View source for James Beck

{{Short description|English actor (1929–1973)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = James Beck
| image         = James_Beck-1973.png
| caption       = Beck as [[Private Walker]] in the ''[[Dad's Army]]'' episode "[[The Honourable Man]]" in 1973, just over a week before his collapse
| birthname     = Stanley James Carroll Beck
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1929|2|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = [[w:Islington|Islington]], [[w:London|London]], England<ref>GRO Register of Births: MAR 1929 1b 407 ISLINGTON - Stanley J. C. Beck, mmn = Beck</ref>
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1973|08|06|1929|2|21|df=yes}}
| death_place   = [[w:Roehampton|Roehampton]], London, England <ref>GRO Register of Deaths: SEP 1973 5E 1087 WANDSWORTH - Stanley James C. Beck, DoB = 21 Feb 1929</ref>
| occupation    = Actor
| years active  = 1961–1973
| spouse        = {{marriage|Kathleen Bullus|1959}}
| resting_place = [[w:Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium|Putney Vale Cemetery]], London, England
}}
'''Stanley James Carroll Beck''' (21 February 1929 – 6 August 1973) was an English actor who played the role of [[Private Walker]], a [[w:cockney|cockney]] [[w:spiv|spiv]], in the [[w:BBC|BBC]] [[w:sitcom|sitcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]'' from the show's beginning in 1968 until his sudden death in 1973.

==Early life==
Beck was born on 21 February 1929 in [[w:Islington|Islington]], [[w:North London|North London]], and attended Popham Road Primary School. His childhood was hard, with his father frequently unemployed and his mother making artificial flowers to provide a small income.

After attending [[w:Saint Martin's School of Art|Saint Martin's School of Art]] and doing his [[w:Conscription in the United Kingdom #After 1945|national service]] as a [[w:physical training instructor|physical training instructor]] in the [[w:British Army|British Army]], Beck became an actor. Prior to his broadcast roles he spent several seasons with the Unicorn Players <ref>The Stage, 1957</ref> based in Paignton, Devon.

His early broadcast roles included Charlie Bell in an episode of ''[[w:Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV and radio)|Dr Finlay's Casebook]]'' (Series 1 episode 4, "Conduct Unbecoming", 1962), and [[w:Shylock|Shylock]] in ''[[w:The Merchant of Venice|The Merchant of Venice]]'' in 1963, for which he gained positive reviews. He concentrated on television and was cast as a policeman in a 1965 episode of ''[[w:Coronation Street|Coronation Street]]'' in a storyline concerning the collapse of a house and in a 1967 episode in a storyline concerning a train crash. He also appeared, uncredited, as a policeman in ''[[w:Gideon's Way|Gideon's Way]]'' (1965), and was often seen in TV drama, with one-off roles in series such as ''[[w:The Troubleshooters|The Troubleshooters]]'' (1965, 1967, 1970) and the BBC's ''[[w:Sherlock Holmes (1965 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' with [[w:Peter Cushing|Peter Cushing]] in the lead ("The Blue Carbuncle", 1968).

In 1968, he was offered the role of Private Walker in ''[[Dad's Army]]'', originally written by [[Jimmy Perry]] for himself. Perry approved of the casting of Beck: "He had the right mix of cheekiness and charm. He gave the role a bit of oomph."<ref name="Clark">{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Neil|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10223138/James-Beck-the-Dads-Army-star-cut-off-in-his-prime.html|title=James Beck: the Dad's Army star cut off in his prime|work=The Telegraph|date=6 August 2013|access-date=29 December 2021}}</ref> While successful in the role, Beck yearned for the challenge of other roles.

Always in demand, he continued to work on TV programmes including ''[[w:A Family at War|A Family at War]]'' (1970) and ''[[w:Romany Jones|Romany Jones]]'' (1972–73), in which he played the lead character of Bert Jones. He also recorded a pilot for an uncommissioned series called ''[[Bunclarke With an E|Bunclarke With an E]]'' (1973),<ref name="Clark"/> which was to be based on scripts originally written for ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]'' and in which [[Arthur Lowe]] was also to appear.

==Death==
By 1973, Beck had recorded five series of ''Dad's Army'' and was working on the sixth, besides working on the [[List of Dad's Army radio episodes|radio series]] of the show. Location filming for series seven was completed when Beck suddenly fell ill while opening a school fête<ref name="Clark"/> in aid of [[w:The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association|Guide Dogs for the Blind]]. He returned home and within an hour was taken to [[w:Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton|Queen Mary's Hospital]]<ref>''The Times'', death notice and obituary, 7 August 1973</ref> suffering from [[w:pancreatitis|pancreatitis]]. He died three weeks later, due to a combination of heart failure, renal failure and pancreatitis, aged 44, and was cremated at [[w:Putney Vale Cemetery|Putney Vale Cemetery]], where a tree was planted in his memory, with a marker bearing his name.

The last time Beck's ''Dad's Army'' co-stars saw him alive was on Friday 13 July 1973 at the Playhouse Theatre in London where he recorded two radio episodes of ''Dad's Army'' (which ran alongside the TV series). The following afternoon Beck suddenly became ill. 

