Brian Rix facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable The Lord Rix CBE DL
Rix in 2008
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 27 January 1992 – 20 August 2016 Life Peerage
Personal details
Born	Brian Norman Roger Rix (1924-01-27)27 January 1924 Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	20 August 2016(2016-08-20) (aged 92) Northwood, London, England
Spouse	Elspet Gray ​ ​ (m. 1949; her death 2013)​
Children	4, including Jamie and Louisa
Relatives	Sheila Mercier (sister)
Occupation	Actor, activist
Known for	Farces (particularly at the Whitehall Theatre and on the BBC) Campaigning for those with learning disabilities

Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix (born January 27, 1924 – died August 20, 2016) was a famous English actor and theatre manager. He was best known for his many hilarious plays, called farces, which were shown in London and on TV. He worked with his wife, Elspet Gray, and his sister, Sheila Mercier, who later became a star in the TV show Emmerdale Farm.

After his first child was born with Down syndrome, Brian Rix became a passionate campaigner. He worked tirelessly to help people with learning disabilities. In 1992, he became a member of the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament. He was also the president of Mencap, a charity that supports people with learning disabilities, from 1998 until he passed away.

Biography

Early Life and Theatre Dreams

Brian Rix was born in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was the youngest of four children. His family ran a shipping company. When he was young, Brian loved cricket and dreamed of playing for Yorkshire.

However, his interest soon turned to acting. His mother, Fanny, ran an amateur drama group, and all her children loved performing. Brian's older sister, Sheila Mercier, also became a professional actress. Brian decided he wanted to be an actor too.

Becoming an Actor-Manager

At 18, Brian Rix became a professional actor. After serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he returned to the stage. In 1947, he started his own theatre company. This meant he was both an actor and a manager, choosing plays and running the shows.

In 1949, he found a play called Reluctant Heroes. It became very popular. In the same year, he married Elspet Gray, an actress in his company. They worked together for 64 years, appearing in many plays and TV shows.

In 1950, Brian convinced the Whitehall Theatre in London to stage Reluctant Heroes. This was a great decision, as his plays ran there for the next 16 years. He broke many records for how long plays ran in London's West End.

TV Farces and Whitehall Theatre Success

Brian Rix also became famous for his TV farces on the BBC. These were often shown at Christmas and were watched by up to 15 million people. In the early 1960s, he was one of the highest-paid actors on BBC Television. He worked with many well-known actors.

His first big hit at the Whitehall Theatre was Reluctant Heroes. He played a clumsy recruit and often lost his trousers on stage! This became a running joke. Another popular play was Dry Rot, which ran for almost four years.

Many famous playwrights started their careers writing for Brian Rix's company. Critics praised his shows, even though he never won major theatre awards. His company held the record for the longest-running farce team in London's West End. They performed for 26 years!

After the Whitehall Theatre

In 1967, Brian Rix moved his shows to the Garrick Theatre. He tried to put on several plays at once, like the National Theatre. However, it was too expensive without government help. He continued to have successful runs with plays like Let Sleeping Wives Lie.

He later performed in other farces, including A Bit Between the Teeth and Fringe Benefits. On January 8, 1977, after 26 years of almost constant performing, Brian Rix gave his final stage performance.

Working Behind the Scenes

After retiring from acting, Brian Rix joined a theatre company that owned and produced shows. He helped bring many productions to West End theatres. He also presented a BBC TV series called Let's Go with his daughter, Louisa. This was the first British show made especially for people with learning disabilities.

In 1980, he became the Secretary-General of the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults, which later became Mencap. He still performed occasionally, doing radio plays and touring one-night shows about his life in theatre.

Helping the Arts Council

From 1986 to 1993, Brian Rix was the chairman of the Drama Panel for the Arts Council of Great Britain. He worked hard to support theatre, especially smaller, experimental groups and theatre for young people. He also made sure that arts and disability issues were taken seriously.

He helped increase funding for touring theatre companies. He even managed to keep all the theatre buildings he was responsible for open during a time when public funding was tight. He resigned in 1993 when the Arts Council planned to cut funding for drama, but his actions helped reverse that decision.

A Champion for Change

Brian Rix and his wife, Elspet, became deeply involved in supporting people with learning disabilities. This was because their daughter, Shelley, born in 1951, had Down syndrome. At that time, there was very little help or education for children with learning disabilities. They were often sent to old, run-down hospitals.

The Rixes were determined to make things better. Brian became the first chairman of the fundraising committee for the National Society for Mentally Handicapped Children and Adults (Mencap). In 1980, he became the head of Mencap, and in 1998, he became its president, a role he held until his death.

In the House of Lords

In 1992, Brian Rix became a member of the House of Lords. He used this position to campaign tirelessly for people with learning disabilities. He was one of the most regular attendees and often suggested changes to laws about health, welfare, and education.

He worked hard to get laws passed that would help carers get short breaks. It took 12 years, but eventually, his ideas were included in a new law. He also helped change laws so that people with learning disabilities could vote freely. He even helped restore pension payments for widows and widowers that had been cut.

Other Important Work

Brian Rix was involved in many other groups. He co-chaired a parliamentary group on learning disability. He also helped set up the Rix Thompson Rothenberg (RTR) Foundation, which gives small grants to projects for people with learning disabilities.

He supported the Rix Centre at the University of East London. This center helps people with learning disabilities use technology to share their stories. He also founded a charity called Libertas, which created audio guides for disabled people at museums and historical sites. Brian Rix also campaigned against smoking and was a founding member of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

Personal Life

Brian Rix married actress Elspet Gray in 1949. They had four children: Jamie Rix, Jonathan Rix, Louisa Rix, and Shelley Rix. Shelley was born with Down syndrome, which inspired her father's lifelong work as an activist. Shelley passed away in 2005, and Elspet Gray died in 2013.

Brian Rix was also a radio ham (someone who uses radio for fun) from a young age. His call sign was G2DQU. He loved cricket and was a member of the MCC and Yorkshire CCC. He was featured on the TV show This Is Your Life twice and was a guest on the radio show Desert Island Discs two times.

In August 2016, Brian Rix announced he was terminally ill. He died on August 20, 2016, at the age of 92.

Awards and Recognition

Brian Rix received many honours for his work. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1977. In 1986, he was made a knight for his charity work. On his 68th birthday in 1992, he became a life peer, which meant he could sit in the House of Lords as Baron Rix.

He also received ten honorary degrees from different universities and five fellowships. He won numerous awards for his campaigning, including the Royal National Institute for Deaf People Campaigner of the Year Award and The Spectator Campaigner of the Year Award.

Artistic Credits

Theatrical Performances

Television Shows

Brian Rix performed in over 90 full-length and one-act plays for the BBC. More than 30 of these were live shows.

Films

Radio Shows

Books Written by Brian Rix

Brian Rix wrote two autobiographies about his life and career. He also wrote two books about the history of theatre. He edited and contributed to Gullible's Travails, a collection of travel stories. For Mencap's 60th anniversary, he wrote All About Us! – The history of learning disability.