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 (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

presenter and performer. Richmond was born on 21 April 1912 in London. 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 (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

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 degree- ...

, though he failed to graduate from the latter. 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 A 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 British entertainer, singer, actor and songwriter. Biography Sarony was b ...

and Leslie Holmes). His

debut was in '' Palace of Varieties'' in 1938. His trademark instrument became the Hammond organ, after he imported the first example to Great Britain from the United States in 1935. It carried the serial number "001". Rejected by the military during

World War II 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 opposing ...

for health reasons, Richmond spent the duration 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 t ...

, London, and on BBC radio. 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 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

, on shows such as '' Music While You Work'', ''

Variety Bandbox ''Variety Bandbox'' is a BBC Radio variety show transmitted initially in the BBC General Forces Programme, General Forces Programme and then the BBC Light Programme, Light Programme. Featuring a mixture of comic performances and music, the show h ...

'' 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 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 the day. ...

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

Double Your Money ''Double Your Money'' was a British quiz 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 series '' The Organist Entertains'' in 1969, and was its main presenter until 1980. 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 recordings (usua ...

'' on 10 September 1977. Richmond died of cancer on 27 July 1998, aged 86.

References

External links

* 1912 births 1998 deaths Place of death missing BBC people BBC Radio 2 presenters Musicians from London People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of the University of London Theatre organists 20th-century organists {{UK-musician-stub