1
00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,320
Let's have the first man.

2
00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,480
He was an enormously talented man.

3
00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:19,160
I mean, a rather sort of brilliant
man, but he was very, very anarchic.

4
00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:23,280
And he could just cause chaos
by walking into the room.

5
00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,640
I normally... I'll sit on this one.

6
00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,040
LAUGHTER

7
00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:34,320
I think Norman was as big a star
as we can make in Britain.

8
00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:42,280
Audiences just couldn't believe
this extraordinary character.

9
00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:50,720
He used to work like a horse.
He really always worked very hard.

10
00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,520
Oh, no, don't start me off on that.

11
00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,960
LAUGHS LOUDLY

12
00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:01,440
When we were at home,
just in any situation,
his timing would be spot-on.

13
00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:12,000
He can make a laugh from anything,
really. He doesn't need a script.

14
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,760
The cleverness...of movement

15
00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:21,120
and ability to trip over
and not hurt himself,

16
00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,800
that's what's so clever, really.

17
00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:30,720
He was completely innocent,
in a way.

18
00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,920
Children liked him.

19
00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:38,320
Everybody liked him. There wasn't
anybody who didn't like Norman.

20
00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:40,680
He will always be remembered.

21
00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:43,920
I mean,
who could forget Norman Wisdom?

22
00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,200
# I'm not good-looking

23
00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,640
# I'm not too smart... #

24
00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,320
On screen, we saw the master fool,

25
00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,840
a cheeky comic character
with great musical talent

26
00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:14,000
and a physical prowess

27
00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:20,600
which made Norman Wisdom Britain's
biggest and most bankable film star
of the '50s and '60s.

28
00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,480
His was a natural talent.

29
00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,720
Norman's upbringing lacked
the luxury of formal training.

30
00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,480
Indeed, it lacked any luxury at all.

31
00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:36,200
When asked about his childhood,
he would always deliver
an old music-hall gag.

32
00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,080
I was born
in very sorry circumstances.

33
00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,800
Both of my parents were very sorry.
Really, yeah.

34
00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,680
Behind the jokes
lay a dreadful reality.

35
00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,600
Life was tough for young Norman
and his elder brother Fred.

36
00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,720
Raised in this house
in London's Maida Vale,

37
00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,160
in 1915,
this area was poverty-stricken.

38
00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:04,040
More devastating still,
at the age of nine,
Norman's family was torn apart.

39
00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:08,160
His father, a chauffeur,
was violent and neglectful.

40
00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,360
His mother felt forced
to leave home.

41
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:18,360
Norman's early life was quite hard
because his father was quite cruel.

42
00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,400
His background was horrendous,
a dreadful family life,

43
00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:26,480
beaten, punched and kicked
and knocked about by his father.

44
00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,880
He used to wallop me
and my brother and...

45
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:36,920
But it did me good in a way because
I remember on one occasion he picked
me up - this is really true -

46
00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,880
and he threw me up
and I hit the ceiling.

47
00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:46,000
Really true. And I came down
and landed just by the sink which
we had then in the drawing room

48
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,000
and, um...it taught me how to fall,
you know.

49
00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,680
Between the ages of 9 and 11,

50
00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,560
Norman and his brother lived
more or less as street urchins.

51
00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,600
Attending school barefoot, they
regularly stole food to survive.

52
00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,680
To be discarded by your parents
at an early age...

53
00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,200
I mean, he stayed
with his grandmother for a period.

54
00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:11,720
But, you know,
you really are fending for yourself.

55
00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:15,200
Um...you know, it's...

56
00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:19,120
something that you wouldn't
even dream about, really.

57
00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:21,640
He had it rough. He really did.

58
00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,600
I think that's what gave Dad
the determination...

59
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,480
to, you know, make something
of his life

60
00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,520
and not continue sort of living
like that.

61
00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,800
At the age of 13,
Norman left school.

62
00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,240
He walked from London to Cardiff
to look for work.

63
00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,040
He told me he went with a friend.

64
00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:47,200
I said, "How did you eat? Where
did you sleep? It took you two weeks.

65
00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:50,640
"What did you do?
What were the practicalities?"

