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The Lord Rix | |
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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 27 January 1924 Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England |
Died | 20 August 2016 Northwood, London, England | (aged 92)
Spouse | |
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, CBE, DL (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including Dry Rot, Simple Spymen and One for the Pot. His one-night TV shows made him the joint-highest paid star on the BBC. He often worked with his wife Elspet Gray and sister Sheila Mercier, who became the matriarch in Emmerdale Farm.
After his first child was born with Down syndrome, Rix became a campaigner for disability causes, among others. He entered the House of Lords as a crossbencher in 1992 and was president of Mencap from 1998 until his death.