Norman Wisdom

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Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, born 4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010, was an English actor, comedian, and singer-songwriter best known for a string of comedies starring his hapless onscreen character, which was often referred to as Norman Pitkin.

Following the introduction of Trouble in Store, his first film in lead role, he was given the 1953 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles. Wisdom gained fame in lands as far apart as South America, Iran, and many Eastern Bloc countries, particularly Albania, where his films were the only ones by Western actors allowed by tyrant Enver Hoxha to be seen.

Charlie Chaplin once referred to Wisdom as his "favourite clown." William Dowell later forged a career on Broadway in New York and as a television actor, receiving critical acclaim for his dramatic role as a dying cancer patient in the television play Going Gently in 1981.

He toured Australia and South Africa.

A hospice was named in his honour following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

In 1995, he was granted the Freedom of the City of London and Tirana.

He was first elected OBE and knighted five years later.

Early life

Norman Joseph Wisdom was born in London's Marylebone neighborhood. Frederick, a chauffeur, and Maud Wisdom (née Targett), a West End dressmaker who often worked for theatres, and he made a dress for Queen Mary, were two of his children. On July 15, 1912, the couple married in Marylebone. Frederick Thomas "Fred" Wisdom (13 December 1912 – 1 July 1971) Wisdom had an elder brother, Frederick Thomas "Fred" Wisdom.

The family lived in Fernhead Road, Maida Vale, London W9, where they slept in a joint room. He and his brother were often beaten by their father, who would pick them up and throw them across the room.

Wisdom grew up in a children's home in Kent, Kent, but he returned to become an errand boy in a grocer's store after leaving school at 13. He was homeless and sleeping rough in London in 1929, when he walked (by his own account) to Cardiff, Wales, where he became a cabin boy in the Merchant Navy. He later served as a waiter and page in hotels, where bed and board were provided for the employees.

Personal life

Wisdom was married twice before. Doreen Brett, his first wife, was married in 1941. When Dominien gave birth to Michael (born 1944), they had separated by 1944, the father was Albert Gerald Hardwick, a telephone engineer. In 1946, the couple was divorced.

Freda Isobel Simpson's second wife, Freda Isobel Simpson, married him in 1947; the couple had two children: Nicholas (born 1953, who later played first-class cricket for Sussex) and Jacqueline (born 1954). The couple divorced in 1969, with Wisdom affording the children full custody. Freda Wisdom died in Brighton in 1992.

He lived in Ballalough, Andreas, for 27 years (Manx for "lake farm"; also a parody of the English "belly laugh." He aided various charities and charitable causes, including orphanages in Albania. Wisdom appeared in a video for the Manx girl group Twisted Angels in 2005 to promote the local charity Project 21.

He was involved in a notorious court lawsuit (Wisdom vs. Chamberlain, 1968), in which the Inland Revenue sought to pay the tax on gains earned from the selling of silver bullions he had purchased when concerned about the depreciation of the pound's. He claimed that it was an investment, but the court found that it had been a trading venture and was thus directly liable to income tax.

Wisdom was a lifelong fan and a former board member of Brighton & Hove Albion. He also adored Everton and Newcastle United. He loved golf and was a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats. He was an honorary member of the Winkle Club, a non-profit charity in Hastings, East Sussex.

He had a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental R Type fastback, which he first purchased in 1961 and then in the late 1980s, and he became a lover of cars. He bought a Shelby Cobra 427, CSX3206, in New York, after the divorce from Freda Simpson, which he owned until 1986, when it was sold to another car enthusiast in Brighton, United Kingdom. He failed a Department of Transportation fitness-to-drive assessment until his age and declining mental stability, he owned and drove a 1987 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit and a Jaguar S-Type, both of which were sold in September 2005.

In 1963, he purchased a new motor yacht. The 94 foot (29 m) long hull and superstructure were constructed in Spain for £80,000 before being towed to Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, for fitting out. She was named M/Y Conquest after three years of extensive research and sea trials and was valued at £1.25 million by insurers. It was available for charter at £6,000 a month, but Wisdom later sold it, saying he was "no sailor."

