James Beck
| James Beck | |
|---|---|
Beck as Private Walker in the Dad's Army episode "The Honourable Man" in 1973, just over a week before his collapse
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| Born |
Stanley James Carroll Beck 21 February 1929 Islington, London, England |
| Died | 6 August 1973 (aged 44) Roehampton, Wandsworth, London, England |
| Cause of death | Pancreatitis |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1961–1973 |
| Spouse(s) | Kathleen 'Kay' W Bullus (1959–1973) (his death) |
Stanley James Carroll Beck (21 February 1929 – 6 August 1973) was an English actor best remembered for his role as Private Walker, the cockney spiv in the popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army.
Stanley James Carroll Beck was born in Islington, 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 art college and doing his national service in the British Army, Beck took up acting. His early roles included Charlie Bell in an episode of Dr. Finlay's Casebook ("Conduct Unbecoming", 1962), and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in 1963, for which he gained positive reviews. Moving to London, he concentrated on television, and was cast as a policeman in a 1967 episode of Coronation Street involving a now well-known storyline concerning a train crash. He also appeared as an uncredited policeman in Gideon's Way (1965), and was regularly seen in TV drama, with one-off roles in series such as The Troubleshooters (1965, 1967, 1970) and the BBC's Sherlock Holmes series with 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." While popular in the role, Beck yearned for the challenge of other roles.
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