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Norman Bird

Norman Bird

Birthday: 1920-10-30 | Place of Birth: 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).

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1992
Miss Pym's Day Out

as    Man on Bus

1992
Born Kicking

as    Mr Radley

1984
A Voyage Round My Father

as    Ham

1984
Black Carrion

as    Henry Bircher

1984
This Office Life

as    Seeds

1982
The Ghost Downstairs

as    Mr. Morris

1981
1980
To Serve Them All My Days

as    Alderman Blunt

1978
The Lord of the Rings

as    Bilbo (voice)

1973
Up The Workers

as    Sid Stubbins

1972
Doomwatch

as    Brewer

1972
Hands of the Ripper

as    Police Inspector

1972
Ooh...You Are Awful

as    Warder Burke

1970
The Virgin and the Gypsy

as    Uncle Fred

1970
Up Among the Cuckoos

as    Walter

1969
Takeover

as    Father

1969
All at Sea

as    Mr. Danvers

1969
Run a Crooked Mile

as    Sgt. Hooper

1968
A Dandy in Aspic

as    Copperfield