66
00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:55,040
He said he took a sandwich and
they just slept rough in a hedgerow.

67
00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:00,000
Before he knew it,
he was a cabin boy on this ship,

68
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,280
the Maindy Court,
bound for Argentina.

69
00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:07,880
It was a hard life, but it was
very helpful for the life to come.

70
00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,480
I learnt boxing, for instance.

71
00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:16,920
Who taught you that? The blokes used
to be on the deck, all doing the
sparring for exercise and so forth.

72
00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:22,960
I used to stand and watch 'em
and one day, they said,
"Hey, do you want to join in, son?"

73
00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,840
He spent three months at sea.

74
00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:31,840
Feeling proud of his achievements,
Norman headed back to London
to trace his estranged father.

75
00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:36,800
Norman, when he was about 14,
decided to find out
where his dad was.

76
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,840
He went back to his grandmother
and she gave him this address.

77
00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:46,680
He goes round and stands outside
the house. He plucks up the courage
and knocks on the door.

78
00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,600
A woman opens the door
and he said...

79
00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:55,080
"Can I see Mr Wisdom?" She said,
"Who are you?" I said, "Norman."
It was his next wife.

80
00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,960
She said, "Come in. He'll be back
from work in half an hour."

81
00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:06,160
I went in and sat in the lounge,
then when he came in, I heard some
chat between his wife and himself.

82
00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,000
He just came in and this is,
on my word of honour, true.

83
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,680
He just opened the door,
looked at me and said, "Out!"

84
00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:20,800
And I went out and I walked
down the steps. There were
about three or four steps down.

85
00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,720
I stood in the road,
he slammed the door,

86
00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:28,400
and I said, "I'll never see you
again." And I never did. True.

87
00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,040
It was a short, sharp exchange
and that was it.

88
00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:35,800
What can you say?

89
00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,400
I mean, it was "out" and that was it.

90
00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,280
How do you get over that?
How would you get over that?

91
00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:46,880
And then, you know, years later,
to go on and make the world laugh.

92
00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,520
Norman had no choice
but to live on the streets.

93
00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:55,080
His regular sleeping spot, still
popular with the homeless today,

94
00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,560
was next to the Marechal Foch
statue. He was 14 years old.

95
00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:03,040
Salvation came in the form
of the army.

96
00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:07,320
I was honestly sleeping rough
just off Grosvenor Square.

97
00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:10,880
In doorways and all that sort
of thing and hungry.

98
00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,640
At about half past two
in the morning,
I'd go to a coffee stall keeper.

99
00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,240
I used to just look over the shelf
like that, sadly,

100
00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,120
and he'd push me a hot pie
and a cup of Bovril. Really true.

101
00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:28,240
After six or seven nights of that,
he said to me,
"Why don't you join the army?"

102
00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:33,120
I said, "I can't get in the army
at my size." He said,
"You've got to do something.

103
00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,600
"Just go and try it. Kid 'em."

104
00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,600
And kid 'em, he did.

105
00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:45,640
14-year-old Norman, just four foot
ten and a half inches and five stone
nine, enrolled as a bands-boy.

106
00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:49,800
Joining the army was the best thing
he ever did.

107
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:55,320
He had friends, he had travel
and he had a bed to sleep in.
His life changed completely.

108
00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,520
He'd had no home.
He'd had no home life as such.

109
00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:02,040
Then he goes in the army
and that became his life.

110
00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:07,440
The sergeant-major or whoever
became his dad because
he didn't really have a dad.

111
00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:14,160
And the other soldiers became his
brothers, so he did love the army
because he'd had nothing else.

112
00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:16,640
For him, it was absolutely marvellous

113
00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:20,200
because he had three meals a day
and was looked after.

114
00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,280
It must have been finding mum again,
I think.

115
00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,680
Well, I tell you what,
on my word of honour... Yes.

116
00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,480
I owe everything of my good fortune
to the army.

117
00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:36,520
It gave him so much. It gave him
discipline and cleanliness, the
music, the chance to go on stage.

118
00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:42,520
He learnt to horse-ride and do
all that sort of stuff, so I can
understand why he loved it so much.

