Robin Richmond

Robin Richmond (21 April 1912 – 27 July 1998) was an English cinema organist and BBC Radio presenter and performer.[1]

Robin Richmond
Born(1912-04-21)April 21, 1912
London, England
EducationWestminster School
OccupationOrganist,

History

Richmond was born on 21 April 1912 in Kensington, London, England, UK.[2] His father was a doctor. William Stephenson Richmond, his mother was Barbara Hamilton Archibald. He had a brother, John Whitaker Stephenson Richmond. [2] He was educated at Westminster School and London University to study law, though he failed to graduate from the latter.[2][3] It was at Westminster School where Richmond learned how to play the organ.[3]

Career

After a brief engagement at Lambeth Mission Hall, from which he was sacked for adding percussion sounds to hymns, he made his West End debut in the revue It's in the Bag.[2] He then toured with the comedy singing duo The Two Leslies (Leslie Sarony and Leslie Holmes).[2] His BBC Radio debut was in Palace of Varieties in 1938.[2]

His trademark instrument became the Hammond organ, after he imported the first example to Great Britain from the United States in 1935.[2][4] It carried the serial number "001".[2] Rejected by the military during World War II for health reasons, Richmond spent the duration as organist at the Paramount Cinema in Tottenham Court Road, London, and on BBC radio.[2] Rishmond was known as one of the first "swing-timers". Mainly playing works that were the latest songs and dances in the U.S.. His instrument was the Hammond Electronic Organ, and Richmond was in fact the first British organist to import the Hammond Electric to the states.[3]

Richmond had volunteered for the Navy but was rejected due to health reasons. From there he was assigned to be the organist for the Paramount Cinema in Tottenham Court Road with the singer Adelaide Hall. However, the cinema was bombed soon after Richmond's joining.[3]

In 1944 Richmond was an actor as well as a writer for Rainbow Round the Corner, in 1949 the Mystery at the Burlesque, and The Time of His Life in 1955.[5]

Post-war, Richmond regularly performed on the BBC Light Programme, on shows such as Music While You Work, Variety Bandbox and Organ Grinder Swing.[6] He also presented a number of programmes including Housewives' Choice and Jazz Club. On television, he was the resident organist on the quiz show Double Your Money.[7]

He created the BBC Radio 2 series The Organist Entertains in 1969, and was its main presenter until 1980, often at the BBC Theatre Organ in Manchester. A special edition in 2012 marked the centenary of his birth.[4] He appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 10 September 1977.[8]

Richmond died of cancer in Sussex, England m, UK, on 26 July 1998, aged 86.[2]

References
  1. "Robin Richmond | Music Department, Actor, Writer". IMDb. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. Gifford, Denis (8 August 1998). "Obituary: Robin Richmond". The Independent. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  3. "Obituary: Robin Richmond". The Independent. 7 August 1998. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  4. "Nigel Ogden: The Organist Entertains, Robin Richmond's Centenary". BBC Online. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  5. "Robin Richmond | Music Department, Actor, Writer". IMDb. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  6. "BBC Genome Project". Organ Grinder Swing. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  7. Evans, Jeff (2001). The Penguin TV Companion. Penguin Books. pp. 185–6. ISBN 0-140-51467-8.
  8. "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Robin Richmond". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
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