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Richard Bernard Murdoch (6 April 19079 October 1990) was an English actor and entertainer.
After early professional experience in the chorus in
musical comedy
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
, Murdoch quickly moved on to increasingly prominent roles in musical comedy and
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
in the
West End and on tour. He made his first radio broadcast for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1932 and in 1937 and 1938 he featured in early television broadcasts.
He came to national fame when cast with the comedian
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...
in the radio show ''
Band Waggon
''Band Waggon'' was a comedy radio show broadcast by the BBC from 1938 to 1940. The first series featured Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. In the second series, Askey and Murdoch were joined by Syd Walker, and the third series added ...
'' in 1938. Their contrasting styles appealed to the public and they took a version of the show on tour to theatres around the country and made a film adaptation of it. Serving in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Murdoch met a fellow officer,
Kenneth Horne
Charles Kenneth Horne, generally known as Kenneth Horne, (27 February 1907 – 14 February 1969) was an English comedian and businessman. He is perhaps best remembered for his work on three BBC Radio series: ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ...
, and together they conceived, wrote and starred in the radio series ''
Much Binding in the Marsh
''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'' was a comedy show broadcast from 1944 to 1950 and 1951 to 1954 by BBC radio and in 1950–51 by Radio Luxembourg. It was written by and starred Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne as officers in a fictional RAF stati ...
'', which ran from 1944 to 1954. Murdoch's last long-running radio programmes were ''
The Men from the Ministry
''The Men from the Ministry'' is a British radio comedy series broadcast by the BBC between 1962 and 1977, starring Wilfrid Hyde-White, Richard Murdoch and, from 1966, when he replaced Hyde-White, Deryck Guyler. Written and produced by Edwar ...
'' (1962–1977) in which he played a well-meaning but disaster-prone civil servant, and ''
Many a Slip'', a panel game that combined humour and erudition, in which he appeared from 1964 to 1973.
Murdoch appeared on air and on stage in Australia, Canada and South Africa, and continued acting and broadcasting into his eighties.
Life and career
Early years
Murdoch was born on 6 April 1907 at his family's home in
Keston
Keston is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was withing the historic county of Kent. It is part suburban, part rural in nature and lies on the edge of Hayes Com ...
, Kent, the only son of Bernard Murdoch, a tea merchant, and his wife, Amy Florence, daughter of the
Ven
Ven may refer to:
Places
* Ven, Heeze-Leende, a hamlet in the Netherlands
* Ven (Sweden), an island
* Ven, Tajikistan, a town
* VEN or Venezuela
Other uses
* von Economo neurons, also called ''spindle neurons''
* '' Vên'', an EP by Eluveiti ...
Avison Scott,
archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
of
Tonbridge
Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...
. He was educated at
Charterhouse School
(God having given, I gave)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, president ...
in Surrey, and
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
, which he left without taking a degree. His biographer
Barry Took
Barry Took (19 June 192831 March 2002) was an English writer, television presenter and comedian. His decade-and-a-half writing partnership with Marty Feldman led to the television series ''Bootsie and Snudge'', the radio comedy ''Round the Horn ...
comments that Murdoch's appetite for a career in show business was "whetted by success with the
Cambridge Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University.
History
Footlights' inaugural ...
".
[
Murdoch made his professional stage debut in March 1927 at the ]Kings Theatre, Southsea
The Kings Theatre is a theatre in Southsea, Portsmouth, designed by the architect Frank Matcham. It opened on 30 September 1907. It is operated by the Kings Theatre Trust Ltd. The building was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1976.
Hi ...
, in the chorus of ''The Blue Train'', a musical comedy
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
starring Lily Elsie and directed by Jack Hulbert
John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge.
Biography
Born in Ely, Ca ...
. He remained in the show when it opened in the West End in May of that year. He graduated from the chorus to a supporting role in a tour of ''Oh! Letty'', a "musical farce" in which he was praised by Neville Cardus
Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Guardian''s cricket correspondent in 1919 and it ...
for "a stretch of distinguished dancing". In 1932 he married Peggy, daughter of William Rawlings, solicitor. They had one son and two daughters.[ During the 1930s he gained increasingly prominent roles in musicals and ]revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...
s, including the secondary romantic lead to Jack Buchanan
Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...
