'Dancing with the Stars' judge Len Goodman dies at 78
The Londoner was Strictly Come Dancing's head judge from 2004 to 2016. He joined the American version of Dancing with the Stars a year later, retiring in 2022.
Bone cancer killed. Aged 78. Professional dancer and teacher Goodman specialized in "exhibition" dancing.
Four-time British Exhibition winner and British World Exhibition Championship runner-up. Living in Kent, England, he established the Goodman Dance Academy.
Better Late Than Never: From Barrow Boy to Ballroom, a memoir, was one of his novels.
"It is with great sadness to announce that Len Goodman has passed away peacefully, aged 78," his manager Jackie Gill said Monday.
"A much-loved husband, father, and grandfather who will be sorely missed by family, friends, and all who knew him."
On April 25, 1944, Farnborough, Kent birthed Leonard Gordon Goodman. 19-year-old dancer. New Zealand dance champion Erin Boag recommended him to Strictly Come Dancing producers.
"He's just a dance teacher from Dartford, but he's a bit of a character." His wife, Jane Barrett, and son, James, survive Goodman.
Dancers and entertainers paid tribute to Goodman on social media.