Norman Bird
Acting • Born 1920-10-30 – Died 2005-04-22
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
116 credits
The Lord of the Rings
Movie • 1978
Bilbo (voice)
The Hill
Movie • 1965
Commandant
Doomwatch
Movie • 1972
Brewer
First Men in the Moon
Movie • 1964
Stuart
Whistle Down the Wind
Movie • 1961
Eddie
In Search of the Castaways
Movie • 1962
Senior Yacht Guard
Maniac
Movie • 1963
Salon
Cash on Demand
Movie • 1961
Arthur Sanderson
Night of the Eagle
Movie • 1962
Doctor
The League of Gentlemen
Movie • 1960
Weaver
The Mind Benders
Movie • 1963
Aubrey
Shadowlands
Movie • 1993
Taxi Driver Witness
The Angry Silence
Movie • 1960
Roberts
Man in the Moon
Movie • 1960
Herbert
Ooh...You Are Awful
Movie • 1972
Warder Burke
Term of Trial
Movie • 1962
Mr. Taylor
The Secret Partner
Movie • 1961
Ralph Beldon
The Black Torment
Movie • 1964
Harris
If You Go Down in the Woods Today
Movie • 1981
Doctor
The Bargee
Movie • 1964
Waterways Supervisor Albert Williams
Sky West and Crooked
Movie • 1966
Mr. Cheeseman - undertaker
A Dandy in Aspic
Movie • 1968
Copperfield
The Beauty Jungle
Movie • 1964
Mr. Edward Freeman
80,000 Suspects
Movie • 1963
Harold Davis
The Cracksman
Movie • 1963
Policeman
Run a Crooked Mile
Movie • 1969
Sgt. Hooper
This Office Life
Movie • 1984
Seeds
The Virgin and the Gypsy
Movie • 1970
Uncle Fred
Up Among the Cuckoos
Movie • 1970
Walter
Victim
Movie • 1961
Harold Doe
All at Sea
Movie • 1969
Mr. Danvers
The Wrong Box
Movie • 1966
Clergyman
Wedding Bells
Movie • 1976
Double Trouble
Movie • 1976
The Big Kick
Movie • 1976
Baby Sitters
Movie • 1976
On the Tiles
Movie • 1976
Monkey Tricks
Movie • 1976
Pot Luck
Movie • 1976
Farmer
Oh! What a Lovely War
Movie • 1969
Training Sgt (uncredited)
Elementary, My Dear Watson
Movie • 1973
Inspector Street
The Slipper and the Rose
Movie • 1976
Dress Shop Proprieter
A Voyage Round My Father
Movie • 1984
Ham
The Ghost Downstairs
Movie • 1982
Mr. Morris
Bitter Harvest
Movie • 1963
Mr. Pitt
Hands of the Ripper
Movie • 1971
Police Inspector
Crossing the Floor
Movie • 1996
Grandfather
Hot Enough for June
Movie • 1964
Employment Exchange Clerk
An Inspector Calls
Movie • 1954
Jones-Collins - Foreman
Very Important Person
Movie • 1961
Senior British Officer Travers
A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special
Movie • 1980
Mr Braithwaite
Born Kicking
Movie • 1992
Mr Radley
The Raging Moon
Movie • 1971
Dr Matthews
The Punch and Judy Man
Movie • 1963
Reginald Fletcher
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
Movie • 1970
Alderman Poot
The Medusa Touch
Movie • 1978
Major Henry Morlar
The Limbo Line
Movie • 1969
The Final Conflict
Movie • 1981
Dr. Philmore
King Arthur, the Young Warlord
Movie • 1975
Ambrose
Please Sir!
Movie • 1971
Reynolds
Buddy
Movie • 1986
Mr Normington
Black Carrion
Movie • 1984
Henry Bircher
Miss Pym's Day Out
Movie • 1992
Man on Bus
Young Winston
Movie • 1972
Party Chairman
Takeover
Movie • 1969
Father
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
Movie • 1964
Charles Lincoln
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
Movie • 2005
Mr. Arrad (archive footage) (uncredited)
Budgie
TV • 1971
Inspector Charles Upton
Department S
TV • 1969
Drayton
Thomas & Sarah
TV • 1979
Z-Cars
TV • 1962
Gideon's Way
TV • 1965
Supt. Fred Lee
Fawlty Towers
TV • 1975
Mr. Arrad
The Avengers
TV • 1961
Jason King
TV • 1971
Crown Court
TV • 1972
The Saint
TV • 1962
Mr. Spode
Yes Minister
TV • 1980
Raffles
TV • 1977
Shirley's World
TV • 1972
Angels
TV • 1975
No Hiding Place
TV • 1959
The Guardians
TV • 1971
Sanctuary
TV • 1967
Yanks Go Home
TV • 1976
My Wife Next Door
TV • 1972
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
TV • 1984
Henry Bircher
Life Begins at Forty
TV • 1978
Miss Jones And Son
TV • 1977
Hammer House of Horror
TV • 1980
Basil
The Adventurer
TV • 1972
Brooks
The Saint
TV • 1962
Weems
Return of the Saint
TV • 1978
Morgan
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
TV • 1969
Elliot
All Creatures Great and Small
TV • 1978
Farmer Benson
Two's Company
TV • 1975
Mr. Bunn
Worzel Gummidge
TV • 1979
Mr. Braithwaite
Arthur of the Britons
TV • 1972
Ambrose
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
TV • 1971
Inspector Trent
Public Eye
TV • 1965
Arthur Biddle
Up The Workers
TV • 1973
Sid Stubbins
The Glums
TV • 1978
Office Manager
Armchair Theatre
TV • 1956
Walter
Softly Softly: Task Force
TV • 1969
Samuel Tomkins
Coronation Street
TV • 1960
Frank Jackson
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
TV • 1981
Sir Maurice Hanley
Screen Two
TV • 1985
Grandfather
Thirty-Minute Theatre
TV • 1965
Arthur Pendlebury
It's Not Me - It's Them!
TV • 1965
Mr. Partridge
The Fourth Arm
TV • 1983
Col. Cole
Till Death Us Do Part
TV • 1966
Landlord
To Serve Them All My Days
TV • 1980
Alderman Blunt
Theatre 625
TV • 1964
William Oaks
After Henry
TV • 1988
Mr Henderson
Drama 61-67
TV • 1961
Father
Lytton's Diary
TV • 1985
Charles Adams