The son of two stage performers, Hearne and his family lived on Lady Lane opposite the Norwich Theatre Royal. The site is now occupied by the city’s Forum building.
Soon after his birth, his mother was appearing in a play at the theatre which required a baby, and young Richard was given the part.
“My mother said I didn’t cry at all, I was wonderful,” he explained in an interview for BBC Radio 4 in 1968.
“But the only thing is, every time I was turned my eyes were glued to the lime lights. So wherever I was turned, this head was fixed, staring at the lime lights.”
Hearne eventually became very well-known on British television as Mr Pastry, an old man character whose doddery, good-natured antics served as a showcase for Hearne’s acrobatic slapstick routines.
Hearne would appear as Mr Pastry in variety programmes, children’s shows, and even his own sitcoms. Such was his fame that he was one of the stars chosen to feature in the gala opening programme of the new BBC Television Centre in 1960.