Andy Smart was the first of the Comedy Store Players I ever got to know. 1985 doing Cupboard Man in Edinburgh I met Andy and Angelo when they were the Vicious Boys. They were doing their act on the street. They were fearless and brilliant and sexy. We went to see them perform in Holyrood Park at the weekend and my jaw dropped when I saw the mound of money they made from the crowd in just one morning, Andy standing atop it like a pirate. I was a bit scared of Andy he was so funny and brave and yes smart. He was one of the boys who could do things I could never do. I secretly hoped he liked me. So the journey of getting to improvise with him at the Store was the fulfilment of a dream. Turning up at the Store and there he was with his Kentucky and the crossword. Andy’s on tonight everything will be fine. He was so relaxed, and I suppose that was something that came out of his fearlessness. Improvising with him onstage was so reassuring because he was so laid back it was like he was still lying on a sofa with a roll up and a drink having a laugh with you, we just happened to be in front of 300 people. Sometimes if you were lucky you managed to make Andy laugh at the side of the stage or even in a scene when he was translating your gibberish and this was like being blessed, Andy’s mirth could take the joy in the room to a higher altitude like being taken up a comedy Everest where the air got thin and giddy. Then the gift of him being in our Improbable shows. Improbable Tales, Animo in Kuala Lumpur, an Ugly sister in our Improvised Cinderella. When we did Lifegame and Keith came over to teach us the format Andy was our choice for the first guest we ever interviewed. We heard amazing stories of Andy’s life’s . As many may know Andy lived for adventure and he regularly ran with bulls at Pamplona and the story he told of what it was like as the run started was gripping, the scene of the two bulls who talked about Andy and how famous he was in “bull circles” was never to be forgotten and of course factually accurate. Lifegame often ends with the guest being able to choose how they die. Andy chose to see a scene at a ski jumping event where he left this earth (in all senses) skiing off a mountains at high speed at the peak of the jump. There you go Andy. The biggest thing about Andy was he knew how to change the world. He did this close in to himself by making his many many friends laugh so so much, but also by spreading kindness in very real ways. Andy would spend most of every Christmas working with Crisis, not an easy job but spreading laughter amongst homeless people. Andy did it I think because he knew that like so many of us in the crazy comedy improv world it wasn’t so far away.. it could so easily be one us. My wife Matilda says she always thought he was the real Father Christmas. The world feels better when there are kind people in it and it’s useful to remember there are many people like that. But oh boy that’s a big chunk of joy and kindness gone... because there’s no one like Andy Smart Poem A shot of Andy Smart It was your heart that took you on the grand adventure of this life. It was your heart that touched us… Opening ours with laughter and brave kindness. It was your heart that took you running faster than bulls. Resting rate extraordinary. A life where all bets were off. Easily five lives in one. Bucket list brimming, a slapstick flooded floor, overflowing with astounding stories… Of things I could never do, would never dare to do. I don’t drink these days Andy. But, oh If I could have just one shot from that bucket, a spirit chaser, knocked back fast, as fierce as laughter from the Comedy Store, that would no doubt make me wince and smart, I’d live my life with a courage not yet told, not yet done. I’d waste no time I’d leap mountains smirking.