Richard Murdoch
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| Richard Murdoch | |
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| Born | Richard Bernard Murdoch 6 April 1907 Keston, Kent, England, UK |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK |
| Occupation | Comedy actor |
| Years active | 1932-1990 |
Richard Bernard Murdoch (6 April 1907 – 9 October 1990) was a British actor and entertainer.[1]
Contents
Early life
He was educated at Charterhouse School in Surrey, and Pembroke College, Cambridge University. Whilst at university he participated in the Footlights Dramatic Club's performances.
Early career
Murdoch's first appearance in cinema was as an uncredited dancing extra in 1932 film Looking on the Bright Side. In 1937 he was listed among the cast of the "Television Follies", an early BBC Television programme.[2]
Work with Arthur Askey
He received his big professional break in the British Broadcasting Corporation's comedy radio programme Band Waggon in 1938 as part of a double act with the then rising star Arthur Askey, acquiring the nickname "Stinker" in mocking reference to his superior formal education. [3] As Askey moved from radio performing into cinema at the end of the 1930s Murdoch went with him and they appeared in a number of Askey star vehicle films together, Murdoch's tall athletic physique, good looks and upper middle class English Home Counties demeanor contrasting comedically with Askey's short stature, homely appearance, Lancashire provincial accent and working class performance persona. Their working partnership broke up during World War 2 when Murdoch joined the Armed Forces, but they briefly reprised it in the late 1950s for the television series Living It Up.[4]
World War 2
Murdoch was conscripted into the Royal Air Force in 1941, serving as a junior intelligence officer with Bomber Command, before being posted to the Department of Allied Air Force and Foreign Liaison as a Flight Lieutenant. In 1943 he joined the Directorate of Administrative Plans at the Air Ministry, where he shared an office with Wing Commander Kenneth Horne, being responsible for the supply of aircraft and air equipment to Russia. He finished the war with the rank of Squadron Leader.[5][6][7]
Career
Murdoch teamed up with Kenneth Horne in the BBC Radio comedy series Much Binding in the Marsh from 1944 to 1954.[8]
He performed in the long-running radio comedy series The Men from the Ministry from 1962 to 1977.[9] [10]
He composed a suggestive doggerel about Ella Wheeler Wilcox as lyrics to accompany the opening bars of Alexandre Luigini's Ballet Égyptien.[11]
In the early 1980s Murdoch provided the English narration for the Polish animated version of The Moomins, from the classic series of books by Tove Jansson.[12]
Murdoch had a long-running regular role as 'Uncle Tom', the briefless senior barrister of chambers, in Rumpole of the Bailey from 1978 to 1990.
Personal life
He married the actress Peggy Rawlings in 1932, and they had three children, Belinda, Jane and Timothy.[13]
Murdoch died on 9 October 1990, aged 83. His final performance in the Rumpole series was broadcast a few months later in 1991.[1]
Selected radio broadcasts
- Band Waggon (1938-39)[14]
- Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh (1944-54)[8] [15]
- Desert Island Discs, with Kenneth Horne (1952)[16]
- Murdoch in Mayfair (1955)[17]
- The Men from the Ministry (1962-67)[9]
- A Slight Case of Murdoch (1987)[18]
- Just a Minute (1988-90)[19]
Selected television appearances
- At Home, with Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa, BBC Television (1948)[20]
- Free and Easy, with Kenneth Horne, BBC Television (1953)[21]
- Show for the Telly, with Kenneth Horne, BBC Television (1956)[22]
- Living It Up, with Arthur Askey, Associated-Rediffusion (1957-58)[4]
- Rumpole of the Bailey, as T.C. "Uncle Tom" Rowley, Thames Television (1978-91)[23]
- Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, as Lord Halifax, Southern Television (1981)[23]
- The Black Adder, as Ross, A Lord, BBC Television (1983)[23]
- The Moomins, as narrator, Childrens ITV (1983)[12]
- Mr Majeika, as Worshipful Wizard, TVS Television (1988-90)[23]
Selected filmography
- Looking on the Bright Side (1932)
- Over She Goes (1938)
- Band Waggon (1940)
- Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt (1940)
- The Ghost Train (1941)
- I Thank You (1941)
- One Exciting Night (1944)
- It Happened in Soho (1948)
- Golden Arrow (1949)
- Lilli Marlene (1950)
- The Magic Box (1951)
- Strictly Confidential (1959)
- Not a Hope in Hell (1960)
- Whoops Apocalypse (1986) [23]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Radio Times Television Supplement, 9 July 1937
- ↑ Hugh M. Massingberd, 'The "Daily Telegraph" Book of Obituaries 3: Entertainers', pp. 148-9. ISBN 0-330-36775-7
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Johnston, Barry (2006). Round Mr Horne: The Life of Kenneth Horne. Aurum Press. pp. 58-61. ISBN 1-84513-123-1
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 'The Old Boys' Network', a B.B.C. television programme with Murdoch addressing a live audience discussing his career, was broadcast on 7 October 1981
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Foster, Andy and Furst, Steve (1996). Radio Comedy 1938-1968. Virgin Publishing. pp 82-85. ISBN 0-86369-960-X
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Foster, Andy and Furst, Steve (1996). Radio Comedy 1938-1968. Virgin Publishing. pp 240-47. ISBN 0-86369-960-X
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Donovan, Paul (1991). The Radio Companion. HarperCollins. p. 16. ISBN 0-246-13648-0
- ↑ Johnston, Barry (2006). Round Mr Horne: The Life of Kenneth Horne. Aurum Press. pp. 65, 82, 120, 123, 133. ISBN 1-84513-123-1
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Gifford, Denis (1985). The Golden Age of Radio. Batsford. p. 184.
- ↑ Donovan, Paul (1991). The Radio Companion. HarperCollins. p. 184. ISBN 0-246-13648-0
- ↑ http://just-a-minute.info/stats.html
- ↑ Lewisohn, Mark (1998). Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. BBC Books. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-563-36977-6.
- ↑ Lewisohn, Mark (1998). Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. BBC Books. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-563-36977-6.
- ↑ Lewisohn, Mark (1998). Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. BBC Books. p. 607. ISBN 978-0-563-36977-6.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Walker, John (1999). Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies. (13th ed.) HarperCollins. p. 297. ISBN 0-00-255905-6
External links
- BBC Comedy Guide information
- Cambridge Footlights history
- Biography at filmreference.com
- Lines from Murdoch's Ballet égyptien verses
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