His death was a great shock to his fellow cast members, as well as to [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft (TV producer)|David Croft]]. Perry has said that heavy drinking was common in show business at the time, and that he paid little attention to Beck's habit until "I saw Jimmy’s legs and they were purple. It was the last episode he appeared in before he died."<ref name="Clark"/>

In the sixth series, during the episode "[[Things that Go Bump in the Night (Dad's Army episode)|Things that Go Bump in the Night]]", Walker is present only in the location scenes in the second half of the episode, as these were filmed weeks earlier than the studio scenes. In one of the videotaped sequences filmed after Beck's death, the platoon is aboard Corporal Jones's van when Captain Mainwaring tells Sergeant Wilson to "take Private Walker's name". Wilson writes the name "Walker" in the condensation on the window. 

In the following episode, "[[The Recruit (Dad's Army)|The Recruit]]" (the series 6 finale), Mainwaring reads a note written by Walker apologising for his absence, as he has gone "up the Smoke" (to London) to conduct one of his deals. This was the last time the character was mentioned. In the radio adaptations of ''Dad's Army'', [[Graham Stark]] stood in until [[w:Larry Martyn|Larry Martyn]] portrayed Walker in subsequent shows. [[w:John Bardon|John Bardon]] played Walker in the [[w:Dad's Army (stage show)|stage production]] in 1976.

==Filmography==

===Film===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|- 
| 1968 || ''[[Star! (film)|Star!]]'' || Drunken Soldier || Uncredited
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1970
| ''[[Groupie Girl]]'' || Brian || Released as ''I Am a Groupie'' in the United States
|-
| ''[[Carry On Loving]]'' || Mr Roxby || Scenes deleted from final film
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1971
| ''[[Dad's Army (1971 film)|Dad's Army]]'' || Private Walker || 
|-
| ''A Couple of Beauties'' || Sidney || Short
|-
| 1973 || ''[[Love Thy Neighbour (1973 film)|Love Thy Neighbour]]'' || Cyril || Last regular film appearance 
|}

===Television===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Episode
|- 
| rowspan="2" | 1961 || ''[[Dixon of Dock Green]]'' || Various || 6 episodes
|-
| ''[[Deadline Midnight (TV series)|Deadline Midnight]]'' || Ambulance man || 1 episode
|- 
| rowspan="2"| 1962
| ''[[Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV and radio)|Dr. Finlay's Casebook]]'' || Charlie Bell ||''Conduct Unbecoming''
|-
| ''[[Z Cars]]'' || Constable ||''The Five Whistles''
|-1963 || Comedy Playhouse || The Conductor
| 1964 || ''[[Taxi!]]'' || Len Gladwin || 5 episodes
|-
| 1964-67 || ''[[Coronation Street]]'' || Police Sergeant Bowden || 6 episodes
|-
| 1965    || ''[[Gideon's Way]]'' || Police Inspector ||'' A Perfect Crime''
|-
| 1966 ||  ''[[All Gas and Gaiters]]''|| Policeman ||''The Bishop Rides Again'' (pilot)
|-
| 1967 ||  ''{{sortname|The|Troubleshooters}}'' || Dave Candy ||''Some Days You Just Can't Win''
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1968 || ''[[The Blue Carbuncle]]'' || James Ryder ||
|-
| ''[[Not in Front of the Children (TV series)|Not in Front of the Children]]'' || Estate Agent ||''Home Chat''  
|-
| 1968–73 || ''[[Dad's Army]]'' || Private Walker || 59 episodes (last appearance)
|-
| 1969 || ''[[Two in Clover]]'' || Dr. Molineux ||
|-
| 1970 || ''[[Doctor in the House]]'' || Mr Wale ||''What Seems to Be the Trouble''
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1972
| ''[[The Fenn Street Gang]]'' || Auctioneer ||''Horse of the Year''
|-
| ''Scoop'' || Corker || 3 episodes
|-
| ''[[My Wife Next Door]]'' || Mr Fielding ||''Undesirable Residence''
|-
|1972–73 || ''[[Romany Jones]]'' || Bert Jones || 14 episodes
|}

===Radio===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Episode !! Notes
|- 
| 1968 || ''The Events at Black Tor'' || Sergeant || 5 episodes ||
|-
| 1970, 1971 || ''Brothers in Law'' || Fred Tanner, Newman || 2 episodes || Beck played Fred Tanner in the first series (1970), and Newman in the second series (1971).
|-
| 1971 || ''Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bolshie Man'' || TBA || 1 episode || A pilot episode recorded for Comedy Parade 1971.
|-
| 1971, 1972 || ''The Motorway Men'' || Steve || 8 episodes + pilot || This program's pilot episode featured alongside ''Hush, Hush, Here Comes the Bolshie Man'' on Comedy Parade 1971.
|-
| 1973 || ''[[List of Dad's Army radio episodes|Dad's Army]]'' || Private Walker || 20 episodes ||
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Dad's Army: The Making of a Television Legend |first=Bill |last=Pertwee |author-link=Bill Pertwee |publisher=Anova Books |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-84486-105-7 |pages=56–59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HoqHel5bnfMC}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|0065161}}
*{{Find a Grave|8528932}}
* [http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba03c8648 James Beck] [[British Film Institute|BFI]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, James}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:Male actors from London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art]]
[[Category:Burials at Putney Vale Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths from pancreatitis]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male stage actors]]
[[Category:People from Islington (district)]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:British Army soldiers]]
[[Category:20th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:Military personnel from London]]