| James Beck | |
|---|---|
as Private Joe Walker in Dad's Army, (The Honourable Man) 1973 just over a week before his collapse. |
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| Born | Stanley James Carroll Beck 21 February 1929 Islington, London, England [1] |
| Died | 6 August 1973 (aged 44) Roehampton, Wandsworth, London, England [2] |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1961–73 |
| Spouse | Kay Beck (?–1973) (his death) |
Stanley James Carroll Beck (21 February 1929 – 6 August 1973) was a British actor best remembered for his role as Private Joe Walker, the cockney spiv in the popular BBC sitcom Dad's Army. The cast was mainly composed of older actors, but Beck was one of the younger members.
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Beck was born in Islington, North London and attended Popham Road Primary School. His childhood was tough, with his father frequently unemployed and his mother making artificial flowers to provide a small income.
After a stint at art college and a period of national service in the army, Beck took up acting. Early acting roles included Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in 1963, for which he earned positive reviews. Moving to London, he decided to concentrate on television, and one role was as a policeman in an episode of Coronation Street involving a train crash. He also appeared in an uncredited role as a policeman in Gideon's Way in 1965, and became a regularly seen face in TV drama, with one-off roles in series like The Troubleshooters.
By 1968 he was offered the role of Private Walker in Dad's Army, a role originally written by Jimmy Perry for himself. His performance as the thorn in Captain Mainwaring's side was perfect for Dad's Army. While proving popular in this, his best-loved role, Beck still yearned for the challenge of other roles.
Always in demand, he continued to work on TV programmes such as A Family at War and Romany Jones, in which he played the lead character Bert Jones. He also recorded an unbroadcast remake of a Hancock's Half Hour programme in which he played opposite Arthur Lowe.
By 1973, Beck had already recorded five series of Dad's Army and was working on the sixth, as well as working on the radio series of the show. Location filming for series six was completed when, whilst opening a fete in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind, he suddenly felt ill. He returned home and within an hour was rushed to Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton[3] suffering from pancreatitis and he died there three weeks later aged 44. He was buried at Putney Vale Cemetery.
His death was a great shock to his fellow cast members, as well as to Jimmy Perry and David Croft, who had looked forward to his return to the show. In series six, during the episode "Things That Go Bump In the Night", Sergeant Wilson is shown writing Walker's name on the window of Jones's van with his finger, being ordered to "take that man's name". Walker does not appear in any of the studio scenes in the first half of the episode, and much of his dialogue was taken over by Private Sponge (a seldom-heard extra in the series). The dialogue leads viewers to believe that he is with the group, though. Walker is then seen in the location scenes in the second half of the episode, as these were filmed several weeks prior to the studio scenes.
In the following episode, "The Recruit" (which also happened to be the series finale), there is a note left in Walker's place when the unit goes on parade. Mainwaring reads the note (written by Walker), in which he apologises for his absence and indicates that he is busy conducting one of his many shady deals. This is the last time Walker is ever mentioned in the show; his character was written out off-screen, with no explanation given for his departure.
In the radio adaptations of Dad's Army, Graham Stark stood in until Larry Martyn gave his portrayal of Walker for subsequent shows. In 1976 John Bardon played Walker in the stage production.
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1968–1973 | Dad's Army | Private Joe Walker |
| 1972–1973 | Romany Jones | Bert Jones |
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