's star, in ''Stand up and Sing'' (1932), and the lead in a 1936 tour of ''Gay Divorce
''Gay Divorce'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song " Night and Day" in which Astaire d ...
'' in the part played in New York and London by Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
.[Gaye, p. 1001]
The British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
(BBC) transmitted a live radio relay of ''Stand up and Sing'' in April 1932, and Murdoch was in another such relay in 1934 in an entertainment called ''Bubbles''. His first studio work for the corporation was in 1936 in a radio show called ''Tunes of the Town'', and during 1937 and early 1938 he took part in five broadcasts by the fledgling BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
service, including an adaptation of Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
's one-act comedy with music, ''Red Peppers
''Red Peppers'', described as "an interlude with music", is a short comic play in two scenes by Noël Coward. It is one of ten short plays that make up '' Tonight at 8.30'', a cycle written to be performed in groups of three plays across three e ...
'' in which he played the Coward role.
''Band Waggon'' and ''Much Binding in the Marsh''
In 1938 the BBC teamed Murdoch with Arthur Askey in the radio series ''Band Waggon
''Band Waggon'' was a comedy radio show broadcast by the BBC from 1938 to 1940. The first series featured Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. In the second series, Askey and Murdoch were joined by Syd Walker, and the third series added ...
'', where they were soon billed as "Richard ('Stinker') Murdoch and "'Big-hearted' Arthur Askey". The smooth West End style of Murdoch contrasted with the down-to-earth humour of Askey, whose background was in seaside concert parties. Their main slot in the weekly show took up only about ten minutes, but caught the public imagination. They were depicted as occupying a flat on top of Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...
. Took comments that their humour was a forerunner of much radio comedy to come:
Towards the end of 1938, after two series on the BBC, ''Band Waggon'' became a stage show. The impresario Jack Hylton
Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario.
Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz" a ...
presented the two stars and a supporting cast in a show that toured the provincial music-halls and finished with a run at the London Palladium
The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...
in 1939.[ '']The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' commented that they worked so well together because "they find the same things funny. Each has a special line of humour that sets the other going". The stars featured in a film adaptation in 1940.
Murdoch was conscripted into the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in 1941, serving as a pilot officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
in the intelligence section of Bomber Command
Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
, before being posted to the Department of Allied Air Force and Foreign Liaison as a Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
. In 1943 he joined the Directorate of Administrative Plans at the Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
, where he shared an office with Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
Kenneth Horne
Charles Kenneth Horne, generally known as Kenneth Horne, (27 February 1907 – 14 February 1969) was an English comedian and businessman. He is perhaps best remembered for his work on three BBC Radio series: ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ...
, being responsible for the supply of aircraft and air equipment to Russia. He finished the war with the rank of Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
. Horne and Murdoch quickly became friends and as both were regular broadcasters they invented a fictitious RAF station Much Binding in the Marsh
''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'' was a comedy show broadcast from 1944 to 1950 and 1951 to 1954 by BBC radio and in 1950–51 by Radio Luxembourg. It was written by and starred Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne as officers in a fictional RAF stati ...
for a programme of the same name. It went on air in January 1944, and when peace came in 1945 it became a civilian airport and the show continued successfully; the last programme was in March 1954.[Took, Barry]
"Murdoch, Richard Bernard (1907–1990), actor and comedian"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2020
Later years
Murdoch's later career is described by Took as "varied and interesting". In 1954 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
presented a series of variety programmes called ''Much Murdoch'', in which, during the run, he worked again with Horne, who took advantage of a three-week holiday to join him. Murdoch worked again with Askey in 1958 in the television series ''Living It Up
''Living It Up'' is a 1954 American comedy film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis which was released by Paramount Pictures.
The film was directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Paul Jones. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelso ...
'', running a pirate TV station from the roof of Television House.[Wagg, pp. 5–6] His next major broadcasting success was the BBC radio series ''The Men from the Ministry
''The Men from the Ministry'' is a British radio comedy series broadcast by the BBC between 1962 and 1977, starring Wilfrid Hyde-White, Richard Murdoch and, from 1966, when he replaced Hyde-White, Deryck Guyler. Written and produced by Edwar ...
