Richard Bebb (12 January 1927 – 12 April 2006) was an English actor of stage, screen and radio. 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. 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 Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

, and attended

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

from . In 1952, he married actress

Gwen Watford Gwendoline Watford (10 September 1927 – 6 February 1994), professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress. Watford's talent was spotted by John Gielgud while she was still a schoolgirl, and with his help ...

(1927–1994), who predeceased him. Bebb was a prolific performer in theatre, television and radio, probably most famously as "Second Voice" in the original 1954

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

broadcast of

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Unde ...

's ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, '' Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptatio ...

'', opposite

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable p ...

's "First Voice". On television, he appeared in early televised Shakespeare to

Z Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debute ...

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

Softly, Softly (TV series) ''Softly, Softly'' is a British television police procedural series produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It was created as a spin-off from the series ''Z-Cars'', which ended its fifth series run in December 1965. The ser ...

, and a long running role in the soap-opera serial ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

''. Throughout the 1990s he was frequently in the ''

Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more t ...

'' series. He also appeared in several films, such as ''

Pope Joan Pope Joan (''Ioannes Anglicus'', 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The ...

'' (1972) and ''

King Ralph ''King Ralph'' is a 1991 American comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward and starring John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, and John Hurt. The film is about an American who becomes the unlikely King of the United Kingdom after an electrical ...

'' (1991).

Music interest and record collection

Bebb was an avid collector of

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...

gramophone records. He was a committee member of the British Institute of Recorded Sound, a forerunner to the

British Library Sound Archive The British Library Sound Archive, formerly the British Institute of Recorded Sound; also known as the National Sound Archive (NSA), in London, England is among the largest collections of recorded sound in the world, including music, spoken word a ...

, and oversaw the launch of ''

Historic Masters Historic Masters was a historical reissue record label, based in Takeley, Essex, England, dedicated to making available quality pressings on vinyl of rare 78 rpm recordings of opera singers. Historic Masters Ltd claimed to be, to its knowledge, ...

'', 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 Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ...

cylinder recordings which he rediscovered. He did not favour discs based on established values and reputation, but judged singers on their musical merit. His favourite opera was

Adriana Lecouvreur ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' () is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the 1849 play '' Adrienne Lecouvreur'' by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé. It was first performed on 6 November 1902 ...

by Francesco Cilea. Among singers and performances he had high regard for Dino Borgioli's ''Do not go, my love'',

Frida Leider Frida Leider (18 April 1888 – 4 June 1975) was a German operatic soprano. Leider was a dramatic soprano. Her most famous roles were Wagner's Isolde and Brünnhilde, Beethoven's Fidelio, Mozart's Donna Anna, and Verdi's Aida and Leonora. She ...

's version of Eboli's aria in

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

, and

Magda Olivero Magda Olivero (née Maria Maddalena Olivero) (25 March 1910 – 8 September 2014), was an Italian operatic soprano. Her career started in 1932 when she was 22, and spanned five decades, establishing her "as an important link between the era of t ...

's ''Sola, perduta, abbandonata''.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Obituary
thetimes.co.uk, 20 April 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bebb, Richard 1927 births 2006 deaths English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male radio actors People educated at Highgate School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Male actors from London Place of death missing

Music interest and record collection

Filmography

See also

References

External links