Norman Bird
Actor
Biography
John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor.
Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End debut in Peter Brook's production of The Winter's Tale at the Phoenix Theatre in 1951. He was also a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company. His first film appearance was as the foreman in An Inspector Calls (1954).
He was a familiar face to British cinema audiences of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in nearly 50 films such as The Angry Silence (1960), The League of Gentlemen (1960), Whistle Down the Wind (1961), Victim (1961) and Term of Trial (1962) with Laurence Olivier and The Hill with Sean Connery (1965).
He had over 200 television appearances, notably as Mr Braithwaite in Worzel Gummidge (1979–81) and Mr Arrad in the Fawlty Towers episode "Waldorf Salad" (1979). His long list of credits include Steptoe and Son, Till Death Us Do Part, Rising Damp, Ever Decreasing Circles, Yes Minister, To Serve Them All My Days, All Creatures Great and Small, Z-Cars, Public Eye, The Saint, Department S, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Boon. In 1990 he appeared in Stay Lucky, with Dennis Waterman, which marked his 200th television appearance. One of his last film appearances was as a taxi driver in Richard Attenborough's Shadowlands (1993).
Filmography
The Final Conflict
as Dr. Philmore 1981
Shadowlands
as Taxi Driver Witness 1993
The Hill
as Commandant 1965
The Medusa Touch
as Major Henry Morlar 1978
Victim
as Harold Doe 1961
First Men in the Moon
as Stuart 1964
An Inspector Calls
as Jones-Collins - Foreman 1954
Night of the Eagle
as Doctor 1962
The League of Gentlemen
as Weaver 1960
In Search of the Castaways
as Senior Yacht Guard 1962
Hands of the Ripper
as Police Inspector 1971
The Wrong Box
as Clergyman 1966
Cash on Demand
as Arthur Sanderson 1961
Whistle Down the Wind
as Eddie 1961
The Slipper and the Rose
as Dress Shop Proprieter 1976
Young Winston
as Party Chairman 1972