Acting
Norman Bird
EN, DE cinema · 68 credits
Born
30 October 1920
Died
22 April 2005 (aged 84)
Birthplace
Coalville, Leicestershire, England, UK
Also known as Норман Бёрд · John George Norman Bird
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
2005
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
as Mr. Arrad (archive footage) (uncredited)
Crossing the Floor
as Grandfather
Shadowlands
as Taxi Driver Witness
Born Kicking
as Mr Radley
Miss Pym's Day Out
as Man on Bus
Buddy
as Mr Normington
Black Carrion
as Henry Bircher
The Ghost Downstairs
as Mr. Morris
The Final Conflict
as Dr. Philmore
The Lord of the Rings
as Bilbo (voice)
The Medusa Touch
as Major Henry Morlar
The Slipper and the Rose
as Dress Shop Proprieter
Elementary, My Dear Watson
as Inspector Street
Doomwatch
as Brewer
Ooh...You Are Awful
as Warder Burke
Young Winston
as Party Chairman
Hands of the Ripper
as Police Inspector
The Raging Moon
as Dr Matthews
Please Sir!
as Reynolds
The Virgin and the Gypsy
as Uncle Fred
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
as Alderman Poot
Run a Crooked Mile
as Sgt. Hooper
All at Sea
as Mr. Danvers
Oh! What a Lovely War
as Training Sgt (uncredited)
A Dandy in Aspic
as Copperfield
Sky West and Crooked
as Mr. Cheeseman - undertaker
The Wrong Box
as Clergyman
End in Tears
1966
End in Tears
as Charles 'Whoopy' Cushion
The Hill
as Commandant
First Men in the Moon
as Stuart
The Black Torment
as Harris
The Bargee
as Waterways Supervisor Albert Williams
The Beauty Jungle
as Mr. Edward Freeman
Hot Enough for June
as Employment Exchange Clerk
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
1964
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
as Charles Lincoln
Maniac
as Salon
The Mind Benders
as Aubrey
80,000 Suspects
as Harold Davis
The Cracksman
as Policeman
Bitter Harvest
as Mr. Pitt
The Punch and Judy Man
as Reginald Fletcher
In Search of the Castaways
as Senior Yacht Guard
Night of the Eagle
as Doctor
Term of Trial
as Mr. Taylor
Cash on Demand
as Arthur Sanderson
The Secret Partner
as Ralph Beldon
Victim
as Harold Doe
Very Important Person
as Senior British Officer Travers
The League of Gentlemen
as Weaver
The Angry Silence
as Roberts
Man in the Moon
as Herbert
An Inspector Calls
as Jones-Collins - Foreman