Robert Alexander Amiel Buckman (22 August 1948 – 9 October 2011) was a British doctor of medicine, comedian and author, and president of the

Humanist Association of Canada Humanist Canada (also known as the Humanist Association of Canada, or HAC or HC) is a national not-for-profit charitable organization promoting the separation of religion from public policy and fostering the development of reason, compassion and ...

. He first appeared in a Cambridge University

Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

Revue in 1968, and subsequently presented several television and radio programmes about medicine, as well as appearing on comedy programmes such as '' Just a Minute''. He was also the author of many popular books on medicine.

Early life and education

Buckman took part in the comedy sketch show ''What are you doing after the show'' in 1970–71. Buckman attended

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

and graduated in medicine from

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, in 1972. He continued his medical training at the

Royal Marsden Hospital The Royal Marsden Hospital (RM) is a specialist cancer treatment hospital in London based in Kensington and Chelsea, next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, in Fulham Road with a second site in Belmont, close to Sutton Hospital, High Down and D ...

and

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...

, London, becoming a fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

. Buckman was raised in a middle class Jewish family.

Broadcasting and comedy

Buckman was a familiar voice on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

during the 1970s and 1980s, both on panel shows, and fronting one-off programmes on scientific topics. He contributed scripts to the sitcom '' Doctor on the Go'', based on the Richard Gordon books. Together with fellow doctor Chris Beetles, he formed a comedy double act "Beetles and Buckman". The pair wrote and performed in the ''Pink Medicine Show'' TV series with

Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham, OBE ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as '' All Creatures Great and Small'', '' Doctor Who'', '' Second Thoughts'' and '' Faith in the Future''. S ...

. They were two of the performers and writers of the first '' Secret Policeman's Ball'' fundraiser in 1979, with

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

, John Cleese and

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical ''Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in '' Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967), a ...

. Buckman was television presenter of science programmes such as '' Don't Ask Me'' in the 1970s, and then the medical programme '' Where There's Life'' with Miriam Stoppard for its first three series from 1981. He continued this career in Canada where he contributed to

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

programmes such as ''Your Health'' and the CTV medical show ''Balance'' as well as frequent guest appearances on ''The

Dini Petty Dini Petty (born January 15, 1945) is a Canadian television and radio host. At 22, wearing a trademark pink jumpsuit and working for Toronto radio station CKEY, she became the first female traffic reporter to pilot her own helicopter. She clock ...

Show''. His television series ''Magic or Medicine?'' investigated alternative medicine and won a Gemini award, while ''Human Wildlife'' covered

microbes A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

in the domestic environment. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1981 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

in London. He was a member of the atheists team on CBC's ''

Test the Nation ''Test the Nation'' is a television programme, first broadcast in 2001 by BNN in the Netherlands. The concept is owned by Eyeworks Holding who license it to TV production companies around the world. Show format The format is designed to allow v ...

: IQ'' broadcast live on 24 January 2010.

Writings in popular medicine

Besides tie-ins to his TV series, Buckman authored several books of medical humour, such as ''Out of Practice'' (1978), ''Jogging from Memory: or letters to Sigmund Freud'' (1980), and ''The Buckman Treatment; or a doctor's tour in North America'' (1989). Later, as Robert Buckman, he contributed as author or co-author to a series of ''What You Really Need to Know About...'' books on common medical conditions, including cancer,

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

, high blood pressure, HRT (all 1999),

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, stroke, and

irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a "disorder of gut-brain interaction" characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain and or abdominal bloating and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may ...

(2000). This was also the title of a long-running series of information films that he presented, and in many cases also scripted, for John Cleese's

Video Arts Video Arts is a UK-based video production company which produces and sells soft-skills training programmes, e-learning courses and learning platforms. Video Arts also distributes third party titles. It was founded in 1972 by John Cleese, Sir ...

company.

Medical hiatus

In 1979, Buckman was diagnosed with

dermatomyositis Dermatomyositis (DM) is a long-term inflammatory disorder which affects skin and the muscles. Its symptoms are generally a skin rash and worsening muscle weakness over time. These may occur suddenly or develop over months. Other symptoms may inc ...

