Brian Rix, Baron Rix

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Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix CBE (born January 27, 1924 in Cottingham - † August 20, 2016 in London ) was a British actor , activist for people with learning disabilities and non-party member of the House of Lords ( Crossbencher ).

Life

Brian Rix was born in 1924 to a ship owner from Kingston upon Hull . After studying at the Bootham School in York , he worked as a professional actor in Cardiff at the age of 17 . When the Second World War broke out , he was initially drafted into the Royal Air Force , but soon became a coal miner at his own request, a so-called Bevin Boy .

After the war, Rix returned to the stage and founded his own theater company in 1947. He built permanent ensembles in Ilkley , Bridlington and Margate and at the age of only 26 was already a successful theater manager and actor. Between 1944 and 1969 he was a regular on stage at the famous Whitehall Theater in London, but at the same time he also gained increasing prominence on television. One of his best-known pieces is Reluctant Heroes (in German: Unruly Heroes ), which he performed four years in a row both in Whitehall and on tour and which was finally adapted for television by the BBC in 1951 . After the Whitehall Theater, Rix moved to the Garrick Theater , where he enjoyed even greater success. He also starred in eleven films and 70 television comedies, of which the most famous The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1959) (German: The night we went into the faux pas ), The Night We Got the Bird (1961) (German: The night we caught the bird ), Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1973) (German: Don't just lie there, say something! ) Are.

He hosted Let's Go , the first British television program specifically for people with learning disabilities . In 1980 he retired from acting and became General Secretary of the Mencap , the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults (from 1981 to the Royal Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults , since 2002 to the Royal Mencap Society ). From 1987 he was its chairman, since 2002 he was its president. In 2004 Rix founded the Rix Center at the University of East London , which researches the possible uses of new media for people with learning disabilities. His last major media appearance was on March 1, 2009 as a guest on the radio show Desert Island Discs .

family

Brian Rix married actress Elspet Gray in 1949 . They had four children together, including television producer and children's book author Jamie Rix and actress Louisa Rix . Their daughter Shelley Elspet, who died in 2005, was born with Down syndrome . TV actress Sheila Mercier is his older sister.

Miscellaneous

Brian Rix was an avid radio amateur , his amateur radio call sign was G2DQU.

Awards

Rix was 1977 Commander of the Order of the British Empire appointed and November 25, 1986 for his charitable contributions to Knight Bachelor beaten. Since 1984 he has held an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex . From 1988 on he held the post of Vice Lord Lieutenant of London. On January 27, 1992, he was named Baron Rix, of Whitehall in the City of Westminster and of Hornsea, Yorkshire, as a Life Peer. On July 16, 1997, he was finally appointed first chancellor of the University of East London.

Works

Rix is ​​the author of two autobiographies, My Farce From My Elbow (1974) and Farce About Face (1989), and two works on theater history, Tour de Farce and Life in the Farce Lane . For Mencap he also created a collection of travel reports by famous personalities based on Gulliver's travels . He used his 80th birthday intensively in 2004 to generate donations and public attention for the Mencap.

Filmography

  • Reluctant Heroes (1951) (Unruly Heroes)
  • Up to His Neck (1954)
  • What Every Woman Wants (1954)
  • Dry Rot (1956) (brown rot)
  • Not Wanted on Voyage (1957)
  • The Night We Dropped a Clanger (1959) ( The Night We Dropped a Clanger )
  • And the Same to You (1960)
  • The Night We Got the Bird (1961) ( The Night We Got the Bird )
  • Nothing Barred (1961)
  • One for the Pot (1968)
  • Don't Just Lie There, Say Something! (1973) (Don't just lie there, say something!)

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Rix, Brian, Baron Rix
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rix, Brian Norman Roger, Baron Rix (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor, activist and author
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Cottingham (East Riding of Yorkshire)
DATE OF DEATH 20th August 2016
Place of death London