Christopher Beeny
Encyclopedia
Born in London
, Beeny began his career at the age of six when he danced for the ' Ballet Rambert. He spent several years at the ' Arts Educational School before later progressing to 'RADA
.
His first screen role was in the 1952 film The Long Memory
. It starred John Mills
and featured Thora Hird
, Beeny's future co-star in In Loving Memory
and Last of the Summer Wine
.
He went on to make seventeen films including The Kidnappers; The Long Memory; Man Of The Moment; Child’s Play and Doctor In Distress.
He also played Lenny Groves in the first British television soap, the BBC TV series The Grove Family
, which was shown on Fridays during the mid-1950s.
Beeny's big break came when he appeared in 47 episodes, as Edward Barnes, in the award-winning period drama Upstairs, Downstairs
which ran for five series in the early to mid 1970s and was shown in more than 90 countries around the world. He went on to appear as Geoffrey in Miss Jones And Son; as Tony in the remake of The Rag Trade and as Billy Henshaw, Thora Hird’s co-star in In Loving Memory
.
In 2001 he made a guest appearance in Last of the Summer Wine
, something which he repeated numerous times until 2009 when he joined the cast as a permanent character. He appeared originally as the character Herman Teasdale, who later became Morton Beamish.
In 2006, he played a cameo role in Emmerdale
. Coincidentally, he played the cousin of the character Noreen Bell, who had been played by his Upstairs, Downstairs co-star Jenny Tomasin
. Beeny also played cameo roles in BBC TV's Sense & Sensibility and ITV's series Honest
Theatre appearances include Stop The World I Want To Get Off; The Long The Short And The Tall; Scapino ; How The Other Half Loves; Night Must Fall; Oliver; Who Saw Him Die; The Unexpected Guest; Boeing,Boeing; Move Over Mrs.Markham; Bedroom Farce; Run For Your Wife; Rough Crossing; Present Laughter; Brief Encounter; Caught In The Net; Crazy For You; Ten Times Table and Lark Rise To Candleford.
Beeny also toured in the play There's No Place Like a Home
with Gordon Kaye and in 2011 he toured in " Five Blue Haired Ladies Sitting On A Park Bench.
He will be appearing in pantomime at the Assembly Halls Tunbridge Wells 2011-12'.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Beeny began his career at the age of six when he danced for the ' Ballet Rambert. He spent several years at the ' Arts Educational School before later progressing to 'RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
.
His first screen role was in the 1952 film The Long Memory
The Long Memory
The Long Memory is a 1952 film directed by Robert Hamer and based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Howard Clewes. A crime thriller filmed on the North Kent Marshes on the Thames Estuary and the dingy backstreets of Gravesend its bleak setting and grim atmosphere have led to its acclaim as a...
. It starred John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
and featured Thora Hird
Thora Hird
Dame Thora Hird DBE was an English actress.-Early life and career:Hird was born in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe. She first appeared on stage at the age of two months in a play her father was managing...
, Beeny's future co-star in In Loving Memory
In Loving Memory (TV series)
In Loving Memory is a British period sitcom set in an undertakers business that starred Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny. A pilot was transmitted in 1969 by Thames Television who rejected the idea before it was finally accepted by Yorkshire Television in 1979 where it further ran for five series...
and Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
.
He went on to make seventeen films including The Kidnappers; The Long Memory; Man Of The Moment; Child’s Play and Doctor In Distress.
He also played Lenny Groves in the first British television soap, the BBC TV series The Grove Family
The Grove Family
The Grove Family is a British television soap opera, generally regarded as the first of its kind broadcast in the UK, made and transmitted by BBC Television from 1954 to 1957...
, which was shown on Fridays during the mid-1950s.
Beeny's big break came when he appeared in 47 episodes, as Edward Barnes, in the award-winning period drama Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
which ran for five series in the early to mid 1970s and was shown in more than 90 countries around the world. He went on to appear as Geoffrey in Miss Jones And Son; as Tony in the remake of The Rag Trade and as Billy Henshaw, Thora Hird’s co-star in In Loving Memory
In Loving Memory (TV series)
In Loving Memory is a British period sitcom set in an undertakers business that starred Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny. A pilot was transmitted in 1969 by Thames Television who rejected the idea before it was finally accepted by Yorkshire Television in 1979 where it further ran for five series...
.
In 2001 he made a guest appearance in Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
, something which he repeated numerous times until 2009 when he joined the cast as a permanent character. He appeared originally as the character Herman Teasdale, who later became Morton Beamish.
In 2006, he played a cameo role in Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
. Coincidentally, he played the cousin of the character Noreen Bell, who had been played by his Upstairs, Downstairs co-star Jenny Tomasin
Jenny Tomasin
Jenny Tomasin is an English actress best known for her roles in Upstairs, Downstairs and Emmerdale.-Career:Tomasin became well known in the early 1970s when she joined the cast of Upstairs, Downstairs as kitchen maid Ruby. She stayed with the series until the end in 1975, appearing in 41 episodes...
. Beeny also played cameo roles in BBC TV's Sense & Sensibility and ITV's series Honest
Theatre appearances include Stop The World I Want To Get Off; The Long The Short And The Tall; Scapino ; How The Other Half Loves; Night Must Fall; Oliver; Who Saw Him Die; The Unexpected Guest; Boeing,Boeing; Move Over Mrs.Markham; Bedroom Farce; Run For Your Wife; Rough Crossing; Present Laughter; Brief Encounter; Caught In The Net; Crazy For You; Ten Times Table and Lark Rise To Candleford.
Beeny also toured in the play There's No Place Like a Home
There's No Place Like a Home
There's No Place Like A Home is a comedy play by Paul Elliott which tells the story of the residents of Stollberg Hall Retirement Home for Theatrical Performers...
with Gordon Kaye and in 2011 he toured in " Five Blue Haired Ladies Sitting On A Park Bench.
He will be appearing in pantomime at the Assembly Halls Tunbridge Wells 2011-12'.