[IMG]http://www.lynpaulwebsite.org/Resources/NormanWisdom-programme300.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Who, I hear you cry?[/B]
Sir Norman Wisdom (OBE) was an English comedian and actor and produced his films between 1953 and 1966 and known for his act 'Norman Pitkin'. These films had initially made more money than the James Bond films and secured his status as a celebrity in lands such as South America and Iran; also Albania where a lot of films were banned so residents would only have seen his films.
[IMG]http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/images/noel/upintheworld1.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Personal life - WW2[/B]
At the outbreak of World War II Wisdom was sent to work in a communications centre in a command bunker in London where he connected telephone calls from war leaders to the prime minister. He met Winston Churchill on several occasions when asked for updates on incoming calls and once was disciplined for calling him Winnie. He then joined the Royal Corps of Signals and performed a similar function with a military unit based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. After Wisdom appeared at a charity concert at the Cheltenham Town Hall actor Rex Harrison came backstage and urged him to become a professional entertainer
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[B]Main Filmography[/B]
A Date with a Dream (1948)
Trouble in Store (1953)
One Good Turn (1954)
As Long as They're Happy (1955) (cameo)
Man of the Moment (1955)
Up in the World (1956)
Just My Luck (1957)
The Square Peg (1958)
Follow a Star (1959)
There Was a Crooked Man (1960)
The Bulldog Breed (1960)
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)
The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968)
What's Good for the Goose (1969)
These were to be released this year on DVD.
[B]Video clips[/B]
[MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXPPyPIZO-U[/MEDIA]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtIstIKkBWs[/media]
[B]Health decline & Death[/B]
In mid-2006, after he suffered an irregular heart rhythm, Wisdom was flown by helicopter to hospital in Liverpool and after a few days was fitted with a heart pacemaker. In August 2007, newspapers of the Daily Mail group and the Isle of Man Newspapers reported that Wisdom was in the Abbotswood nursing home in Ballasalla, where he had been resident from 12 July 2007.
In the six months prior to his death, Wisdom suffered a series of strokes causing a decline in his physical and mental health. He died at 6:46 pm on 4 October 2010 at Abbotswood nursing home on the Isle of Man at the age of 95. According to his publicist, Phil Day, "I have never met anyone in the profession who didn't like him, right up to royalty". His funeral took place on 22 October 2010 in Douglas, Isle of Man and all of the Isle of Man were invited. His well known cloth cap was placed on the coffin in the church
[url]http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fentertainment-arts-11473192&ei=3yQJTeLaIcGKhQesy8iyDw&usg=AFQjCNGrnhqRr-Lm7R3Cpi9PWbph1gOcGQ[/url]
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49369000/jpg/_49369025_001696607-1.jpg[/IMG]
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