Norman Bird
Acting
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).
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
Mr. Arrad (archive footage) (uncredited)
Crossing the Floor
Grandfather
Shadowlands
Taxi Driver Witness
Born Kicking
Mr Radley
Miss Pym's Day Out
Man on Bus
Buddy
Mr Normington
This Office Life
Seeds
Black Carrion
Henry Bircher
A Voyage Round My Father
Ham
The Ghost Downstairs
Mr. Morris
If You Go Down in the Woods Today
Doctor
The Final Conflict
Dr. Philmore
A Cup O' Tea An' A Slice O' Cake - Worzel Gummidge Christmas Special
Mr Braithwaite
The Lord of the Rings
Bilbo (voice)
The Medusa Touch
Major Henry Morlar
The Slipper and the Rose
Dress Shop Proprieter
Pot Luck
Farmer
Monkey Tricks
Wedding Bells
Double Trouble
The Big Kick
On the Tiles
Baby Sitters
King Arthur, the Young Warlord
Ambrose
Elementary, My Dear Watson
Inspector Street
Ooh...You Are Awful
Warder Burke
Young Winston
Party Chairman
Doomwatch
Brewer
Hands of the Ripper
Police Inspector
Please Sir!
Reynolds
The Raging Moon
Dr Matthews
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
Alderman Poot
Up Among the Cuckoos
Walter
The Virgin and the Gypsy
Uncle Fred
Run a Crooked Mile
Sgt. Hooper
Takeover
Father
Oh! What a Lovely War
Training Sgt (uncredited)
The Limbo Line
All at Sea
Mr. Danvers
A Dandy in Aspic
Copperfield
The Wrong Box
Clergyman
Sky West and Crooked
Mr. Cheeseman - undertaker
The Hill
Commandant
The Black Torment
Harris
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
Charles Lincoln
The Beauty Jungle
Mr. Edward Freeman
First Men in the Moon
Stuart
The Bargee
Waterways Supervisor Albert Williams
Hot Enough for June
Employment Exchange Clerk
80,000 Suspects
Harold Davis
Maniac
Salon
The Punch and Judy Man
Reginald Fletcher
Bitter Harvest
Mr. Pitt
The Mind Benders
Aubrey
The Cracksman
Policeman
In Search of the Castaways
Senior Yacht Guard
Term of Trial
Mr. Taylor
Night of the Eagle
Doctor
Cash on Demand
Arthur Sanderson
Victim
Harold Doe
Whistle Down the Wind
Eddie
The Secret Partner
Ralph Beldon
Very Important Person
Senior British Officer Travers
Man in the Moon
Herbert
The League of Gentlemen
Weaver
The Angry Silence
Roberts
An Inspector Calls
Jones-Collins - Foreman