Richard Beckinsale

Richard Arthur Beckinsale (7 July 1947 – 19 March 1979) was an English actor, he was best known for his roles as Lennie Godber in the popular BBC sitcom Porridge and Alan Moore in the British sitcom Rising Damp.

He is the father of the actresses Samantha Beckinsale and Kate Beckinsale.

Beckinsale acquired his first starring role in 1970 as Geoffrey in the sitcom The Lovers, opposite fellow newcomer Paula Wilcox. The show was a success without being a runaway triumph, and did enough to put both lead performers in the public eye. It also, like many sitcoms of the time, spawned a movie version.

There followed a purple patch when he was appearing in two of British TV's most successful sitcoms at the same time. On ITV, he was playing naive medical student Alan Moore in Rising Damp (voted ITV's best-ever sitcom in the Britain's Best Sitcom survey of 2004) while also starring in Porridge. Shortly after his 30th birthday, Beckinsale was surprised by Eamonn Andrews with the famed 'big red book' for an appearance on This Is Your Life.

Beckinsale quit Rising Damp in 1977, the same year that Porridge was brought to a natural end after his character of Godber was released from his prison sentence in the final episode. He subsequently starred alongside Barker in Going Straight, a spin-off of Porridge in which the two criminal characters are seen on the outside rebuilding their lives.

At the beginning of 1979, Beckinsale filmed a movie version of Porridge. It was to be his last and only completed work.

In 2001 22 after his death, a documentary was broadcast on ITV in tribute, called The Unforgettable Richard Beckinsale. It featured interviews with his widow, the actress Judy Loe, as well as his father, brother, closest schoolfriend and two daughters. Also contributing were his co-stars, Barker and Rising Damp's Don Warrington.

Beckinsale married twice — firstly to Margaret Bradley, with whom he had a daughter, Samantha Beckinsale (also an actress), in 1966. They divorced in 1971. He then married Loe in 1977, four years after the birth of their daughter, Kate.

As a tribute to Beckinsale, pop star Robbie Williams wrote a song about him and his daughter Samantha titled "Baby Girl Window".