Norman Beaton in London's West End. In 1970 he played the role of Ariel in Shakespeare's "The Tempest", which he described in his autobiography as "the most important role of my acting career", and also played a small role in the Frankie Howerd comedy film "Up the Chastity Belt" the following year. In 1975, he helped to establish the Black Theatre of Brixton. In 1975 Beaton played Nanki-Poo in "The Black Mikado", a modern version of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado". In 1976, Beaton broke into television in the series "The Fosters", which also featured a young Lenny Henry, and the following
John Ritter series "The Waltons" from October 1972 to December 1976. Since he was not a weekly cast member, he had time to pursue other roles, which he did until December 1976, when he left for a starring role in the hit ABC sitcom "Three's Company" (the Americanized version of the 1970s British Thames Television series "Man About the House") in 1977. In 1978, Ritter played Ringo Starr's manager on the TV special "Ringo". In 1982, Ritter provided the voice of Peter Dickinson in "The Flight of Dragons". Ritter became a household name playing struggling culinary student Jack Tripper with two female