'' (1962–1977). His character, Richard Lamb, was a well-meaning but not conspicuously bright civil servant, who, together with his equally disaster-prone superior, Roland Hamilton-Jones (Wilfrid Hyde-White
Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964).
Ea ...
) and later Deryck Lennox-Brown (Deryck Guyler
Deryck Bower Guyler (29 April 1914 – 7 October 1999) was an English actor, best remembered for his portrayal of officious, short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as ''Please Sir!'' and ''Sykes''.
Early life
Guyler was born in Wallas ...
), continually found the wrong answers to the pressing problems of government.[Took, pp. 160–162] Murdoch's last long running radio show was '' Many a Slip'', a panel game that combined humour and erudition, in which he appeared from 1964 to 1973.
Murdoch appeared in two seasons at the Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured production ...
and on tour in North America, playing Aubrey in '' Tons of Money'' (1968) and William the waiter in '' You Never Can Tell'' (1973); he toured South Africa in a comedy called ''Not in the Book
''Not in the Book'' is a comedy thriller play by the British writer Arthur Watkyn. It was first performed at the Theatre Royal in Brighton before transferring to the Criterion Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 487 performances betwe ...
'' (1974), and toured Britain as Sir William Boothroyd, the role created by Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...
, in William Douglas-Home
William Douglas Home (3 June 1912 – 28 September 1992) was a British dramatist and politician.
Early life
Douglas-Home (he later dropped the hyphen from his surname) was the third son of Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home, and Lady Lili ...
's '' Lloyd George Knew My Father''. From 1978 to 1990, Murdoch had a long-running regular role as "Uncle Tom", the briefless senior barrister of chambers, in ''Rumpole of the Bailey
''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, o ...
''.[ In 1981 he played the headmaster in ]Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and tw ...
's '' Forty Years On''. In 1989 he played Lord Caversham in Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's ''An Ideal Husband
''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...
'' on tour and at the Westminster Theatre
The Westminster Theatre was a theatre in London, on Palace Street in Westminster.
History
The structure on the site was originally built as the Charlotte Chapel in 1766, by William Dodd with money from his wife Mary Perkins. Through Peter Ri ...
; ''The Times'' commented that he managed to make "Caversham's ghastly mixture of the sanctimonious, the roguish and the bluff" seem human.
Personal life and death
In 1932, Murdoch married Peggy, the daughter of solicitor William Rawlings. The couple had a son and two daughters.
Murdoch, a keen golfer, died while playing golf at Walton Heath
Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas ...
, Surrey, on 9 October 1990, aged 83. He was survived by his wife and children.
Broadcasts
A partial list of Murdoch's broadcasts on radio and television:
Radio
*''Band Waggon
''Band Waggon'' was a comedy radio show broadcast by the BBC from 1938 to 1940. The first series featured Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. In the second series, Askey and Murdoch were joined by Syd Walker, and the third series added ...
'' (1938–39)
*''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh
''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'' was a comedy show broadcast from 1944 to 1950 and 1951 to 1954 by BBC radio and in 1950–51 by Radio Luxembourg. It was written by and starred Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne as officers in a fictional RAF stati ...
'' (1944–54)
*''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 recordings (usu ...
'', with Kenneth Horne (1952)
*''Murdoch in Mayfair'' (1955)
*''The Men from the Ministry
''The Men from the Ministry'' is a British radio comedy series broadcast by the BBC between 1962 and 1977, starring Wilfrid Hyde-White, Richard Murdoch and, from 1966, when he replaced Hyde-White, Deryck Guyler. Written and produced by Edwar ...
'' (1962–77)[
*''A Slight Case of Murdoch'' (1987)
*'' Just a Minute'' (1988–90)
]
Television
*''At Home'', with Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa
Samuel Gabriel Costa (17 June 1910 – 23 September 1981) was an English singer, entertainer and broadcaster. Initially a popular singer in the dance band era and a comic actor on the show ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh'', he was later a disc j ...
, BBC Television (1948)
*''Free and Easy'', with Kenneth Horne, BBC Television (1953)''
*''Show for the Telly'', with Kenneth Horne, BBC Television (1956)
*'' ''Living It Up'', with Arthur Askey, Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...
(1957–58)
*''Rumpole of the Bailey
''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, o ...
