Kenneth Richmond
Patrick O'Connor and Kenneth Richmond battle for the silver medal at the 1950 British Empire Games Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 10 July 1926 London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 3 August 2006 (aged 80) Christchurch, Dorset, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Foresters AWC, London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kenneth Alan Richmond (10 July 1926 – 3 August 2006) was an English heavyweight wrestler who competed at four Olympic Games.[1]
Biography
Richmond was born in London and grew up near Pinewood Studios.[2]
At 6'5" and 265 lbs, he competed for Great Britain at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, finishing fifth in the Greco-Roman light heavyweight category.[2] He represented the English team[3] at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand,[4] where he won the bronze medal in the heavyweight category.[5]
He won a bronze medal at the 1952 Olympics[2] and represented the English team at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Vancouver, Canada,[6] where he won the gold medal in the heavyweight category.[7]
He appeared at two more Olympic Games in 1956 and 1960 respectively[2] and represented the England team at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.[8]
He stayed fit enough into his later years to win medals for rollerblading and windsurfing in his 60s.
Though he appeared as the wrestler Nikolas in Jules Dassin's film noir, Night and the City (1950),[9] Richmond was perhaps most recognisable as the shirtless gongman banging the enormous gong preceding the opening credits for films produced or distributed by the Rank Organisation. He was the fourth – and last – actor to take the job. According to the BBC, he had revealed to friends that the gong seen in the Rank Organisation's opening never rang, as it was a papier-mâché stage prop and he never actually struck it with any force, joking "If you hit that gong, you would have gone straight through."[10]
He was a Jehovah's Witness for most of his life, being jailed as a conscientious objector during World War II. In later life, he was a volunteer minister for the organisation.[10] He died at age 80 in his home in Christchurch.[11] (Richmond's wife, Valentina, died in 1996).
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Night and the City | Nikolas of Athens | |
| 1954 | Mad About Men | Zampa | Uncredited |
| 1956 | The Iron Petticoat | Igor – Group 9 Operative | Uncredited, (final film role) |
References
- ^ "Ken Richmond". Sports-Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Ken Richmond Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- ^ "Bowey for Empire Games". Evening News (London). 12 November 1949. Retrieved 14 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Jack Archer will fly to Games". Nottingham Journal. 7 December 1949. Retrieved 14 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games Medallists". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ "Games Wrestlers". Evening Despatch. 9 June 1954. Retrieved 19 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Commonwealth Games Medallists". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
- ^ "Wrestling Team for Cardiff". Nottingham Evening News. 17 May 1958. p. 8. Retrieved 10 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Schager, Nick. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Slant Magazine, DVD review of Night and the City, 16 February 2005. Last accessed: 3 December 2009.
- ^ a b Hevesi
- ^ https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/868363.rank-gong-film-icon-is-mourned/
Bibliography
- London Daily Mirror, 12 August 2006
- BBC Radio 4 Last Word, 18 August 2006
- Hevesi, Dennis (14 August 2006). "MOVIES: Ken Richmond, 80, Gong-Striker Familiar to Filmgoers, Dies". The New York Times.