James Beck
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:''This article is about the actor. For other people of the same name, see [[James Beck (disambiguation)]].''
<!-- FAIR USE of James_Beck_Dunn-1973.png: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:James_Beck-1973.png for rationale -->
{{Infobox actor
| bgcolour =
| name = James Beck
| image = James_Beck-1973.png
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = as Private Joe Walker in ''Dad's Army,'' 1973
| birthname = Stanley James C. Beck
| birthdate = {{birth date|1929|2|21|df=yes}}
| location = [[Islington]], [[London]], [[England]] <ref>GRO Register of Births: MAR 1929 1b 407 ISLINGTON - Stanley J. C. Beck, mmn = Beck</ref>
| deathdate = {{death date and age|1973|8|6|1929|2|21|df=yes}}
| deathplace = [[Wandsworth]], [[London]], [[England]] <ref>GRO Register of Deaths: SEP 1973 5E 1087 WANDSWORTH - Stanley James C. Beck, DoB = 21 Feb 1929</ref>
| othername =
| yearsactive =
| spouse = Kay
| homepage =
| notable role = ''Private Walker'' in ''[[Dad's Army]]''
| academyawards =
| emmyawards =
| tonyawards =
}}
'''Stanley James Beck''' ([[21 February]] [[1929]] – [[6 August]] [[1973]]) was an [[England|English]] [[actor]] best remembered for his role as [[Private Joe Walker]], the [[cockney]] [[spiv]] in the popular [[BBC]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Dad's Army]]'' which ran from 1968 to 1977. In a cast comprising mainly older actors, Beck was one of two younger members. Nevertheless, he was the first of the cast to die, aged 44, as a result of [[pancreatitis]].
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|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 an early ''[[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 [[The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association|Guide Dogs for the Blind]], he suddenly felt ill. He returned home and within an hour was rushed to hospital. He died three weeks later. His death was a great shock to his fellow cast members, as well as [[Jimmy Perry]] and [[David Croft]], who had looked forward to his return to the show. The Walker character was briefly mentioned in series seven but did not appear in studio scenes (shot many weeks after location filming) and never returned to the television version of ''Dad's Army''. His character was written out off-screen and he was never referred to in subsequent episodes.
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.
== Television Roles ==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Title !! Role
|-
|[[1968]] to [[1973]] || ''[[Dad's Army]]'' || Private Joe Walker
|-
|[[1972]] to [[1973]] || ''[[Romany Jones]]'' || Bert Jones
|-
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*{{imdb name|0065161}}
*{{Find A Grave|id=8528932}}
*[http://www.dadsarmy.tv/ Dad's Army website]
*[http://whispersfromwalmington.myfastforum.org/index.php Whispers from Walmington website]
*[http://www.myspace.com/jamesbeck29 James Beck Fansite]
{{DA Cast}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME = Beck, James
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Beck, Stanley James C.
|SHORT DESCRIPTION = Actor
|DATE OF BIRTH = [[1929-02-21]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Islington]], [[London]]
|DATE OF DEATH = [[1973-08-06]]
|PLACE OF DEATH = [[Wandsworth]], [[London]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, James}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:1973 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from pancreatitis]]
[[Category:English television actors]]
[[Category:English film actors]]
[[Category:English stage actors]]
[[Category:People from Islington]]
[[nl:James Beck]]