George A. Cooper

Acting

Born March 7, 1925, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK

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.

Filmography

• 2008The Ties That Bind Us — Cherub (archive footage)
• 1994Fair Game — George
• Heartbeat — Walter Pettigrew
• 1989Customers From Hell
• Nice Work — Mr. Wilcox Snr
• Casualty — Albert Collins
• 1985Reunion at Fairborough — Bartender
• 1984Amy — Will Johnson
• 1984Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle — Alf
• 1983Red Monarch — Kaganovitch
• 1983The Star Chamber — State Senator Walden
• Q.E.D. — Lord Eastleigh
• 1981Somewhere More Central — Uncle Joe
• Terry and June — Mr. Ridge, Uncle Bob, Eric
• Turning Year Tales — Alan
• 1978A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story — Mr. Twitchell
• All Creatures Great and Small — Mr. Crump
• Grange Hill — Mr. Griffiths
• 1978Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat — Man
• 1978The Light Princess — King
• The Upchat Connection — Mr Hutcheson
• BBC2 Play of the Week — Man
• Mind Your Language — Mr Short
• 1976Decorators Limited — Porter
• The New Avengers — Burt Brandon
• 1976Trial by Combat — 2nd Leather Jerkin
• 1975Awkward Customers — Awkward Customer: Mr. Wart-hog
• Dawson's Weekly
• 1975Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done — The Pirate King (voice)
• Shadows — Higgs
• Two's Company — Mr. Begley
• Wonder Woman — Gen. Clewes
• Billy Liar
• Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
• 1972Bless This House — Mr. Wilson
• Crown Court
• 1972Lifting Safely
• Sykes — Arthur Coats
• 1972The Bouncing Boy — Ashcroft
• 1972The Villa Maroc — Lionel
• 1972What Became of Jack and Jill? — Trouncer
• Budgie — Det. Inspector Shepherd
• Justice — Supt. George Grover
• 1971Office Party — Manager
• The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes — Inspector Beedel
• 1970Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It — Mr. Tundish
• Doomwatch — Thomas Prentice
• 1970I Can't See My Little Willie — Frank Palmer
• Play for Today — Ashcroft, Frank Palmer, Lionel
• 1970Roll On Four O'Clock — Ted Crampton
• 1970Start the Revolution Without Me — Dr. Duval
• 1970The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer — Blacket
• ITV Saturday Night Theatre — Ted Crampton, Bert Clarke
• 1968Dracula Has Risen from the Grave — Village Landlord
• The Expert — Arnold Bottomley
• The First Lady
• The Ronnie Barker Playhouse — Badger
• 1968The Strange Affair — Supt. Kingsley
• ITV Playhouse — Albert Verdoni, Mr. Tundish, Grimston
• 1967In Two Minds — Mr. Winter
• Man in a Suitcase
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — Mr. Fawcett
• 1967Smashing Time — Irishman
• 1967The Confession — Albert Verdoni
• 1966Doctor Who: The Smugglers — Cherub
• King of the River — Reverend Ackroyd
• 1965Ferry Cross the Mersey — Mr. Lumsden
• 1965Life at the Top — Graffham
• Public Eye — Alec Payton
• 1964Nightmare — John
• Sherlock Holmes
• 1964The Bargee — Official in Office
• The Wednesday Play — Mr. Winter
• Theatre 625 — Arkwright, Governor
• Espionage — Leo Winters
• Sergeant Cork — Mr. Bellamy
• 1963The Cracksman — Fred
• 1963Tom Jones — Mr. Fitzpatrick
• Dr. Finlay's Casebook — Tom Farquhar
• 1962In the Doghouse — Examiner (Uncredited)
• Steptoe and Son — Uncle Arthur
• 1962The Brain — Thomas Gabler
• The Saint — Harold Laker, Milton Ourley
• Z-Cars
• The Avengers — Burgess, Maxwell Barker
• An Age of Kings — Earl of Northumberland, Ancient Pistol
• Danger Man — Blatta
• 1960Hell Is a City — Doug Savage
• No Hiding Place
• 1958A Night to Remember — Carpathia Purser Hughes (uncredited)
• Saturday Playhouse — George Day, Bob Sanders, Mr. Jackson, Inspector Fitchitt
• 1958Violent Playground — Chief Inspector
• 1957Fortune Is a Woman — Hotel Porter
• 1957Miracle in Soho — Foreman
• 1957The Secret Place — Harry
• Armchair Theatre — Vincenzo Galassi, Dennis Fleming, Manager
• Dixon of Dock Green — Topper Brown, Jackson, Monty Pitman
• The Adventures of Robin Hood — Dr. Quince
• 1952Okinawa — Yeoman