Norman Bird

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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

Movies and shows, newest first

2005
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
Movie Mr. Arrad (archive footage) (uncredited)
1996
Crossing the Floor
Movie Grandfather
1993
Shadowlands
Movie Taxi Driver Witness
1992
Born Kicking
Movie Mr Radley
1992
Miss Pym's Day Out
Movie Man on Bus
1988
After Henry
TV show Mr Henderson
1986
Buddy
Movie Mr Normington
1985
Lytton's Diary
TV show Charles Adams
1985
Screen Two
TV show Grandfather
1984
This Office Life
Movie Seeds
1984
Black Carrion
Movie Henry Bircher
1984
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
TV show Henry Bircher
1984
A Voyage Round My Father
Movie Ham
1983
The Fourth Arm
TV show Col. Cole
1982
The Ghost Downstairs
Movie Mr. Morris
1982
Break Point
TV show Major Houghton-Jones