Norman Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBEwas 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. Wisdom gained celebrity status in lands as far apart as South America, Iran and many Eastern Bloc countries, particularly in Albania where his films were the only ones by Western actors permitted by dictator Enver Hoxha to be shown. Charlie Chaplin once referred to Wisdom as his "favourite clown"...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth4 February 1915
You see I'm semi-retired now and don't work all the time, only most of it!
I've an idea for doing a Situation Comedy myself but its always difficult to get people to listen to you because they like to put their own ideas forward.
All my boyhood, all I ever wanted was to be loved.
I was born in London, and went to school in Scotland - I used to be dead tired when I got home at night.
You know I've got a chum, a smashing mate, he's got a dog with no legs, and he calls it a cigarette. It's true, yeah, because at nighttime he has to take it out for a drag.
My only phobia is untidiness. My hair has to be neatly kept; my shoes are always clean. Everything has to be in a straight line, in its place.
I've been extremely lucky having been in the army when I was a boy of fourteen.
I used to first go on to entertain an audience. But now I go, and this is really true - I go on to have fun with a crowd of my chums.
I owe everything to the army.
I play drums, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, piano.
There are people who like just ordinary comedy fun, and making mistakes - which I do easily - and then there are people who like the falling over.
It was absolutely thrilling to meet Laurel and Hardy, they were so nice.
I've always had a sense of humour, and I still do, so I just want to go on performing as long as I can. It's as simple as that.
I was in the band as a boy and was taught music and learned to compose.