Fenella Fielding, an actor who appeared on Wisdom's 1959 film Follow a Star, said he was "not a very pleasant guy." You're already having a pass: don't forget to tie your skirt first thing in the morning. Not exactly a romantic way to begin a day of filming. Lynda Bellingham, a writer for Wisdom on A Little Bit of Wisdom, recalled a comedy sketch in which "for ten minutes I stood around, but you couldn't say anything because he was the master of comedy." Tina Charles, a singer who appeared on "I Love to Love" in 1976, claims Wisdom molested her in his dressing room when she was 16.

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Later career

Wisdom spent a brief period in the United States to appear in the Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn musical comedy Walking Happy, based on Harold Brighouse's play Hobson's Choice. Will Mosop's performance attracted a Tony Award.

Wisdom appeared in his first Hollywood film, The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), and George Bernard Shaw's Androcles and The Lion (1967) with songs by Richard Rogers and co-starring No.l Coward.

After a typical appearance on The Ed Sullivan Exhibition, further US opportunities were denied to him when he had to return to London after his second wife left him. His subsequent work was mainly limited to television, and he toured the world with a hit cabaret act. In 1981, he received critical acclaim for his dramatic role as a dying cancer patient in the television play Going Gently.

Wisdom was one of many actors considered for the role of Frank Spencer in Several Mothers.' However, he resigned from the role and it eventually went to Michael Crawford. "Norman Wisdom was thrown into the role but decided against it because he didn't find it funny," Raymond Allen later said.

Wisdom performed his theme song "Don't Laugh At Me (because I'm a Fool)" on BBC1's A Jubilee of Music on December 31, 1976, honoring British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee. Wisdom had performed at several Royal Command Performances, the first being in 1952.

After touring South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia with some success, his appearances in Britain became less frequent. On the Isle of Man, he spent a significant portion of the 1980s in seclusion.

Wisdom's career was revived in the 1990s, aided by young comedian Lee Evans, whose appearance was often compared to Wisdom's. In the 2000 New Year's list of honors, the knighthood he was given was the pinnacle of this new fame, for services to entertainment. He walked away and performed his signature ride at the masquerade, at which the Queen smiled and chuckled.

Billy Ingleton played Billy Ingleton in the long-running BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine, from 1995 to 2004.

In 1996, he was given a Special Achievement Award from the London Film Critics.

In 2000, Wisdom appeared on a This Is Your Life special directed by actor and director Todd Carty. He appeared as a half-time guest at the England vs. Albania 2002 World Cup qualifier in Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, and scored a penalty at Leazes End.

Wisdom appeared as a butler in a low-budget horror film in 2002. He appeared on Coronation Street in 2004, and Ernie Crabbe, a playing fitness enthusiast, was on display. He came out of retirement to appear in a short film named Expresso in 2007.

Wisdom was a well-known performer in Albania, where he was one of the few Western actors whose films were allowed in the country under Enver Hoxha. Norman's ultimately victorious fights against capitalism, portrayed by Mr Grimsdale and Jerry Desmonde's effete aristocratic characters, were a Communist parable on the class war, according to Hoxha's dialectical materialist view. After the appearance in his films, he was referred to as Mr Pitkin. He traveled to a post-Stalinist country in 1995, where he was welcomed by many cheerleaders, including then President Sali Berisha. Wisdom was filmed by Newsnight as he investigated a Children's project funded by ChildHope UK.

His appearance at the training ground overshadowed David Beckham's on a visit in 2001, which coincided with the England football team's appearance in Tirana. He appeared on the pitch before the Albania vs. England match was played wearing a half-Albanian and half-English football shirt. He was well-received by the crowd, particularly after he appeared on one of his signature trips on his way out to the center circle. Wisdom was named an honorary citizen of Tirana in 1995.

Tony Hawks, a writer and television series One Hit Wonderland, joined Wisdom and released "Big in Albania" with Tim Rice, in an attempt to crack the Albanian pop charts. It ranked at number 18 on the Top Albania Radio chart, ranked 18th.

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