Overview
- His death, confirmed Monday by his son Jason, followed a Sunday passing in Ireland, and no cause has been released.
- The 1967 bestseller The Naked Ape made him a global name by viewing human behavior through the lens of animal evolution.
- He became a familiar TV figure by hosting ITV’s Zoo Time and later presenting BBC series including Life in the Animal World and The Human Animal.
- Trained in zoology at Birmingham and Oxford, he served as curator of mammals at London Zoo and went on to write more than 90 books.
- He pursued a parallel career as a surrealist painter, curated exhibitions of chimpanzee art, and was profiled in the BBC’s 2017 film The Secret Surrealist.