Britain says "Goodbye" to Norman Wisdom.Like all baby boomers, I grew up in the 1950's and the days were grey. These were the years of Post-War austerity. There wasn't much prosperity and entertainment at home consisted of programmes by the BBC on the radio. The weekly visit to the cinema on a friday night was something we kids looked forward too. It was magic : soft, comfortable seats, warmth, the 'B' film, Pathe News, Adverts, the main film and a choc ice.
I have fond memories of those nights in that gentler, less wealthy age and Norman Wisdom is part of my nostalgia.
What I didn't know about Norman was that he :
* was born to a chauffeur father and a dressmaker maker mother in Marylebone, London, in 1915.
* spent time in a children’s home, aged nine, when his parents split up.
* ran away and became an 'errand boy', before walking and hitching to Cardiff to become a cabin boy in the Merchant Navy.
* later joined the Army, honed his talent for entertaining and learnt to play 11 instruments.
* was a champion boxer during his time in the Army.
* during World War II, worked in communications, connecting telephone calls to Winston Churchill.
* co-wrote Vera Lynn classic song :'There'll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs Of Dover'.
* got his showbiz break in 1945, performing in 'The Successful Failure' as a clown character which would be typical of the character which would become his trademark.
* had a fan in Charlie Chaplin who told him in 1950: “You will follow in my footsteps.”
* made his film debut three years later and went on to star in 19 films.
* was a cult figure in Communist Albania which banned all films from the West except his
* was given freedom of the city of Tirana and had an orphanage named after his cinematic alter ego, Norman Pitkin.
* was mobbed on holiday in Moscow in 1963.
* was, in the early 1970s, personally invited by Mao on a month-long tour of China.
* on tv, made 4 series of 'A Little Bit Of Wisdom', before displaying his straight acting talents in 1981 BBC play 'Going Gently', about a dying cancer patient. In later years he was a regular in 'Last of the Summer Wine'.
* In 2000 he was awarded a knighthood and tripped as he left the ceremony, reportedly to the amusement of the Queen.
* said: "My comedy is for children from three to 93. You do need a slightly childish sense of humour and if you haven't got that, it's very sad."
His films :
A Date with a Dream (1948)
Trouble in Store (1953)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ9HzlXMaOA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbwS9qcpi0k
One Good Turn (1954)
As Long as They're Happy (1955)
Man of the Moment (1955)
Up in the World (1956)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyYzwukAvL0
Just My Luck (1957)
The Square Peg (1958)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0Mp4HC09S0
Follow a Star (1959)
There Was a Crooked Man (1960)
The Bulldog Breed (1960)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIv-RWiBb-g
On the Beat (1962)
The Girl on the Boat (1962)
A Stitch in Time (1963)
The Early Bird (1965)
The Sandwich Man (1966)
Press for Time (1966)
Biography Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8
SNcocqFwp8
Biography Part 2 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BRotialo1E
Biography Part 3 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBJX70TSjgI&NR=1
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