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Ray Brooks ( aka Robbie box )
Ray Brooks ( aka Robbie box )
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According to the Times obs
His sucess was due to smoking Old Holburn baccy and drinking LOTS of BEER!!! Good on him  |
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rip ray brooks - probably like many on here of a certain age big deal was a must watch for me - loved it then and still watch it now either on video or YouTube
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Ray Brooks obituary: actor who starred in Cathy Come Home
Actor in Ken Loach’s tragedy who also provided the voice to the cartoon Mr Benn but was unable to capitalise on the success, dies aged 86 new The Times Sunday August 10 2025, 5.52pm BST, The Times Black and white photo of Ken Loach, Carol White, and Ray Brooks with two children from the film *Cathy Come Home*. Brooks with Carol White and her children in Cathy Come Home. Brooks had met White’s children before, helping him to get the part ALAMY Ray Brooks was a jobbing actor living with his wife in a £4-a-week flat when he was given the part of a lifetime. It was 1966 and on a recent trip to Manchester he had befriended a man called Mike King whose wife, Carol White, had just landed the lead role in Ken Loach’s new television drama Cathy Come Home. The Brookses were invited over for dinner, where Ray took a shine to their two children, Sean and Stevie, who were to star as Cathy’s children in the show. Carol suggested Brooks play her husband. “Her children had got to know me,” Brooks said, “and she thought they would feel more relaxed in my company.” Written by Jeremy Sandford and directed by Loach, Cathy Come Home, the story of a young couple’s descent into homelessness and poverty, was watched by 12 million people and pricked the national conscience. Reg, a truck driver, and his wife Cathy cut forlorn figures as he loses his job, they lose their home and by the end their children are taken away. There was very little dialogue and it was a mastery in improvisation — “like playing jazz”, said Brooks. When Cathy and Reg were looking for a place to stay the actors would turn up in Camden Town and answer real flat-to-let adverts. Brooks would ring the bell and say they were looking for a room. “The woman would take one look at Carol’s bump — which was a pillow up her coat — and say: ‘Oh, no, we can’t have children.’ Then we’d go back and say we were making a film and could we use the footage if we gave them a tenner.” Black and white photo of Carol White and Ray Brooks from the film *Cathy Come Home*. The film was watched by 12 million people on its broadcast in 1966 and tackled subjects previously ignored COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL/BBC/ALAMY For Brooks, a 27-year-old actor hitherto best known for The Knack, Cathy Come Home proved a blessing and a curse. It brought him sudden fame but his career failed to kick on. “Like many other actors,” he said, “I’d had my head above the parapet a few times and it would never stay up there for too long.” Years later, despite good work on television and the stage, Cathy Come Home would still be the most important entry on his CV and the part which more than any other defined him. He said later that he had been naive. “I thought casting directors would come to me. But although people did offer me work, very often the films did not materialise because they couldn’t get the money together. And actually, I don’t think I was ever that good an actor. I was more of an image as a young man.” And with contemporaries including David Hemmings and Terence Stamp, he admitted there was a lot of competition. Raymond Michael Brooks was born in Brighton in 1939, the illegitimate son of a bus conductress who had fallen pregnant after a fling with a young soldier called John Brooks — a fact Ray found out only aged 20, though a paternity test proved inconclusive. His mother took him to variety theatres across Brighton’s seafront, and, thinking he had a better chance of getting on in life if he spoke well, sent him for elocution lessons. “She wanted better for me,” he said. Brooks took acting classes, got into amateur dramatics and gave up his office job with the local bus company, writing to countless repertory companies and eventually securing a part in Treasure Island at Nottingham. In 1960 he moved into television with a small part in a BBC drama, The Secret Kingdom, and early films included HMS Defiant, Play It Cool with the pop singer Billy Fury and Some People, in which he had second billing, after Kenneth More, as a troubled teenage factory worker who is shown how to mend his ways. Black and white photo of Michael Crawford, Ray Brooks, and Donald Donnelly in The Knack...And How To Get It (1965). Brooks, centre, with Michael Crawford and Donald Donnelly in The Knack, which won a Palme d’Or for its portrayal of swinging Sixties London UNITED ARTISTS/ALAMY The Knack ...and How to Get It Official Trailer #1 - Donal Donnelly Movie (1965) HD Share Watch on There was a short stint in Coronation Street (1964) and then his first notable film, The Knack, a slice of swinging Sixties London directed by Richard Lester, who had just made A Hard Day’s Night with the Beatles. Brooks played the enigmatic Tolen, a womaniser with a taste for sharp suits and Thelonius Monk records who is asked by Michael Crawford’s schoolteacher to pass on the “knack” of picking up “birds”. Made on a modest budget, the film recovered its cost many times over and won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. In 1966, the