EntertainmentBill Oddie, a British comic actor who had a second career as a bird expert and wildlife presenter, died on Saturday, his agent said. He was 85.After a 12-year run for comedy team The Goodies, Oddie's life-long love of nature led to more workThe Associated Press · Posted: Jul 27, 2026 12:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Bill Oddie on March 13, 2014 in London during a demonstration near the House of Commons, centred on a controversial badger cull. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)Bill Oddie, a British comic actor who had a second career as a bird expert and wildlife presenter, died on Saturday, his agent said. He was 85.Oddie first found fame as a member of The Goodies, a comedy trio that also featured Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden. The team's offbeat comedy series of the same name, featuring sketches and songs, aired from 1970 to 1982 on the BBC, with CBC airing several of the seasons in Canada.Oddie went on to host BBC wildlife programs, including Birding With Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie Goes Wild and Springwatch. "Bill was a multi-talented celebrity — wildlife presenter, broadcaster, comedian, writer, songwriter, musician and conservationist," his agent David Foster said in a statement. "Yet it was never fame that he valued. Instead he encouraged us to respect and protect the environment."The members of The Goodies are shown in a Nov. 14, 1974 photo in Britain. From left to right, Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden. (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Born in 1941 in Rochdale, northwestern England, Oddie went on to study English literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He appeared in several productions of the Cambridge Footlights, a prestigious student sketch comedy troupe, alongside future stars such as John Cleese and Graham Chapman of Monty Python.Those student productions led to work in London's West End and on Broadway, persuading Oddie to abandon plans to become an English teacher or warden of a bird observatory. (Eric Idle/X)Eric Idle of Monty Python fame paid tribute to Oddie on Monday, sharing several personal remembrances."He was a very fine songwriter and I learned a lot from him," said Idle.Oddie's former comedy partner from the Goodies, Brooke-Taylor, died in 2020.Tim Brooke-Taylor of British comedy The Goodies dies after coronavirus battleOddie later transformed his birding hobby into a job, presenting multiple wildlife shows and writing books such as Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book, Birdwatching with Bill Oddie and Follow That Bird. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and daughters Bonnie, Kate and Rosie.With files from CBC News