Eric Richard

Eric Richard (born Eric Smith, 27 June 1940) is an English actor.
His theatre work includes plays at the Royal Court Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, as well as seasons with the Royal Exchange, Manchester, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Sheffield Crucible Theatre and Paines Plough. In 2001 he appeared as Ebeneezer Scrooge in a production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, London.
He is perhaps best known for his role as Desk Sergeant Bob Cryer in the long running ITV drama The Bill, which he portrayed for 20 years from the show's inception in 1984, although his television work has also included Victoria Wood As Seen on TV, Home Sweet Home, Made in Britain, Open All Hours, Games Without Frontiers, P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang, Shoestring, and Holby City.
In 2010 it was announced that Richard was to appear in the stage version of Lark Rise to Candleford which is currently on a nationwide tour.
His 2 month old grandson, Charlie Smith, was the youngest known British victim of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. He died in the arms of his father Richard after the wave hit them in Sri Lanka. They had sat down to eat when the water swept up into the restaurant.
In 2016 he starred in the short film Stutterer. The short film won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards. It was written and directed by Benjamin Cleary and produced by Serena Armitage and Shan Christopher Ogilvie. He also starred in Ben Rider's yet to be released indie drama Forever Tomorrow.