, an autoimmune disease which seriously affected his ability to work and was nearly fatal. His illness and recovery over the next couple of years was the subject of a 1981 UK TV documentary, ''Your Own Worst Enemy''.

Later career

Buckman emigrated to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Canada, in 1985 and initially stayed with his cousin, journalist

Barbara Amiel Barbara Joan Estelle Amiel, Baroness Black of Crossharbour, DSS (born 4 December 1940), is a British-Canadian conservative journalist, writer, and socialite. She is married to former media proprietor Conrad Black. Early life and career Amiel wa ...

. In 1994 he was named Canada's Humanist of the Year. He was a signer of

Humanist Manifesto ''Humanist Manifesto'' is the title of three manifestos laying out a humanist worldview. They are the original '' Humanist Manifesto'' (1933, often referred to as Humanist Manifesto I), the ''Humanist Manifesto II'' (1973), and ''Humanism and I ...

2000. He was president of the

and chair of the Advisory Board on Bioethics of the

International Humanist and Ethical Union Humanists International (known as the International Humanist and Ethical Union, or IHEU, from 1952–2019) is an international non-governmental organisation championing secularism and human rights, motivated by secular humanist values. Foun ...

. His main popular work in

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

was ''Can We Be Good Without God? Biology, Behaviour and the Need to Believe''. He was a founding member of the

Centre for Inquiry Canada The Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC) is a not-for-profit educational organization with headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Canadian organization was founded as a member and volunteer driven organization in 2007. It is the Canadian affili ...

. Buckman practised medical oncology at the Princess Margaret Hospital. He was a professor in the Department of Medicine at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

and held an adjunct professorship at the

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

in the US state of Texas. He specialised in breast cancer and teaching communication skills in oncology. In this role, he created the

SPIKES The SPIKES protocol is a method used in clinical medicine to break bad news to patients and families. As receiving bad news can cause distress and anxiety, clinicians need to deliver the news carefully. By using the SPIKES method for introducing a ...

protocol for delivering bad news to patients. In 2006 he began writing a weekly column in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''.

Death

Buckman died in his sleep while flying from London to Toronto on 9 October 2011. The cause is unknown. He was 63.

Selected publications

* ''Out of Practice'', illustrations by Bill Tidy. Deutsch. 1978. * ''Jogging from Memory''. Heinemann. 1980. * ''Medicine Balls Too''. Papermac. 1988. * ''I Don't Know What To Say – How To Help and Support Someone Who Is Dying'' 1988. * ''Not dead yet: the unauthorised autobiography of Dr. Robert Buckman, complete with a map, many photographs & irritating footnotes''. Doublesday. 1990. * ''How To Break Bad News: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals''. Papermac. 1992. * ''Magic or Medicine? An investigation of Healing and Healers'' (with Karl Sabbagh). Macmillan. 1993. * ''Who can ever understand? : talking about your cancer'' with John Elsegood. 1995. * ''What You Really Need to Know About Cancer: A Guide for Patients and their Families''. Pan paperback. 1997. * Robert Buckman. Anne Charlish. ed. ''What You Really Need to Know About Living With Depression''. Lebhar-Friedman Books. 2000. * ''Can We Be Good Without God?: Biology, Behavior, and the Need to Believe'', Prometheus Books, 2002. * ''Human Wildlife: The Life That Lives on Us'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. * Robert Buckman. With contributions by Dr. Pamela Catton and staff of Princess Margaret Hospital. ''Cancer is a Word, Not a Sentence''. Firefly Books. 2006.

References

External links

*
University of Toronto biographyThe BBC Guide to Comedy
*
Obituary
''

'', 11 October 2011
Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 12 October 2011
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', 15 October 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckman, Rob 1948 births 2011 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British medical researchers British oncologists English atheists English expatriates in Canada English humanists English television personalities English television writers Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians People educated at University College School Writers from London University of Toronto faculty Sandford Fleming Award recipients