Norman Bird
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 30, 1920
- Died
- April 22, 2005 (aged 84)
- Birthplace
- Coalville, Leicestershire, England, UK
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
Movie · as Mr. Arrad (archive footage) (uncredited)
Crossing the Floor
Movie · as Grandfather
Shadowlands
Movie · as Taxi Driver Witness
Born Kicking
Movie · as Mr Radley
Miss Pym's Day Out
Movie · as Man on Bus
After Henry
TV · as Mr Henderson · 1 ep
Buddy
Movie · as Mr Normington
Screen Two
TV · as Grandfather · 1 ep
Lytton's Diary
TV · as Charles Adams · 2 eps
This Office Life
Movie · as Seeds
A Voyage Round My Father
Movie · as Ham
Black Carrion
Movie · as Henry Bircher
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
TV · as Henry Bircher · 1 ep
The Fourth Arm
TV · as Col. Cole · 1 ep
The Ghost Downstairs
Movie · as Mr. Morris
Break Point
TV · as Major Houghton-Jones · 3 eps
If You Go Down in the Woods Today
Movie · as Doctor
The Final Conflict
Movie · as Dr. Philmore
Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years
TV · as Sir Maurice Hanley · 1 ep
A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special
Movie · as Mr Braithwaite
Yes Minister
TV · 1 ep
Hammer House of Horror
TV · as Basil · 1 ep
To Serve Them All My Days
TV · as Alderman Blunt · 4 eps
Worzel Gummidge
TV · as Mr. Braithwaite · 23 eps
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
TV · 1 ep
Thomas & Sarah
TV · as Gilbert · 2 eps
The Lord of the Rings
Movie · as Bilbo (voice)
The Medusa Touch
Movie · as Major Henry Morlar
Return of the Saint
TV · as Morgan · 1 ep
All Creatures Great and Small
TV · as Farmer Benson · 2 eps
The Glums
TV · as Office Manager · 1 ep
Life Begins at Forty
TV · as Dr Gardiner · 1 ep
Raffles
TV · 1 ep
Miss Jones And Son
TV · 12 eps
Baby Sitters
Movie
Double Trouble
Movie
Wedding Bells
Movie
On the Tiles
Movie
The Big Kick
Movie
Monkey Tricks
Movie
Pot Luck
Movie · as Farmer
The Slipper and the Rose
Movie · as Dress Shop Proprieter
Yanks Go Home
TV · as Leonard Chambers · 7 eps
King Arthur, the Young Warlord
Movie · as Ambrose
Fawlty Towers
TV · as Mr. Arrad · 1 ep
Angels
TV · 1 ep
Two's Company
TV · as Mr. Bunn · 1 ep
Seven Faces of Woman
TV · as Ken · 1 ep
Happy Ever After
TV · as Mr Fletcher · 1 ep
Elementary, My Dear Watson
Movie · as Inspector Street
Up The Workers
TV · as Sid Stubbins · 14 eps
Doomwatch
Movie · as Brewer
Ooh...You Are Awful
Movie · as Warder Burke
Young Winston
Movie · as Party Chairman
Crown Court
TV · 1 ep
Shirley's World
TV · 1 ep
My Wife Next Door
TV · 1 ep
The Adventurer
TV · as Brooks · 1 ep
Arthur of the Britons
TV · as Ambrose · 1 ep
The Organization
TV · as Ken Grist · 2 eps
Hands of the Ripper
Movie · as Police Inspector
The Raging Moon
Movie · as Dr Matthews
Please Sir!
Movie · as Reynolds
Budgie
TV · as Inspector Charles Upton · 1 ep
Jason King
TV · 1 ep
The Guardians
TV · as Tom Henryson · 1 ep
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
TV · as Inspector Trent · 1 ep
Suspicion
TV · as Harry Beardsley · 1 ep
Bless This House
TV · as Vet · 1 ep
The Virgin and the Gypsy
Movie · as Uncle Fred
Up Among the Cuckoos
Movie · as Walter
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
Movie · as Alderman Poot
Run a Crooked Mile
Movie · as Sgt. Hooper
All at Sea
Movie · as Mr. Danvers
Oh! What a Lovely War
Movie · as Training Sgt (uncredited)
The Limbo Line
Movie
Takeover
Movie · as Father
Department S
TV · as Drayton · 1 ep
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
TV · as Elliot · 1 ep
Softly Softly: Task Force
TV · as Samuel Tomkins · 1 ep
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
TV · as Father, Stanley Nicholson · 1 ep
W. Somerset Maugham
TV · as Arthur Low · 1 ep
A Dandy in Aspic
Movie · as Copperfield
Sanctuary
TV · 1 ep
Half Hour Story
TV · as Harry · 1 ep
Sky West and Crooked
Movie · as Mr. Cheeseman - undertaker
The Wrong Box
Movie · as Clergyman
End in Tears
Movie · as Charles 'Whoopy' Cushion
Till Death Us Do Part
TV · as Landlord · 1 ep
The Hill
Movie · as Commandant
Gideon's Way
TV · as Supt. Fred Lee · 1 ep
Public Eye
TV · as Arthur Biddle · 1 ep
Thirty-Minute Theatre
TV · as Arthur Pendlebury · 1 ep
It's Not Me - It's Them!
TV · as Mr. Partridge · 6 eps
Blackmail
TV · as Henry Cobb · 1 ep
First Men in the Moon
Movie · as Stuart
The Black Torment
Movie · as Harris
The Bargee
Movie · as Waterways Supervisor Albert Williams
The Beauty Jungle
Movie · as Mr. Edward Freeman
Hot Enough for June
Movie · as Employment Exchange Clerk
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
Movie · as Charles Lincoln
Theatre 625
TV · as William Oaks · 1 ep
The Protectors
TV · as Barnaby · 1 ep
Thursday Theatre
TV · as Harry Lancaster · 1 ep
Maniac
Movie · as Salon
The Mind Benders
Movie · as Aubrey
80,000 Suspects
Movie · as Harold Davis
The Cracksman
Movie · as Policeman
Bitter Harvest
Movie · as Mr. Pitt
The Punch and Judy Man
Movie · as Reginald Fletcher
In Search of the Castaways
Movie · as Senior Yacht Guard
Night of the Eagle
Movie · as Doctor
Term of Trial
Movie · as Mr. Taylor
Z-Cars
TV · 1 ep
The Saint
TV · as Mr. Spode, Weems · 3 eps
Steptoe and Son
TV · as Bank Manager, Mr. Dryson · 1 ep
Whistle Down the Wind
Movie · as Eddie
Cash on Demand
Movie · as Arthur Sanderson
The Secret Partner
Movie · as Ralph Beldon
Victim
Movie · as Harold Doe
Very Important Person
Movie · as Senior British Officer Travers
The Avengers
TV · 1 ep
Drama 61-67
TV · as Father · 1 ep
The League of Gentlemen
Movie · as Weaver
The Angry Silence
Movie · as Roberts
Man in the Moon
Movie · as Herbert
Coronation Street
TV · as Frank Jackson · 1 ep
No Hiding Place
TV · as Arthur Johnson · 1 ep
Armchair Theatre
TV · as Walter, Charles Lincoln, Spooner · 1 ep
An Inspector Calls
Movie · as Jones-Collins - Foreman