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.
Buckman was a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4 during the 1970s and 1980s, both on panel shows, and fronting one-off programmes on scientific topics.
They were two of the performers and writers of the first Secret Policeman's Ball fundraiser in 1979, with Billy Connolly, John Cleese and Eleanor Bron.
investigated alternative medicine and won a Gemini award, while Human Wildlife covered microbes in the domestic environment.
[citation needed] He was a member of the atheists team on CBC's Test the Nation: IQ broadcast live on 24 January 2010.
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, high blood pressure, HRT (all 1999), diabetes, stroke, and irritable bowel syndrome (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 company.