Richard Bebb

Richard Bebb (12 January 1927 – 12 April 2006) was an English actor of stage, screen and radio.[1]

For other people named Richard Williams, see Richard Williams (disambiguation).
Richard Bebb
Born12 January 1927
London, England
Died12 April 2006 (aged 79)
London
Other namesRichard Bebb Williams
EducationHighgate School, Trinity College, Cambridge
OccupationActor
SpouseGwen Watford (m. 1952–1994; her death)

Born Richard Bebb Williams in London, he changed his name to his mother's surname, Bebb, when he took up acting as there was already a British actor called Richard Williams.[2] Bebb's father Herbert Edward Williams was a physician whose practice was run from part of St Mary's Lodge, the family's impressive home in Stoke Newington. Bebb was educated at Highgate School in North London, and attended Trinity College, Cambridge from 1944–1947.[3]

In 1952, he married actress Gwen Watford (1927–1994), who predeceased him.[4]

Bebb was a prolific performer in theatre, television and radio, probably most famously as "Second Voice" in the original 1954 BBC Radio broadcast of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, opposite Richard Burton's "First Voice".[5]

On television, he appeared in early televised Shakespeare to Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Softly, Softly (TV series), and a long running role in the soap-opera serial Compact. Throughout the 1990s he was frequently in the Poirot series.[6]

He also appeared in several films, such as Pope Joan (1972) and King Ralph (1991).[7]

Music interest and record collection

Bebb was an avid collector of 78 rpm gramophone records.[8] He was a committee member of the British Institute of Recorded Sound, a forerunner to the British Library Sound Archive, and oversaw the launch of Historic Masters, a vinyl record label dedicated to issuing rare 78 rpm recordings of historic opera singers. His personal collection included recordings of singers and opera performances in England, as well as the Henry Irving cylinder recordings which he rediscovered.[8] He did not favour discs based on established values and reputation, but judged singers on their musical merit. His favourite opera was Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea. Among singers and performances he had high regard for Dino Borgioli's Do not go, my love, Frida Leider's version of Eboli's aria in Don Carlos, and Magda Olivero's Sola, perduta, abbandonata.[9]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1953The Final TestFrank WellerUncredited
1963That Kind of Girl
1963A Matter of ChoiceWalter
1963The Yellow Teddy BearsFrank Lang
1972Pope JoanLord of Manor
1985Sacred HeartsVoice
1987Born of FireNewsreader
1991King RalphGamekeeper

See also

References
  1. "Richard Bebb". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017.
  2. Museum, Victoria and Albert. "Macbeth, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool | | V&A Explore The Collections". Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections.
  3. "Recordings by Richard Bebb 7905 | Now available to stream and purchase at Naxos". www.naxos.com.
  4. "Obituary: Gwen Watford". The Independent. 7 February 1994.
  5. "Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood recording revisited". BBC News. 1 September 2014.
  6. Strachan, Alan (10 May 2006). "Obituary". The Independent Newspaper. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  7. "Richard Bebb | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  8. "Obituary: Richard Bebb". the Guardian. 25 May 2006.
  9. Bade, Patrick (February 2007). "Richard Bebb in memoriam". CD. Malibran Music. Retrieved 21 November 2008.

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