year of Cathy Come Home, Brooks had a good role in Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 AD, a cinema spin-off from Doctor Who. Cathy had the greater impact, but not for Brooks. He was seldom out of work in the years that followed but instead of getting lead roles he had to make do with guest spots on series such as The Avengers, Softly Softly, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), Z Cars and Doomwatch. He told children’s stories on Jackanory, narrated the children’s animated series Mr Benn, played Yasha in The Cherry Orchard in a BBC Play of the Month production and also Giorgio, the waiter in a decrepit hotel, in Carry On Abroad in 1972. But the 1970s were a difficult time and he was forced to look for other outlets. He wrote songs and produced an album, but there were few takers and with a young family to support he was relieved to be offered voice-over work on television commercials. Among many others, he was the voice of Flora margarine and a London car dealer with a tag line: “Nice people to do business with”. But for the voice-overs, he said, he might have given up acting. He returned, with some success, to the theatre. In 1974 he was in Charles Lawrence’s play, Snap, at the Vaudeville Theatre with Maggie Smith, directed by Bill Gaskill, followed by the London premiere of Alan Ayckbourn’s Absent Friends, with Richard Briers and Peter Bowles, which had a long run at the Garrick. In 1979 he was in CP Taylor’s And a Nightingale Sang (Queen’s) with Patricia Routledge and Gemma Jones. In 1981 he joined the National Theatre for On the Razzle, Tom Stoppard’s farce based on a play by Johann Nestroy, supporting Felicity Kendal, Dinsdale Landen and Michael Kitchen. Ray Brooks with his sons Will and Tom playing cards at home. Brooks in 1987 with his sons Will and Tom ALAMY Ray Brooks and Jon Wise with Albert Square sign. Brooks’s stint on EastEnders was full of dramatic twists and turns in its 18 months ALAMY The 1980s were better. He played a doctor in the PD James whodunit Death of an Expert Witness, and in 1984 got his best opportunity since Cathy as Robby Box, the loveable, luckless, cockney card player in the comedy-drama Big Deal, which ran for 30 episodes and made his character into a working-class hero. Soon after it finished he starred in the ITV sitcom Running Wild as a 45-year-old trying unsuccessfully to return to his Teddy Boy youth. He was reunited with Sharon Duce, his co-star on Big Deal, in the BBC comedy Growing Pains, about the travails of middle-aged foster parents. In 2005, white-haired and balding where once he sported a prominent dark quiff, he joined EastEnders as Joe Macer, who marries the long-suffering Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard). But in his final appearance in January 2007 Joe confesses to killing Pauline on Christmas Day before falling from a window to his death. Brooks later voiced his disenchantment with the show, criticising its “shabby sets and poor scripts” and lack of rehearsal time and admitting that his relationship with Richard had broken down. When Brooks married his wife, Sadie (née Elcombe), in 1961, he was appearing in a television drama and the suit and shoes he wore for the registry office ceremony belonged to the BBC. His daughter, Emma, a social worker, died of cancer in 2003. His sons, Will and Tom, survive him. Brooks was shy of the limelight and on occasion lacked confidence. He recalled in the first few pages of his autobiography that the actress Miriam Margolyes had once told him: “The trouble with you, Ray, is that you don’t like yourself and you’re ill-educated.” He loved Fulham FC — in the 1980s he was among the celebrity fans to fight against the club’s proposed merger with QPR, wearing a “Save Fulham” badge during an interview on Wogan — and he wrote two novels. Your History: Dame Stella Rimington - first female head of MI5 Your History Share Follow Dame Stella Rimington - first female head of MI5 August 5, 2025 · 12 min · Listen later View terms Dame Stella Rimington - first female head of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington - first female head of MI5 12 min Allan Ahlberg - Children's Author Allan Ahlberg - Children's Author 8 min Margot Friedländer - Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer - Holocaust survivor 9 min Hulk Hogan - WWE Superstar Hulk Hogan - WWE Superstar 15 min Ozzy Osbourne Ozzy Osbourne 11 min Muhammadu Buhari - Former President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari - Former President of Nigeria 8 min Peter Phillips - pop artist Peter Phillips - pop artist 9 min Lord Tebbit Lord Tebbit 16 min Sandy Gall - foreign correspondent Sandy Gall - foreign correspondent 9 min Nina Kuscsik - pioneering marathoner Nina Kuscsik - pioneering marathoner 6 min Madeleine Kasket - classical music publicist Madeleine Kasket - classical music publicist 5 min David "Syd" Lawrence - cricketer David "Syd" Lawrence - cricketer 9 min Piano legend Alfred Brendel Piano legend Alfred Brendel 11 min Gerry Francis - footballer and change maker Gerry Francis - footballer and change maker 5 min Brian Wilson Brian Wilson 13 min Richard Garwin, creator of the hydrogen bomb Richard Garwin, creator of the hydrogen bomb 11 min Michael Tretow - Abba's fifth member Michael Tretow - Abba's fifth member 6 min The world's photographer, Sebastião Salgado The world's photographer, Sebastião Salgado 8 min The Bolshoi's Yuri Grigorovich The Bolshoi's Yuri Grigorovich 8 min Joseph Nye - The creator of 'soft power' Joseph Nye - The creator of 'soft power' 10 min Karen Durbin - feminist journalist