Norman Bird
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).
Known For
Credits
- 1996 · Crossing the Floor as Grandfather
- 1993 · Shadowlands as Taxi Driver Witness
- 1992 · Born Kicking as Mr Radley
- 1992 · Miss Pym's Day Out as Man on Bus
- 1986 · Buddy as Mr Normington
- 1984 · This Office Life as Seeds
- 1984 · Black Carrion as Henry Bircher
- 1984 · Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense as Henry Bircher
- 1984 · A Voyage Round My Father as Ham
- 1982 · The Ghost Downstairs as Mr. Morris
- 1981 · If You Go Down in the Woods Today as Doctor
- 1981 · The Final Conflict as Dr. Philmore
- 1980 · A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special as Mr Braithwaite
- 1980 · To Serve Them All My Days as Alderman Blunt
- 1980 · Hammer House of Horror as Basil
- 1980 · Yes Minister as
- 1979 · Worzel Gummidge as Mr. Braithwaite
- 1979 · Thomas & Sarah as
- 1978 · The Lord of the Rings as Bilbo (voice)
- 1978 · The Glums as Office Manager
- 1978 · Return of the Saint as Morgan
- 1978 · Life Begins at Forty as
- 1978 · The Medusa Touch as Major Henry Morlar
- 1978 · All Creatures Great and Small as Farmer Benson
- 1977 · Miss Jones And Son as
- 1977 · Raffles as
- 1976 · Yanks Go Home as
- 1976 · The Slipper and the Rose as Dress Shop Proprieter
- 1976 · Wedding Bells as
- 1976 · Pot Luck as Farmer
- 1976 · The Big Kick as
- 1976 · On the Tiles as
- 1976 · Double Trouble as
- 1976 · Baby Sitters as
- 1976 · Monkey Tricks as
- 1975 · Fawlty Towers as Mr. Arrad
- 1975 · Two's Company as Mr. Bunn
- 1975 · Angels as
- 1975 · King Arthur, the Young Warlord as Ambrose
- 1973 · Up The Workers as Sid Stubbins
- 1973 · Elementary, My Dear Watson as Inspector Street
- 1972 · Arthur of the Britons as Ambrose
- 1972 · Ooh... You Are Awful as Warder Burke
- 1972 · Crown Court as
- 1972 · The Adventurer as Brooks
- 1972 · My Wife Next Door as
- 1972 · Shirley's World as
- 1972 · Doomwatch as Brewer
- 1971 · Hands of the Ripper as Police Inspector
- 1971 · The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes as Inspector Trent
- 1971 · Jason King as
- 1971 · The Guardians as
- 1971 · Please Sir! as Reynolds
- 1971 · Budgie as
- 1971 · The Raging Moon as Dr Matthews
- 1970 · The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer as Alderman Poot
- 1970 · Up Among the Cuckoos as Walter
- 1970 · The Virgin and the Gypsy as Uncle Fred
- 1969 · Softly Softly: Task Force as Samuel Tomkins
- 1969 · Run a Crooked Mile as Sgt. Hooper
- 1969 · Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) as Elliot
- 1969 · Department S as Drayton
- 1969 · Oh! What a Lovely War as Training Sgt (uncredited)
- 1969 · The Limbo Line as
- 1969 · All at Sea as
- 1968 · A Dandy in Aspic as Copperfield
- 1967 · Sanctuary as
- 1966 · The Wrong Box as Clergyman
- 1966 · Till Death Us Do Part as
- 1965 · Sky West and Crooked as Mr. Cheeseman - undertaker
- 1965 · The Hill as Commandant
- 1965 · Gideon's Way as Supt. Fred Lee
- 1965 · Public Eye as Arthur Biddle
- 1964 · The Black Torment as Harris
- 1964 · The Beauty Jungle as Mr. Edward Freeman
- 1964 · First Men in the Moon as Stuart
- 1964 · Hot Enough for June as Employment Exchange Clerk
- 1964 · The Bargee as Waterways Supervisor Albert Williams
- 1963 · 80,000 Suspects as Harold Davis
- 1963 · Maniac as Salon
- 1963 · The Punch and Judy Man as Reginald Fletcher
- 1963 · Bitter Harvest as Mr. Pitt
- 1963 · The Mind Benders as Aubrey
- 1963 · The Cracksman as Policeman
- 1962 · In Search of the Castaways as Senior Yacht Guard
- 1962 · The Saint as Mr. Spode
- 1962 · The Saint as Weems
- 1962 · Term of Trial as Mr. Taylor
- 1962 · Night of the Eagle as Doctor
- 1962 · Z-Cars as
- 1961 · Cash on Demand as Sanderson
- 1961 · Victim as Harold Doe
- 1961 · Whistle Down the Wind as Eddie
- 1961 · The Secret Partner as Ralph Beldon
- 1961 · Very Important Person as Travers
- 1961 · The Avengers as
- 1960 · Coronation Street as Frank Jackson
- 1960 · Man in the Moon as Herbert
- 1960 · The League of Gentlemen as Weaver
- 1960 · The Angry Silence as Roberts
- 1959 · No Hiding Place as
- 1956 · Armchair Theatre as Walter
- 1954 · An Inspector Calls as Jones-Collins - Foreman