Richard Beckinsale

Acting

Richard Beckinsale

Born July 6, 1947 · Carlton, Nottinghamshire, UK

Died March 19, 1979 · aged 31

Richard Beckinsale was an English actor, best known for his roles as Lennie Godber in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the British ITV sitcom Rising Damp. He is the father of actresses Samantha Beckinsale and Kate Beckinsale. He died of a congenital heart defect at the age of just thirty one in 1979.

Known For

Three for AllThree for All · 1975
Three for All
3.31975
MovieMusicComedy
A pop band and their girlfriends have fun in Spain
The FloaterThe Floater · 1975
The Floater
10.01975
MovieComedyTV Movie
A comedy about the law - seen from the inside. All formality and procedure on the surface but not quite so convincing when you see the works.
PorridgePorridge · 1979
Porridge
6.71979
MovieComedyCrime
Times are hard for habitual guest of Her Majesty Norman Stanley Fletcher. The new prison officer, Beale, makes MacKay look soft and what's more, an escape plan is hatching from the cell of prison godfather Grouty and Fletcher wants no part of it.
Bloody KidsBloody Kids · 1980
Bloody Kids
6.51980
MovieDramaTV Movie
Two boys pull a Saturday night prank on the police in a seaside British town.
RentadickRentadick · 1972
Rentadick
4.21972
MovieComedy
Armitage runs a chemical company that is on the verge of producing a gas that causes temporary disability. Clearly the military want it but it is also sought by a group of Japanese. Both Armitage and Madam Greenfly hire different people in the same detective agency to guard the gas and steal it respectively... confusion, double crosses and hilarity ensue...
Comedy Classics: PorridgeComedy Classics: Porridge · 2022
Comedy Classics: Porridge
2022
MovieDocumentary
An homage to the prison comedy series Porridge, created by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. This documentary examines how Ronnie Barker’s Fletch influenced Slade Prison’s characters. There is also a look at 1978’s Going Straight, Porridge: The Movie, the US remake On the Rocks, and the 2017 reboot starring Kevin Bishop and Ricky Grover.
The Lovers!The Lovers! · 1973
The Lovers!
6.01973
MovieComedyDrama
Reprising the television series roles which first made them household names, Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox star as Geoffrey Scrimshaw and Beryl Battersby, a hesitant, inexperienced, young couple attempting to negotiate the sexual minefield of the ‘permissive’ society. This big-screen transfer of Jack Rosenthal’s hugely likeable sitcom sees old-fashioned girl Beryl continuing to slap down the advances of her frustrated boyfriend, whose clumsy attempts to initiate ‘Percy Filth’ suggest he’s not quite up to speed himself! Like everyone else, Geoffrey and Beryl want to fall in love – or they think they do; like everyone else, since Adam and Eve. But Adam and Eve didn’t live in Manchester in 1972…
Porridge: No Way OutPorridge: No Way Out · 1975
Porridge: No Way Out
10.01975
MovieCrimeComedy
Fletcher discovers that his fellow inmates are planning to escape.

Filmography

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The Lovers!The Lovers! · 1973
The Lovers!
6.01973
MovieComedyDrama
Reprising the television series roles which first made them household names, Richard Beckinsale and Paula Wilcox star as Geoffrey Scrimshaw and Beryl Battersby, a hesitant, inexperienced, young couple attempting to negotiate the sexual minefield of the ‘permissive’ society. This big-screen transfer of Jack Rosenthal’s hugely likeable sitcom sees old-fashioned girl Beryl continuing to slap down the advances of her frustrated boyfriend, whose clumsy attempts to initiate ‘Percy Filth’ suggest he’s not quite up to speed himself! Like everyone else, Geoffrey and Beryl want to fall in love – or they think they do; like everyone else, since Adam and Eve. But Adam and Eve didn’t live in Manchester in 1972…

Geoffrey Scrimshaw

Going StraightGoing Straight · 1978
Going Straight
7.71978
SeriesComedy
Going Straight is a BBC sitcom which was a direct spin-off from Porridge, starring Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher, newly released from the fictional Slade Prison where the earlier series had been set. It sees Fletcher trying to become an honest member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime on his release. The title refers to his attempt, 'straight' being a slang term meaning being honest, in contrast to 'bent', i.e., dishonest. Also re-appearing was Richard Beckinsale as Lennie Godber, who was Fletcher's naïve young cellmate and was now in a relationship with his daughter Ingrid. Her brother Raymond was played by a teenage Nicholas Lyndhurst. Only one series, of six episodes, was made in 1978. It attracted an audience of over 15 million viewers and won a BAFTA award in March 1979, but hopes of a further series had already been dashed by Beckinsale's premature death earlier in the same month.

Lenny Godber