George A. Cooper
George Alphonsus Cooper was born in Leeds in 1925. After training as an electrical engineer and architect he was called up for National Service, working for the Royal Artillery in India. During that period he became interested in performing and on his discharge joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Manchester. To avoid confusion with American actor George Cooper he used his middle initial in his stage name. His first appearance on television was in 1946. Over the next fifty years, he was a regular on the screen developing a career out of portraying slightly bumbling authoritarian characters. In 1964, he won a recurring role in ITV's Coronation Street playing businessman Willie Piggott who famously tried to bribe Ken Barlow to give his son Brian a pass on his tech exam. He had regular roles in Z-Cars and Dixon of Dock Green. In 1960, he appeared in the West End play Billy Liar playing the father of the title character, later reprising the role in the 1973 television series. He appeared in comedies such as Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Sykes and Mind Your Language. In 1985, he took on the role of no-nonsense caretaker Eric Griffiths in the incredibly successful children's drama Grange Hill, playing the role for seven years and earning a place in the hearts of a generation of children. His last TV appearance was in a 1995 episode of Casualty. He died in a nursing home in Hampshire on 16th November, 2018.
Known For
Credits
- 1994 · Fair Game as George
- 1992 · Heartbeat as Walter Pettigrew
- 1989 · Nice Work as Mr. Wilcox Snr
- 1989 · Customers From Hell as
- 1986 · Casualty as Albert Collins
- 1984 · Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle as Alf
- 1984 · Amy as Will Johnson
- 1983 · The Star Chamber as State Senator Walden
- 1983 · Red Monarch as Kaganovitch
- 1981 · Somewhere More Central as Uncle Joe
- 1979 · Terry and June as Mr. Ridge
- 1979 · Terry and June as Uncle Bob
- 1979 · Terry and June as Eric
- 1978 · The Light Princess as King
- 1978 · Grange Hill as Mr. Griffiths
- 1978 · Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat as Man
- 1978 · A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story as Mr. Twitchell
- 1978 · All Creatures Great and Small as Mr. Crump
- 1976 · The New Avengers as Burt Brandon
- 1976 · Trial by Combat as 2nd Leather Jerkin
- 1976 · Decorators Limited as Porter
- 1975 · Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done as The Pirate King (voice)
- 1975 · Awkward Customers as Awkward Customer: Mr. Wart-hog
- 1975 · Wonder Woman as Gen. Clewes
- 1975 · Two's Company as Mr. Begley
- 1975 · Dawson's Weekly as
- 1973 · Billy Liar as
- 1973 · Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em as
- 1972 · The Bouncing Boy as Ashcroft
- 1972 · Crown Court as
- 1972 · Sykes as Arthur Coats
- 1972 · Bless This House as Mr Wilson
- 1972 · What Became of Jack and Jill? as Trouncer
- 1972 · The Villa Maroc as Lionel
- 1971 · Justice as Supt. George Grover
- 1971 · The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes as Inspector Beedel
- 1971 · Barlow as
- 1971 · Office Party as Manager
- 1971 · Abrasive Wheels as (voice)
- 1970 · Roll On Four O'Clock as Ted Crampton
- 1970 · I Can't See My Little Willie as Frank Palmer
- 1970 · The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer as Blacket
- 1970 · Play for Today as Ashcroft
- 1970 · Play for Today as Frank Palmer
- 1970 · Play for Today as Lionel
- 1970 · Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It as Mr. Tundish
- 1970 · Doomwatch as Thomas Prentice
- 1970 · Start the Revolution Without Me as Dr. Duval
- 1968 · Dracula Has Risen from the Grave as Village Landlord
- 1968 · The Strange Affair as Supt. Kingsley
- 1968 · The Expert as Arnold Bottomley
- 1968 · The First Lady as
- 1968 · The Ronnie Barker Playhouse as
- 1967 · Smashing Time as Irishman
- 1967 · The Confession as Albert Verdoni
- 1967 · Man in a Suitcase as
- 1967 · In Two Minds as Mr. Winter
- 1966 · Doctor Who: The Smugglers as Cherub
- 1966 · King of the River as
- 1965 · Life at the Top as Graffham
- 1965 · Ferry Cross the Mersey as Mr. Lumsden
- 1965 · Public Eye as
- 1965 · Public Eye as Alec Payton
- 1964 · Sherlock Holmes as
- 1964 · Nightmare as John
- 1964 · The Bargee as Official in Office
- 1963 · Espionage as
- 1963 · Tom Jones as Mr. Fitzpatrick
- 1963 · The Cracksman as Fred
- 1962 · The Saint as Harold Laker
- 1962 · The Saint as Milton Ourley
- 1962 · The Brain as Thomas Gabler
- 1962 · Dr. Finlay's Casebook as Tom Farquhar
- 1962 · In the Doghouse as Examiner (Uncredited)
- 1962 · Z-Cars as
- 1961 · The Avengers as Burgess
- 1960 · An Age of Kings as Earl of Northumberland
- 1960 · Hell Is a City as Doug Savage
- 1959 · No Hiding Place as
- 1958 · A Night to Remember as Carpathia Purser Hughes (uncredited)
- 1958 · Violent Playground as Chief Inspector
- 1957 · Fortune Is a Woman as Hotel Porter
- 1957 · The Secret Place as Harry
- 1955 · Dixon of Dock Green as Topper Brown
- 1955 · Dixon of Dock Green as Jackson
- 1955 · Dixon of Dock Green as Monty Pitman
- 1952 · Okinawa as Yeoman