Karen Durbin - feminist journalist 10 min David Thomas - founder of Pere Ubu David Thomas - founder of Pere Ubu 6 min Virginia Giuffre Virginia Giuffre 11 min Anne Harper - A Political Firebrand Anne Harper - A Political Firebrand 10 min Pope Francis Pope Francis 23 min Mario Vargas Llosa - A giant of Latin American literature Mario Vargas Llosa - A giant of Latin American literature 10 min Clem Burke - Blondie’s Beating Heart Clem Burke - Blondie’s Beating Heart 7 min Captain Richard Farnfield - Cold War Submarine Commander Captain Richard Farnfield - Cold War Submarine Commander 6 min Val Kilmer - A Hollywood Firecracker Val Kilmer - A Hollywood Firecracker 12 min Constable Trevor Lock - Hero of the Iranian Embassy Siege Constable Trevor Lock - Hero of the Iranian Embassy Siege 9 min Though he was most proud of his work on Cathy Come Home he would perhaps be best known for Mr Benn, a 13-episode cartoon about a bowler-hat wearing gentleman who finds himself in a new adventure every episode by dressing up in a magical costume shop. People continually asked him to say the catchphrase, “As if by magic!” He reckoned his voice resonated with the public because it sounded so comforting and sincere. His secret, he said, was smoking Old Holborn tobacco and drinking “lots of beer”. Ray Brooks, actor, was born on April 20, 1939. He died of the effects of dementia on August 9, 2025, aged 86 |
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I was 11 going on 12 when we all watched C.C.H. and the impact it had on me was, I have realised over the years, enormous. And the reality of a lot of it has now been explained after all these years. The street scenes were so raw and real.
Have we progressed any do you think.? R.I.P. Ray Brooks and deepest commiserations and admiration to his family who have had to deal with the desperation and misery of this dreadful illness. |
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one of my favourite episodes is when some posh girl wanted Robbie to play at some posh gentleman’s club - the opponents were a bunch of ****s but Robbie dismantled and humiliated them
jan also thought Robbie was going to propose and then thought she was getting dumped for the posh girl And Robbie gave his winnings to dick Meyer to pay of a debt that was going to get him a serious kicking from the mob just the usual chaos wrapped-up into one episode |
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Now, this is absolutely true!
In the ensuing 40 years since Big Deal filmed I Gotta Horse at Kempton I have watched that episode two or three times - always just to fill in time. This evening, a couple of hours ago, I watched it again after my wife passed comment that she had not heard that Ray Brooks had died. Anyway, just before the Kempton race Booby Box is dashing around (to be fair, Box did a great deal of rushing around in nearly all of Big Deal and could be quite irritating as he did so!) and runs down to the bit of grass either at the front of the members' stand or the grandstand. The scene then cuts away to Sharon Duce and the betting shop regulars standing on the rails at the side of the racetrack and then back to Box in the betting ring. Much to my amazement, coming into the latter shot to the rear of Box, and for around three seconds at most, is ME!!! I nearly fell off the sofa. I am on the right side of the screen and am the young, good looking lad, with a moustache. I was almost 24 at the time but my wife thinks I looked no more than 30 (we got together the following year). I knew they were filming scenes during the racing, but they waited until after racing for the paddock and race itself. I had no idea I was in a shot. In all the years I have been racing, from Hackney Wick Dogs through to Royal Ascot, I have often seen filming taking place and idly wondered if I had ever been picked up in shot. Well, that question was answered tonight because I was! Tell you what, though. In my three seconds of fame I look more like a pro punter than Ray Brooks ever did!!! They should have dumped Brooks and had me take over...LOL!!! |
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the knight
lucky escape especially if you backed the favourite as there were bad guys running about with shooters at that meeting |
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We’re not worthy! Brilliant.
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I should have asked, sorry. Do you think fame will change you?
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The knight, your post encouraged me to watch that episode on YouTube with the football on in the background... Thanks for that, gonna watch some more old episodes now...
I was looking for a Peter Wyngarde type character, as you sort of described yourself, in the racetrack scenes, but unfortunately couldn't see you Anyway, thanks again for giving me some future evenings viewing of old Big Deal shows |
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Loyal..LOL, I may ask Betfair to have my forum logon surrounded in stars but as for coming over all pretentious? pretentious..MOI!!!
Reg...well that's my moment of fame spoiled!! Seriously, my moustache was never in the Wyngrade league. Much more subtle...and I am only in it for 3 seconds max. I certainly spent very much longer trying so hard to peer down Sharon Duce's blouse, as per my post before last! Mind you, had I known I was to co-star with her in that episode I would have given her the chat!!! BTW - my error in the earlier post, I was almost 25 at the time, not 24. And, now, next Monday I will be 65!! **** me!!!! |