Cast & creator
Norman Wisdom
Best known for The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The South Bank Show
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was 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. These films initially made more money than the James Bond film series, and secured Wisdom a celebrity status in lands as far apart as South America, Iran and many Eastern Bloc countries, particularly in Albania where his films were permitted by Enver Hoxha – Wisdom was the only Western actor to enjoy this privilege. Charlie Chaplin famously referred to Wisdom as his "favourite clown". Wisdom later forged a career on Broadway and as a television actor, winning critical acclaim for his dramatic role of a dying cancer patient in the television play Going Gently in 1981. It was broadcast on 5 June that year. He toured Australia and South Africa. After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, a hospice was named in his honour. In 1995 he was given the Freedom of the City of London and of Tirana. The same year he received an OBE. Wisdom was knighted in 2000 and spent much of his later life on the Isle of Man. Some of his later appearances included roles in Last of the Summer Wine and Coronation Street, and he retired from acting at the age of 90 after his health declined.
Also known as: Норман Уисдом
43
film credits
20
television credits
57
1948–2025 · acting roles
6.6
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (63)
Showing 63 of 63 credits
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
The South Bank Show
1978
Casualty
Mr. Cole
1986
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee / Performer
1956
Wogan
Self
1982
Last of the Summer Wine
Man Carrying Gnome (uncredited)
1973Last of the Summer Wine
Billy Ingleton
1973
Playhouse
Bernard Flood
1974
Bergerac
Vincent
1981
An Audience with...
Self
1978
Dalziel and Pascoe
Bernie Marks
1996
This Is Your Life
1955Style Challenge
1996
The Last Detective
Lofty Brock
2003It's Only TV But I Like It
Self
1999
Between The Sheets
Maurice Hardy
2003
Five Children and It
2004
A Little Bit of Wisdom
Norman Wisdom
1974Nobody Is Norman Wisdom
Nobody
1973The Golden Gong: The Story of Rank Films - British Cinema's Legendary Studio
Self
1985
As Long as They're Happy
Norman
1955
The Night They Raided Minsky's
Chick Williams
1968
The Square Peg
Private Norman Pitkin / General Otto Schreiber
1958The Square Peg
Screenplay
1958
One Good Turn
Norman
1955
Man of the Moment
Norman
1955
The Girl on the Boat
Sam Marlowe
1962
There Was a Crooked Man
Davy Cooper
1960
Expresso
The Vicar (as Sir Norman Wisdom)
2007
The Bulldog Breed
Ordinary Seaman Norman Puckle
1960The Bulldog Breed
Screenplay
1960
Androcles and the Lion
Androcles
1967
A Stitch in Time
Norman Pitkin
1963A Stitch in Time
Writer
1963
On the Beat
Norman Pitkin / Giulio Napolitani
1962On the Beat
Screenplay
1962
Going Gently
Bernard Flood
1981
Up in the World
Norman
1956
Trouble in Store
Norman
1953
To See Such Fun
1977
The Sandwich Man
Boxing Vicar
1966
Date with a Dream
Shadow Boxer
1948
Double X: The Name of the Game
Arthur Clutton/Maurice Rigby
1992
Norman Wisdom: His Story
Himself : Archive footage
2010
Where on Earth Is Katy Manning?
1998
Innes Lloyd: The Producer
Self (archive footage)
2025
Follow a Star
Norman Truscott
1959Follow a Star
Screenplay
1959
An Audience with Bruce Forsyth
1997
What's Good for the Goose
Timothy Bartlett
1969
The Early Bird
Norman Pitkin
1965
Press for Time
Norman Shields / Emily Shields / Wilfred, the Prime Minister
1966Press for Time
Screenplay
1966
Thora Hird Tribute
Self
2003Norman
1970The Unforgettable Norman Wisdom
Himself (archive footage)
2011
The Legend of Harrow Woods
Winston
2008Cue Here for Laughs with John Virgo
Self
1994
Just My Luck
Norman Hackett / Mr. Hackett
1957
Norman Wisdom: Trouble On Tour
Self
2008The Secret Life of Norman Wisdom Aged 92¾
Self
2008
Look at Life: A Dog's Life
Self
1959