Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1920-10-30
Day of Death
2005-04-22
Place of Birth
Coalville, Leicestershire, England, UK
Norman Bird
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 (66)
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
2005
Crossing the Floor
1996
Shadowlands
1993
Born Kicking
1992
Miss Pym's Day Out
1992
Buddy
1986
This Office Life
1984
Black Carrion
1984
A Voyage Round My Father
1984
The Ghost Downstairs
1982
If You Go Down in the Woods Today
1981
The Final Conflict
1981
A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special
1980
The Lord of the Rings
1978
