Norman Bird

Acting

Born October 30, 1920, Coalville, Leicestershire, England, UK

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

• 2005The Funny Blokes of British Comedy — Mr. Arrad (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 1996Crossing the Floor — Grandfather
• 1993Shadowlands — Taxi Driver Witness
• 1992Born Kicking — Mr Radley
• 1992Miss Pym's Day Out — Man on Bus
• After Henry — Mr Henderson
• 1986Buddy — Mr Normington
• Lytton's Diary — Charles Adams
• Screen Two — Grandfather
• 1984A Voyage Round My Father — Ham
• 1984Black Carrion — Henry Bircher
• Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense — Henry Bircher
• 1984This Office Life — Seeds
• The Fourth Arm — Col. Cole
• Break Point — Major Houghton-Jones
• 1982The Ghost Downstairs — Mr. Morris
• 1981If You Go Down in the Woods Today — Doctor
• 1981The Final Conflict — Dr. Philmore
• Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years — Sir Maurice Hanley
• 1980A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special — Mr Braithwaite
• Hammer House of Horror — Basil
• To Serve Them All My Days — Alderman Blunt
• Yes Minister
• Friday Night, Saturday Morning
• Thomas & Sarah — Gilbert
• Worzel Gummidge — Mr. Braithwaite
• All Creatures Great and Small — Farmer Benson
• Life Begins at Forty — Dr Gardiner
• Return of the Saint — Morgan
• The Glums — Office Manager
• 1978The Lord of the Rings — Bilbo (voice)
• 1978The Medusa Touch — Major Henry Morlar
• Miss Jones And Son
• Raffles
• 1976Baby Sitters
• 1976Double Trouble
• 1976Monkey Tricks
• 1976On the Tiles
• 1976Pot Luck — Farmer
• 1976The Big Kick
• 1976The Slipper and the Rose — Dress Shop Proprieter
• 1976Wedding Bells
• Yanks Go Home — Leonard Chambers
• Angels
• Fawlty Towers — Mr. Arrad
• 1975King Arthur, the Young Warlord — Ambrose
• Two's Company — Mr. Bunn
• Happy Ever After — Mr Fletcher
• Seven Faces of Woman — Ken
• 1973Elementary, My Dear Watson — Inspector Street
• Up The Workers — Sid Stubbins
• Arthur of the Britons — Ambrose
• Crown Court
• 1972Doomwatch — Brewer
• My Wife Next Door
• 1972Ooh...You Are Awful — Warder Burke
• Shirley's World
• The Adventurer — Brooks
• The Organization — Ken Grist
• 1972Young Winston — Party Chairman
• Bless This House — Vet
• Budgie — Inspector Charles Upton
• 1971Hands of the Ripper — Police Inspector
• Jason King
• 1971Please Sir! — Reynolds
• Suspicion — Harry Beardsley
• The Guardians — Tom Henryson
• 1971The Raging Moon — Dr Matthews
• The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes — Inspector Trent
• 1970The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer — Alderman Poot
• 1970The Virgin and the Gypsy — Uncle Fred
• 1970Up Among the Cuckoos — Walter
• 1969All at Sea — Mr. Danvers
• Department S — Drayton
• ITV Saturday Night Theatre — Father, Stanley Nicholson
• 1969Oh! What a Lovely War — Training Sgt (uncredited)
• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) — Elliot
• 1969Run a Crooked Mile — Sgt. Hooper
• Softly Softly: Task Force — Samuel Tomkins
• 1969Takeover — Father
• 1969The Limbo Line
• W. Somerset Maugham — Arthur Low
• 1968A Dandy in Aspic — Copperfield
• Half Hour Story — Harry
• Sanctuary
• 1966End in Tears — Charles 'Whoopy' Cushion
• 1966Sky West and Crooked — Mr. Cheeseman - undertaker
• 1966The Wrong Box — Clergyman
• Till Death Us Do Part — Landlord
• Blackmail — Henry Cobb
• Gideon's Way — Supt. Fred Lee
• It's Not Me - It's Them! — Mr. Partridge
• Public Eye — Arthur Biddle
• 1965The Hill — Commandant
• Thirty-Minute Theatre — Arthur Pendlebury
• 1964First Men in the Moon — Stuart
• 1964Hot Enough for June — Employment Exchange Clerk
• 1964The Bargee — Waterways Supervisor Albert Williams
• 1964The Beauty Jungle — Mr. Edward Freeman
• 1964The Black Torment — Harris
• The Protectors — Barnaby
• 1964The Trial of Dr. Fancy — Charles Lincoln
• Theatre 625 — William Oaks
• Thursday Theatre — Harry Lancaster
• 196380,000 Suspects — Harold Davis
• 1963Bitter Harvest — Mr. Pitt
• 1963Maniac — Salon
• 1963The Cracksman — Policeman
• 1963The Mind Benders — Aubrey
• 1963The Punch and Judy Man — Reginald Fletcher
• 1962In Search of the Castaways — Senior Yacht Guard
• 1962Night of the Eagle — Doctor
• Steptoe and Son — Bank Manager, Mr. Dryson
• 1962Term of Trial — Mr. Taylor
• The Saint — Mr. Spode, Weems
• Z-Cars
• 1961Cash on Demand — Arthur Sanderson
• Drama 61-67 — Father
• The Avengers
• 1961The Secret Partner — Ralph Beldon
• 1961Very Important Person — Senior British Officer Travers
• 1961Victim — Harold Doe
• 1961Whistle Down the Wind — Eddie
• Coronation Street — Frank Jackson
• 1960Man in the Moon — Herbert
• 1960The Angry Silence — Roberts
• 1960The League of Gentlemen — Weaver
• No Hiding Place — Arthur Johnson
• Armchair Theatre — Walter, Charles Lincoln, Spooner
• 1954An Inspector Calls — Jones-Collins - Foreman