'', as T.C. "Uncle Tom" Rowley, Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...
(1978–91)
*'' Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years'', as Lord Halifax, Southern Television
Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...
(1981)
*''The Black Adder
''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC 1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 Ju ...
'', as Ross, A Lord, BBC Television (1983)
*''The Moomins
The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finns, Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish language, Swedish by Schildts in Finland. The ...
'', as narrator, Children's ITV
CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
(1983)"The Moomins"
British Film Institute. Retrieved 17 June 2020
*''Never the Twain
''Never the Twain'' is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 7 September 1981 to 9 October 1991.
It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke. Mortimer w ...
'', Colonel Wainwright, Series 7, Episode 5 – Born to Blush Unseen Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...
(1988)
*'' Mr Majeika'', as Worshipful Wizard, TVS Television (1988–90)
Films
* ''Looking on the Bright Side
''Looking on The Bright Side'' is a 1932 British musical comedy film It was directed by Graham Cutts and Basil Dean and starring Gracie Fields, Richard Dolman and Julian Rose.
Plot summary
Gracie (Fields) and Laurie (Dolman) are lovers who to ...
'' (1932) – Dancer (uncredited)
* ''Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
'' (1934) – Undetermined Role (uncredited)
* ''Over She Goes
''Over She Goes'' is a 1937 British musical comedy film directed by Graham Cutts and starring Stanley Lupino, Claire Luce, Laddie Cliff, Gina Malo and Max Baer. It was based on a successful London stage play by Lupino, with music by Billy Maye ...
'' (1937) – Sergeant Oliver
* ''Red Peppers'' (TV – 1937) – George Pepper
* ''The Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
'' (1938) – Detective Lewis
* ''Band Waggon
''Band Waggon'' was a comedy radio show broadcast by the BBC from 1938 to 1940. The first series featured Arthur Askey and Richard "Stinker" Murdoch. In the second series, Askey and Murdoch were joined by Syd Walker, and the third series added ...
'' (1940) – Stinker Murdoch
* ''Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt
''Charley's (Big-Hearted) Aunt'' is a 1940 British comedy film directed by Walter Forde, starring Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch as Oxford 'scholars'.
The film is one of many to be based on the 1892 Victorian farce ''Charley's Aunt'' by Brando ...
'' (1940) – 'Stinker' Burton
* '' The Ghost Train'' (1941) – Teddy Deakin
* '' I Thank You'' (1941) – Stinker
* '' One Exciting Night'' (1944) – Illusionist
* ''It Happened in Soho'' (1948) – Bill Scott
* '' Golden Arrow'' aka ''The Gay Adventure'' (1949) – David Felton
* ''Lilli Marlene
''Lilli Marlene'' is a 1950 British war film aimed for the US market and directed by Arthur Crabtree. It stars Lisa Daniely, Hugh McDermott, and Richard Murdoch. Stanley Baker is seen in one of his early support roles.
Plot
A French girl name ...
'' (1950) – F / Lt. Murdoch
*''The Magic Box
''The Magic Box'' is a 1951 British Technicolor biographical drama film directed by John Boulting. The film stars Robert Donat as William Friese-Greene, with numerous cameo appearances by performers such as Peter Ustinov and Laurence Olivie ...
'' (1951) – Sitter in Bath Studio
* '' Strictly Confidential'' (1959) – Cmdr. Bissham-Ryley
* ''Not a Hope in Hell'' (1960) – Bertie
* ''Owner Occupied'' (TV – 1967) – Colonel Washbrook
* ''Under the Table You Must Go'' (1969) – Himself (documentary)
* ''Whoops Apocalypse
''Whoops Apocalypse'' is a six-part 1982 television sitcom by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, made by London Weekend Television for ITV. Marshall and Renwick later reworked the concept as a 1986 film of the same name from ITC Entertainment ...
'' (1986) – Cabinet Minister
References and sources
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
BBC Comedy Guide information
Cambridge Footlights history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdoch, Richard
English male comedians
Royal Air Force officers
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
1907 births
1990 deaths
English male radio actors
Male actors from Kent
People educated at Charterhouse School
Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
20th-century British male actors
People from Keston
British male comedy actors
20th-century English comedians