Robin Richmond

Robin Richmond (21 April 1912 – 27 July 1998) was an English cinema organist and BBC Radio presenter and performer.

Richmond was born on 21 April 1912 in London.[1] His father was a doctor.[1] He was educated at Westminster School and London University, though he failed to graduate from the latter.[1]

After a brief engagement at Lambeth Mission Hall, from which he was sacked for adding percussion sounds to hymns, he made his West End debut in the revue It's in the Bag.[1] He then toured with the comedy singing duo The Two Leslies (Leslie Sarony and Leslie Holmes).[1] His BBC debut was in Palace of Varieties in 1938.[1]

His trademark instrument became the Hammond organ, after he imported the first example to Great Britain from the United States in 1935.[1][2] It carried the serial number "001".[1]

Rejected by the military during World War II for health reasons, he spent the duration as organist at the Paramount Cinema in Tottenham Court Road, London, and on BBC radio.[1]

Post-war he regularly performed on the BBC Light Programme on shows such as Music While You Work, Variety Bandbox and Organ Grinder Swing.[3] He also presented a number of programmes including Housewives' Choice and Jazz Club. On television he was the resident organist on the quiz show Double Your Money.[4]

He created the BBC Radio 2 series The Organist Entertains in 1969, and was its main presenter until 1980. A special edition in 2012 marked the centenary of his birth.[2]

He appeared as a "castaway" on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 10 September 1977.[5]

He died of cancer on 27 July 1998.[1]

References
  1. Gifford, Denis (8 August 1998). "Obituary: Robin Richmond". The Independent. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  2. "Nigel Ogden: The Organist Entertains, Robin Richmond's Centenary". BBC Online. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  3. "BBC Genome Project". Organ Grinder Swing. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  4. Evans, Jeff (2001). The Penguin TV Companion. Penguin Books. pp. 185–6. ISBN 0-140-51467-8.
  5. "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Robin Richmond". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
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