Stanley James Carroll Beck (21 February 1929 – 6 August 1973) was an English television actor. He appeared in a number of programmes, but is best known for the role of

Private Walker Private Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv (or "wholesales supplier", as he describes it) and Home Guard platoon member, first portrayed by James Beck in the British television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. Appearing in the first six series, ...

, a

cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

spiv A spiv is a petty criminal in the United Kingdom who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. Spivs were particularly active during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed due to shortages. According ...

, in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

'' from the show's beginning in 1968 until his sudden death in 1973.

Early life

Beck was born on 21 February 1929 in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, and attended Popham Road Primary School. After attending

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art school, art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's beca ...

and doing his

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

as a

physical training instructor Physical training instructor (PTI) is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness. United Kingdom In the British Army, specialist Physi ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, Beck became an actor.

Career

Theatre

In 1949, Beck made his career acting debut in ''Little Lambs Eat Ivy'' at the

Granville Theatre, Ramsgate The Granville Theatre complex is located in Victoria Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, and is the town's sole multi-purpose entertainment venue. The theatre derived its name from the Granville Hotel, Ramsgate opposite. The building was sold by Thanet Dist ...

. and followed in ''Peace Comes to Peckham'' and ''Miranda'', at the same venue later that year. In 1954, he starred in ''

A Murder Has Been Arranged ''A Murder Has Been Arranged'' is a 1930 thriller play by the British writer Emlyn Williams. It ran for 77 performances at the St James's Theatre in London's West End between 26 November 1930 and 31 January 1931. The cast included Henry Kendall ...

'' at

Bridgwater Town Hall Bridgwater Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Bridgwater, Somerset, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Bridgwater Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first municipal building in Br ...

. He joined the 'Unicorn Players', and performed in seven different plays at the

Palace Theatre, Paignton The Palace Theatre is a theatre in Paignton, Devon, England. It was built in 1890 and is the oldest working theatre in Torbay. It has been owned by Torbay Council or its predecessor organisations since 1920. The theatre underwent a major refurbi ...

between 1955–1957. From 1958 to 1967, he was a regular performer in many different plays at

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...

Film and television

He concentrated on television and his early broadcast roles included Charlie Bell in an episode of ''

Dr Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'' (Series 1 episode 4, "Conduct Unbecoming", 1962), and was cast as a policeman in a 1965 episode of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'', in a storyline concerning the collapse of a house and in a 1967 episode in a storyline concerning a train crash. He also appeared, uncredited, as a policeman in ''

Gideon's Way ''Gideon's Way'' is a British television crime series that was made by ITC Entertainment and broadcast by ITV in 1964–1966, following the 1958 film, '' Gideon's Day''. The film and series are based on novels by John Creasey (writing as 'J. ...

'' (1965), and was often seen in TV drama, with one-off roles in series such as '' The Troubleshooters'' (1965, 1967, 1970) and in 1968, with

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

in the episode "The Blue Carbuncle", the BBC's ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

''. In 1968, he was offered the role of Private Walker in ''

'', originally written by

Jimmy Perry James Perry (20 September 1923 – 23 October 2016) was an English scriptwriter and actor. He devised and co-wrote the BBC sitcoms ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977), '' It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' (1974–1981), '' Hi-de-Hi!'' (1980–1988) and '' You R ...

for himself. Perry approved of the casting of Beck: "He had the right mix of cheekiness and charm. He gave the role a bit of oomph." Always in demand, he continued to work on TV programmes including ''

A Family at War ''A Family at War'' is a British drama series that aired on ITV from 14 April 1970 to 16 February 1972. It was created by John Finch and made by Granada Television for ITV. The original producer was Richard Doubleday, and with 13 directors dur ...

'' (1970) and ''

Romany Jones ''Romany Jones'' is a British sitcom made by London Weekend Television, broadcast between 1972 and 1975, involving the comic misadventures of two layabout families living on a caravan site. The show was designed as a vehicle for James BeckJames ...

'' (1972–73), in which he played the lead character of Bert Jones. He also recorded a pilot for an uncommissioned series called '' Bunclarke With an E'' (1973), which was to be based on scripts originally written for ''

Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The radio series starred Tony Hancock, with Sidney James, Bill Kerr and,at various ...

'' and in which

Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 37 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad ...

was also to appear.

Death

By 1973, Beck had recorded five series of ''Dad's Army'' and had nearly finished working on the sixth, besides working on the radio series of the show. All of the location filming and studio recording for five of the planned seven episodes of Series Six had been completed when Beck suddenly fell ill while opening a school fête in aid of

Guide Dogs for the Blind Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is a guide dog school located in the United States, with campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon. It was founded in 1942 by Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson to help veterans who had been blinded in Wo ...

. He returned home and within an hour was taken to

Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton Queen Mary's Hospital, formerly Queen Mary's Convalescent Auxiliary Hospitals, is a community hospital in Roehampton in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is run by St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospita ...

''The Times'', death notice and obituary, 7 August 1973 suffering from

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

. He died three weeks later of a combination of heart failure, renal failure, and pancreatitis. He was 44. The last time Beck's ''Dad's Army'' co-stars saw him alive was on Friday 13 July 1973 at the Playhouse Theatre in London where he recorded two radio episodes of ''Dad's Army'' which ran alongside the TV series. The following afternoon Beck suddenly became ill. His death was a great shock to his fellow cast members, as well as to

and David Croft. Perry has said that heavy drinking was common in show business at the time, and that he paid little attention to Beck's habit until "I saw Jimmy’s legs and they were purple. It was the last episode he appeared in before he died". In the episode, "

The Recruit Recruit may refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Ships * HMS ''Recruit'', several ships of ...

" (the series 6 finale), Mainwaring reads a note written by Walker apologising for his absence, as he has gone "up to the Smoke" (to London) to conduct one of his deals.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, James 1929 births 1973 deaths 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century English male actors Actors from the London Borough of Islington Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art British Army soldiers Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery Deaths from pancreatitis English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Male actors from London Military personnel from the London Borough of Islington People from Islington (district)