It's absolutely amazing how each and every one of the Dad's Army (original) cast fitted/blended so well with the others... not least James Beck as that wonderfully portrayed spiv character "Walker". A perfect union of group talent... a perfect cast.
He was obviously a very talented individual not just as an actor....After seeing his creations here I shall watch him in episodes of Dad's Army in a very different more humanizing light.....Thanks for this.
Had no idea just how talented a painter and sculptor James Beck was. He was obviously a deep thinker with a very serious side, and absolutely nothing like the character we know and love him for. The definitive portrayal of a loveable spiv, and to create such a wonderful character that was so unlike his real self showed what a phenomenal actor he was. Wonderful video!
I always thought Jimmy’s character was one of the best in Dad’s Army and brilliantly depicted by Jimmy. Unlike many of the other actors he rarely fluffed a line. RIP Jimmy.
Very interesting to hear about his painting and sculpting abilities outside of acting. He was brilliant as Walker and Dad's Army was never quite the same without him.
I have absolutely LOVED Dad’s Army ever since the series began… I still watch it on DVD, I used to listen to it in the car on Cassette Tapes & I even have all of the principal Platoon Members & the main supporting characters as 28mm scale painted metal miniatures - which are the same scale as most of the miniatures I collect for Tabletop Wargaming purposes… They are amazingly realistic & one can easily recognise them all, even at such a diminutive size. I was blessed to live in an idyllic village in Norfolk for a few Years, the County where some of the series was filmed, but I was - & still am - plagued by chronic back issues that kept me indoors for protracted periods of time & it is a source of wistful regret for me that, while living there, I never visited the Dad’s Army Museum or other sites associated with the series. Dad’s Army is still a hugely loved & immensely appreciated TV series & for very understandable reasons. It brought together a hugely talented cast of very fine Actors, each of whom portrayed very different & easily defined characters - the interplay of which created endless scope for comedy & outright farce, all of which was achieved without ANY of the mindless profanity & sordid vulgarity that passes for “Comedy” nowadays. Even WITHOUT the stricter censorship regulations that applied back in the day, the immensely talented scriptwriters for the series are to be greatly commended for that because, in doing so, they created a hugely enjoyable historical time capsule that is every bit as endearing & enduring TODAY, as it was when it was originally broadcast on TV. Just like the similarly enduring comedy of “Morecambe & Wise” - the performances of the cast, the comic intricacies & deliberate absurdities of the scripts & the entire series itself, will be fondly remembered & appreciated LONG AFTER most of today’s tawdry, vulgar, blatantly politicised & relentlessly tiresome “comedies” are deservedly forgotten. I had no idea that James Beck was such a talented Artist & Sculptor. THANK YOU for sharing all of that & for displaying some of his truly EXCELLENT work. That his talents extended beyond his better known Stage & Screen accomplishments, lends an even greater poignancy to his untimely demise at such a relatively young age. What else might he have produced, had he only lived longer…? Nearly all of the Dad’s Army cast have left us now & they are all greatly missed, as is the irreplaceable series itself. But he was the first to go & in many ways, his departure from the nucleus of the cast, left an obvious void that was never really filled thereafter, despite the show’s continued excellence. Likewise, Jimmy’s departure from real life would have been keenly felt by those who knew him & loved him… All of us - through our unique & diverse efforts & accomplishments - should strive to leave A LEGACY that made the World A LITTLE RICHER for our having passed this way for a while… while we would also hope that OUR departure, would not only be noticed & be a cause for regret, but leave the World A LITTLE POORER for our having been taken out of it, whenever it is time for us to take our final bow - as the curtain falls on our performance, for one last time…..
As a young boy in early 70s,i remember him on tv. Dad's army was never the same after him. I think he gave magic, such a fabulous talent, as were all the others. After all these years, I still watch Dad's Army, a golden era sadly gone.
I still watch Dad's Army now and I always felt that it wasn't the same without Jimmy Beck! I was very young when he passed but was still old enough to understand such a loss! He was so talanted and would have been one of the finest actors this country had ever seen. He was sorely missed then as he still is now and his memory will live on. As a fan I'm grateful for this video. RIP Jimmy. If only you could have come back from the smoke!!
As a boy in the early 70s Dad's Army was one of my favourites. Beck was wonderful and very convincing as the spiv who could get you any manner of thing in wartime rationing England.
What a wonderful thing to do, thank you. Something that may be of interest, and relates to one of the pictures shown. I became friends with a lovely old Gent when I joined a club many years ago, I became an "adopted" grandson. He was in a P.O.W. camp with Clive Dunn, Stalag 18 A. He showed me photos of Clive Dunn dressed up in the camp with some of the others putting on a performance for the inmates.
He died far too young - I remember as a boy in the early 1970s - he appeared in a number of television dramas and comedies - as well as Dad's Army - he was such a talented actor and artist - Falstaff painting - wow!
I was nine, he was one of the first actors I had watched on television who passed away -and even at nine - I knew he was young - the other was Rodger Delgado - The Master- from Dr.Who- who was sadly killed in a car crash in 1973.
@@anthonyfrew1571 I remember Roger Delgado’s passing too Anthony….He had lifted Dr. Who to a new level with his unmatched contribution…He was BRILLIANT as the Master…I couldn’t believe it when I heard about the fatal accident..One of the reasons John Pertwee quit the Dr. Who role a year later was because things were just never the same after we lost Roger…As a kid I was more terrified of him as the Master than I was with the monsters …Years later I heard that Jon and Roger off camera used to dine out to dinner together with their wives…Can you imagine if you were a kid walking into a restaurant and finding ‘Dr. Who and the Master’ together at a table laughing and enjoying each other’s company ? …That would have been a surreal moment…..lol
@@anthonyfrew1571 in 1972 when I was 9 or 10 I received Jon Pertwee’s autograph through the post…Sadly I didn’t meet him in person . I’d written to the BBC asking if I could go up to London to watch the filming of Dr. Who if I was quiet…lol …Someone wrote back saying sorry it was not possible to do that because it was a closed set and no visitors were allowed there. But Jon signed a photo of himself which I was enthralled about. Actually in some of the Dr. Who dvds with extras decades later there IS footage of behind the scenes rehearsal of episodes and different takes of scenes and out takes….Really interesting stuff.
Thank you SO much for sharing this, what a wonderful precious collection; really touching to see both him and Kay so happy. I knew he was a talented artist but I am amazed at the quality of his work. Again, thank you so much.
What a fabulous video and throws light on an unseen aspect of an actor we know so little about apart from brief biographies in books - i hope you can share more about him in the future!
I like to think an actor is chosen for a role if something of that character is seen in him. If that's true, then James Beck must have been a wonderful raconteur and conversationalist.
