--- name: "Richard Beckinsale" canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-beckinsale" fi1m_id: "richard-beckinsale" imdb_id: "nm0065764" tmdb_id: 142518 wikidata_id: "Q678439" roles: ["Actor"] born: "6 July 1947" died: "19 March 1979" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 86 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-18T09:30:01.218823+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Richard Beckinsale ## Identity Richard Beckinsale - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/richard-beckinsale - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** richard-beckinsale - **IMDb ID:** nm0065764 - **TMDB ID:** 142518 - **Wikidata ID:** Q678439 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Beckinsale, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q678439, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065764/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/142518 Actor. Born 6 July 1947 in Carlton, Nottinghamshire, UK. Died 19 March 1979. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 6 July 1947, Carlton, Nottinghamshire, UK - **Died:** 19 March 1979 - **Average Fi1m score:** 86, as actor, over 2 titles - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Beckinsale, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q678439, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065764/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/142518 ## Streaming the US now - **BritBox:** [*Rising Damp*](https://film.one/tv/rising-damp.md) (84) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Richard Beckinsale > Richard Beckinsale makes listening funny without making the listener a fool. We value the gentleness he brings to sitcoms built around more forceful men, above all the convincing affection he and Ronnie Barker find in *Porridge*. Watch Richard Beckinsale's Lennie Godber listening to Fletcher in *Porridge* (1974): he needs the advice, but he is still a person rather than an excuse for Ronnie Barker's next joke. Beckinsale gives the uncertainty enough time to be funny, without suggesting that Godber has nothing going on in his head. We rate him highly for that distinction, which keeps a familiar comic partnership from becoming an exercise in one man's cleverness. Barker can be knowing and occasionally concerned because Beckinsale gives him someone whose troubles seem worth attending to. His first major television role was Geoffrey Scrimgeour in *The Lovers* (1970), establishing the awkward young everyman who would recur through his work. He went on to appear simultaneously in *Porridge* and *Rising Damp* (1974). In the latter, his good-natured medical student lodger, Alan Moore, played opposite Leonard Rossiter. Such parts could have left him supplying innocence while somebody else supplied the comedy. His relaxed timing made that innocence funny, and in *Porridge* it also gave the more experienced man a reason to be kind. We were moved by the affection in *Porridge*, because Godber's uncertainty draws a little care out of Fletcher without either actor pausing to ask for our approval. Beckinsale does not need to announce that the younger man is vulnerable; his willingness to listen has already told us. That matters when the warders' contests with Fletcher become predictable, as they sometimes do. The companionship gives us a reason to stay even when we can see where a joke is going. There is a limit to what these roles tell us about him: the gentle, inexperienced young man recurs often. The sequel *Going Straight* (1978) brought him back as Godber, again opposite Barker. We cannot judge the parts he might have played, but we can recognise how much care went into making these performances look relaxed. Start with *Porridge* and pay attention when Barker is doing the talking. ## Biography Richard Beckinsale was an English actor. Born on 6 July 1947 in Carlton, Nottinghamshire, he died on 19 March 1979 in Sunningdale, Berkshire. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art after earlier work in repertory theatre. Beckinsale is best known for playing Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcoms *Porridge* (1974–1977) and its sequel *Going Straight* (1978), and Alan Moore in the ITV sitcom *Rising Damp* (1974–1978). He was the father of actresses Samantha Beckinsale and Kate Beckinsale. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, screenonline.org.uk, porridge.org.uk.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Porridge* (1974), Fi1m 89, as Lennie Godber — [page](https://film.one/tv/porridge.md) - *Rising Damp* (1974), Fi1m 84, as Alan — [page](https://film.one/tv/rising-damp.md) ## Complete filmography (24) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Comedy Classics: Porridge* (2022), as (archive footage) - *Bloody Kids* (1980), as Detective Ritchie (uncredited; Died before filming completed) - *Bloomers* (1979), series, Actor - *Porridge* (1979), as Lennie Godber - *Going Straight* (1978), series, as Lenny Godber - *Last Summer* (1977), as Johnny - *Porridge: The Desperate Hours* (1976), as Godber - *Porridge: No Way Out* (1975), as Godber - *The Floater* (1975), as Michael Robson - *Three for All* (1975), as Jet Bone - *Porridge* (1974), series, as Lennie Godber — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/porridge.md) - *Rising Damp* (1974), series, as Alan — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/rising-damp.md) - *If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent Them* (1974), as The Young Man - *The Donati Conspiracy* (1973), series, as Robert Sadler - *The Lovers!* (1973), as Geoffrey Scrimshaw - *Rentadick* (1972), as Hobbs - *Justice* (1971), series, as Terry Watson - *The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes* (1971), series, as Richard Frobisher - *Detective Waiting* (1971), as Lewis - *The Lovers* (1970), series, Actor - *Play for Today* (1970), series, as Michael Robson - *ITV Saturday Night Theatre* (1969), series, as Pete, Dermot, Angus MacFee - *ITV Playhouse* (1967), series, as Johnny - *Armchair Theatre* (1956), series, as Lewis --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/richard-beckinsale