Norman Wisdom

Known for ActingBorn 1915-02-04Died 2010-10-04Marylebone, London, England

Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin. These films initially made more money than the James Bond film series, and secured Wisdom a celebrity status in lands as far apart as South America, Iran and many Eastern Bloc countries, particularly in Albania where his films were permitted by Enver Hoxha – Wisdom was the only Western actor to enjoy this privilege. Charlie Chaplin famously referred to Wisdom as his "favourite clown". Wisdom later forged a career on Broadway and as a television actor, winning critical acclaim for his dramatic role of a dying cancer patient in the television play Going Gently in 1981. It was broadcast on 5 June that year. He toured Australia and South Africa. After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, a hospice was named in his honour. In 1995 he was given the Freedom of the City of London and of Tirana. The same year he received an OBE. Wisdom was knighted in 2000 and spent much of his later life on the Isle of Man. Some of his later appearances included roles in Last of the Summer Wine and Coronation Street, and he retired from acting at the age of 90 after his health declined.Read more

Movies & web series

An Audience with Bruce Forsyth

To See Such Fun

Androcles and the Lion

Where on Earth Is Katy Manning?

Innes Lloyd: The Producer

The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio

The Last Detective

Going Gently

On the Beat

The Early Bird

As Long as They're Happy

A Stitch in Time

Last of the Summer Wine

Playhouse

Norman Wisdom: His Story

Bergerac

It's Only TV But I Like It

Date with a Dream

The Merv Griffin Show

This Is Your Life

There Was a Crooked Man

The Sandwich Man

Man of the Moment

The Square Peg

Casualty

Up in the World

Follow a Star

One Good Turn

Just My Luck

Trouble in Store

The Girl on the Boat

The Bulldog Breed

Press for Time

What's Good for the Goose

The Mike Douglas Show

The Night They Raided Minsky's

Double X: The Name of the Game

Between The Sheets

Wogan

An Audience with...

The Legend of Harrow Woods

The Unforgettable Norman Wisdom

Norman Wisdom: Trouble On Tour

The Secret Life of Norman Wisdom Aged 92¾

Expresso

Thora Hird Tribute

Style Challenge

Cue Here for Laughs with John Virgo