Known For
Acting
Born
Oct 30, 1920
Died
Apr 22, 2005
Place of Birth
Coalville, Leicestershire, England, UK
Credits
127 titles
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).
Known For
Filmography
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
Mr. Arrad (archive footage) (uncredited)
Crossing the Floor
Grandfather
Shadowlands
Taxi Driver Witness
Born Kicking
Mr Radley
Miss Pym's Day Out
Man on Bus
After Henry
Mr Henderson
Buddy
Mr Normington
Lytton's Diary
Charles Adams
Screen Two
Grandfather
This Office Life
Seeds
Black Carrion
Henry Bircher
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
Henry Bircher
A Voyage Round My Father
Ham
The Fourth Arm
Col. Cole
The Ghost Downstairs
Mr. Morris
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
Sir Maurice Hanley
If You Go Down in the Woods Today
Doctor
The Final Conflict
Dr. Philmore
A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special
Mr Braithwaite
To Serve Them All My Days
Alderman Blunt
Hammer House of Horror
Basil
Yes Minister
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
Worzel Gummidge
Mr. Braithwaite
Thomas & Sarah
The Lord of the Rings
Bilbo (voice)
The Glums
Office Manager
Return of the Saint
Morgan
Life Begins at Forty
Dr Gardiner
The Medusa Touch
Major Henry Morlar
All Creatures Great and Small
Farmer Benson
Miss Jones And Son
Raffles
Yanks Go Home
The Slipper and the Rose
Dress Shop Proprieter
Baby Sitters
On the Tiles
Pot Luck
Farmer
The Big Kick
Wedding Bells
Monkey Tricks
Double Trouble
Fawlty Towers
Mr. Arrad
Two's Company
Mr. Bunn
Angels
King Arthur, the Young Warlord
Ambrose
Happy Ever After
Mr Fletcher
Seven Faces of Woman
Ken
Up The Workers
Sid Stubbins
Elementary, My Dear Watson
Inspector Street