictly' on his 60th birthday, when most people would be considering retirement. While he had a mortgage and his dance school, he was only turning a small profit. At some point, in a wild turn of luck, an opportunity came his way "and it changed my life." He reminisced, "I remember coming home to [my wife] Sue saying, 'They want to pay me £1,000 an episode and they will pick me up in a car, and take me home again.'"
Goodman would take the helm of Strictly for the next 12 years, before he was lured to the US version of the show, 'Dancing With The Stars'. Despite his British origins, he managed to win over American viewers. "Some of the things I came out with did confuse them [The Americans] a bit. I remember saying, 'Give it some welly', and they said 'Willy? What's a willy?' But someone said to me, early doors, 'Be yourself, and be honest' and I've stuck to that, as much as you can," he explained.