Robin Richmond (21 April 1912 – 27 July 1998) was an English cinema organist and

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

presenter and performer.

History

Richmond was born on 21 April 1912 in Kensington, London, England, UK. His father was a doctor. William Stephenson Richmond, his mother was Barbara Hamilton Archibald. He had a brother, John Whitaker Stephenson Richmond. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

to study law, though he failed to graduate from the latter. It was at Westminster School where Richmond learned how to play the organ.

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''. He then toured with the comedy singing duo The Two Leslies (

Leslie Sarony image:Leslie Holmes and Leslie Sarony circa 1934.JPG, A W.D. & H.O. Wills, Wills cigarette card from the 'Radio Celebrities' series, 1934; Sarony on right Leslie Sarony (born Leslie Legge Frye; 22 January 1897 – 12 February 1985) was a Britis ...

and Leslie Holmes). His

debut was in ''

Palace of Varieties ''Palace of Varieties'' was a British radio programme produced by the BBC and broadcast regularly on the Light Programme between 1937 and 1958.

'' in 1938. His trademark instrument became the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, after he imported the first example to Great Britain from the United States in 1935. It carried the serial number "001". Richmond volunteered for the Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but was rejected for health reasons. He began the war as organist at the Paramount Cinema in

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

, London, with the singer Adelaide Hall. However, the cinema was bombed soon after Richmond's joining. He appeared extensively on BBC radio. Richmond was known as one of the first "swing-timers", playing mainly works that were the latest songs and dances in the U.S. 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. Post-war, Richmond regularly performed on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

, on shows such as ''

Music While You Work ''Music While You Work'' was a daytime radio programme of continuous live popular music broadcast in the United Kingdom twice daily on workdays from 23 June 1940 until 29 September 1967 by the BBC. Initially, the morning edition was generally ...

'', ''

Variety Bandbox ''Variety Bandbox'' is a BBC Radio variety show transmitted initially in the General Forces Programme and then the Light Programme. Featuring a mixture of comic performances and music, the show helped to launch the careers of a number of leadi ...

'' and ''Organ Grinder Swing''. He also presented a number of programmes including ''

Housewives' Choice ''Housewives' Choice'' was a BBC Radio record request programme, broadcast every weekday morning between 1946 and 1967 on the BBC Light Programme. It played a wide range of mostly popular music intended to appeal to housewives at home during t ...

'' and ''Jazz Club''. On television, he was the resident organist on the quiz show ''

Double Your Money ''Double Your Money'' was a British game show hosted by Hughie Green. Originally broadcast on Radio Luxembourg since 1950 and based on the American radio quiz '' Take It Or Leave It'' (1940–1947), it transferred to ITV in September 1955, a ...

''. He created the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

series ''

The Organist Entertains ''The Organist Entertains'' was a long-running music programme broadcast on BBC Radio 2. The 30-minute programme focused on the organ in its many guises, and played recordings and live broadcasts of theatre organs, pipe organs and electronic ...

'' 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. He appeared as a castaway on the

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'' on 10 September 1977. Richmond died of cancer in Sussex, England, UK, on 26 July 1998, aged 86.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Robin 1912 births 1998 deaths Place of death missing BBC Radio 2 presenters Musicians from London People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of the University of London Theatre organists 20th-century English organists