Roy Rich (16 September 1911 – 24 March 1970) was a British broadcaster and film and theatre director.

Life and career

Rich was born in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

, Devon, the son of a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

comedian. Educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 independent, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, southeast London, Rich became involved in acting from an early age, making his theatrical debut in 1923. He was subsequently involved in theatre for several years. He was a pioneering broadcaster for the BBC, as one of the first radio

DJs A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

. 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 ...

, he was standing in as a news announcer when

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 ...

was hit by a bomb during the 9pm news broadcast. He presented ''

Children Calling Home ''Children Calling Home'' was an English-language radio programme, with the first episode on Christmas Day, 25 December 1940 as a collaboration between the United Kingdom's BBC's Home Service, CBC of Canada, and NBC of the United States, and br ...

'', a series of wartime radio broadcasts featuring conversations between evacuees and their parents. In 1964, he became head of BBC Light Entertainments (Sound), a post which he held until his retirement in 1967.

Death

Rich died from cancer in hospital in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

in 1970, aged 58. He was married to actress

Brenda Bruce Brenda Bruce OBE (7 July 1919Some sources cite 17 July 1919. – 19 February 1996) was an English actress. She was focused on the theatre, radio, film and television. Career Bruce was born in Prestwich, Lancashire in 1919, and started he ...

; they had twin daughters.

Film and television credits

*'' My Brother's Keeper'' (1948) - dialogue director *''

Broken Journey ''Broken Journey'' (also known as ''Rescue'') is a 1948 British drama film directed by Ken Annakin and featuring Phyllis Calvert, James Donald, Margot Grahame, Raymond Huntley and Guy Rolfe. ''Broken Journey'' deals with people struggling to sur ...

'' (1948) - associate producer *'' Miranda'' (1948) - associate producer *'' It's Not Cricket'' (1949) - director *''

Stranger from Venus ''Stranger from Venus'' (also known as ''Immediate Disaster'' and ''The Venusian'' in the United States) is a 1954 independently made UK black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Burt Balaban (who also directed), Gene Martel, and Roy Ri ...

'' (1954) - associate producer *'' Double Profile'' (1954) - director *''

The Sergeant and the Spy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1954) - director *'' Phantom Caravan'' (1954) - director *''

Rheingold Theatre ''Douglas Fairbanks Presents'' is a 1953-1956 syndicated half-hour dramatic anthology series. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was the host, and he sometimes starred in episodes. It was also known as ''Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents''. A total of 117 episo ...

'' (1955) - 6 episodes

Theatre credits

*''

Black and Blue ''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records. This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit ...

'' (

London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survi ...

, 1939) *''

The Diary of a Scoundrel ''Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man'' (russian: На всякого мудреца довольно простоты; translit. Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty) is a five- act comedy by Aleksandr Ostrovsky.Brockett and Hildy (2003, 37 ...

'' (The Garden Theatre, 1949) *'' Castle in the Air'' (

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

, 1950) *''

Thieves' Carnival ''Le Bal des Voleurs'' (''Thieves' Carnival'') is a play written by French playwright Jean Anouilh, first staged at Théâtre des Arts, Paris on 17 August 1938. Later productions ''Thieves' Carnival'' was presented on the televised series ''The ...

'' (

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

, 1952) *''

Hobson's Choice A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that multiple choices are available. The most well known Hobson's choice is "I'll give you a choice: take it or leave ...

'' (

, 1952) *''

As Long As They're Happy ''As Long as They're Happy'' is a 1955 British musical comedy film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Jack Buchanan, Susan Stephen and Diana Dors. It is based on the 1953 play of the same name by Vernon Sylvaine. It was shot at Pinewoo ...

'' (

King's Theatre, Glasgow The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. ...

, 1953) *''

Trial and Error Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan (1 ...

'' (

, 1953)

References

External links

* {{authority control 1911 births 1970 deaths British broadcasters Mass media people from Plymouth, Devon People educated at Dulwich College Deaths from cancer in England British film directors British radio DJs British theatre directors 20th-century British musicians