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. He first appeared in a Cambridge University

Footlights The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...

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 ''Just a Minute'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Sue Perkins became the permanent host, starting with the 87th ser ...

''. He was also the author of many popular books on medicine.

Early life and education

Buckman attended

University College School University College School, also known as UCS, is a private day school in Frognal, Hampstead, London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views. ...

and graduated in medicine from St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1972. He continued his medical training at the Royal Marsden Hospital 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 Lo ...

, London, becoming a fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

. 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. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

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 ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as ''All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series), All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Second Tho ...

. 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, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...

John Cleese John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and Television presenter, presenter. Emerging from the Footlights, Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinbur ...

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) an ...

. 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 (stylized in all lowercase as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a Canadian Public broadcasting, publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates ...

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 Canadians, Canadian television and radio host. At 22, wearing a trademark pink jumpsuit and working for Toronto radio station CHKT (AM), CKEY, she became the first female traffic reporter to pilot her own h ...

Show''. His television series ''Magic or Medicine?'' investigated

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

and won a

Gemini award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...

, while ''Human Wildlife'' covered

microbes A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...

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: 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 common 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 wh ...

high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...

, HRT (all 1999),

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, stroke, and

irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain, 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

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. The company was founded in 1972 by John C ...

company.

Medical hiatus

In 1979, Buckman was diagnosed with

dermatomyositis Dermatomyositis (DM) is a Chronic condition, long-term inflammatory disorder, inflammatory Autoimmune disease, autoimmune disorder which affects the skin and the muscles. Its symptoms are generally a skin rash and worsening muscle weakness over ...

, 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 immigrated to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada, in 1985 and initially stayed with his cousin, journalist Barbara Amiel. In 1994 he was named Canada's Humanist of the Year. He was a signer of Humanist Manifesto 2000. He was president of the Humanist Association of Canada and chair of the Advisory Board on Bioethics of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. 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 beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

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. 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 whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and held an adjunct professorship at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 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. Using the SPIKES method for introducing and ...

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 Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''.

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 William Edward Tidy, MBE (9 October 1933 – 11 March 2023) was a British cartoonist, writer and television personality, known chiefly for his comic strips. He was noted for his charitable work, particularly for the Lord's Taverners, which h ...

. 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 Prometheus Books is a publishing company founded in August 1969 by the philosopher Paul Kurtz (who was also the founder of the Council for Secular Humanism, Center for Inquiry, and co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry). The publ ...

, 2002. * ''Human Wildlife: The Life That Lives on Us'',

Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

, 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

Rob Buckman
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Obituary
''

'', 11 October 2011
Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 12 October 2011
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 15 October 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckman, Rob 1948 births 2011 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British male comedians British medical researchers British oncologists Comedians from London 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 Academic staff of the University of Toronto Sandford Fleming Award recipients