119
00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:46,120
There was 14 boys and we all had
different instruments.

120
00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:52,120
We got fed up playing the same one,
so we had a go on the others, so
gradually, I learnt to play the lot.

121
00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:55,880
Clarinet, saxophone, French horn,
trumpet, drums, piano...

122
00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:58,960
That'll do.

123
00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,840
Five years of Norman's tour of duty
was spent in India.

124
00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:07,560
He became the flyweight champion
of the British troops in 1936.

125
00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:10,880
He had also discovered a talent
for comedy.

126
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:16,040
What made him realise
that he could make people laugh

127
00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,200
was they were putting on a show
and doing some sort of entertainment

128
00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,440
and he started doing a tap dance
in his army boots.

129
00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:27,640
And they started to laugh at him
because it just looked so ridiculous.

130
00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:31,440
In his head, he was thinking,
"Oh, they're laughing at me."

131
00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:34,320
And that's where it all started.

132
00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:39,800
After seven and a half years,
he demobbed to launch himself
as a variety artist.

133
00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:44,920
His first significant booking was at
the Coliseum, Portsmouth, in 1945.

134
00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,840
At the age of 30,
he was still unknown,

135
00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:54,160
though he had invented the stage
persona which would immortalise him,

136
00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,120
that of the little man
in the over-tight suit

137
00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,560
which he called The Gump.

138
00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:06,840
Early 1947, I had been booked
at a summer season

139
00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:08,960
at Scarborough.

140
00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,360
I was sharing a dressing room
with a conjurer.

141
00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,480
We used to do a different show
every week.

142
00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:21,480
I'd got the material for the four
shows because I was only doing
about 10 or 15 minutes each show.

143
00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:25,360
This conjurer was having difficulty
with his last show.

144
00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:31,360
He said, "Norman, if I ask someone
to come up from the audience to help
me do the tricks, it could be you."

145
00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,480
I said, "All right."
He said, "Dress scruffy."

146
00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:39,720
So I went out and bought a suit
for 30 shillings
and a cap for one shilling

147
00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,720
and when he invited someone up
from the audience, I came up

148
00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:48,120
and it worked so well,
we were booked as a double act.

149
00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:54,360
But he didn't want to be a double
act. Neither did I. But that's how
it all started with The Gump suit.

150
00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,400
This great Gump character that
he created, this ill-fitting suit

151
00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,720
and the cheeky cap to one side,
was this icon.

152
00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,960
I put Norman's Gump character in
the same league as Chaplin's Tramp.

153
00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,320
It fits that comedy icon,
the little boy lost that we all love.

154
00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,320
Norman was appearing all over
the country as a supporting act.

155
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,520
By chance, one of the biggest stars
of the day caught his performance.

156
00:11:19,600 --> 00:11:25,600
# There'll be bluebirds over

157
00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,120
# The white cliffs of Dover... #

158
00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,200
I first saw Norman's act

159
00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:38,560
when I first came down to live
in Sussex just after the war.

160
00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:44,720
And my husband and I were going
to the theatre, a very small theatre
in Brighton,

161
00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:49,560
to see an act
that was top of the bill

162
00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:53,280
and we saw this little chap come on

163
00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,920
who wasn't very highly billed.

164
00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,840
I hadn't heard of him before.

165
00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:01,960
And he was so funny.

166
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,560
He had me in stitches.

167
00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:09,080
And it takes a lot, really, to make
me laugh the way that I laughed.

168
00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:14,120
I thoroughly enjoyed him
and I thought, "I've never seen
or heard of him before,

169
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,600
"but he really is going
to go somewhere."

170
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:21,600
# We'll meet again

171
00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,400
# Don't know where

172
00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,360
# Don't know when... #

173
00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,440
And they did meet again.

174
00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,360
In 1947, Vera Lynn was
at the height of her career.

175
00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,000
She was booked to top the bill
at the Victoria Palace

176
00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,200
and at the bottom of the bill
was Norman Wisdom.

177
00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:47,160
I was due to go on at a certain time
and he was getting very nervous,

178
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:54,200
because I was going on in the first
half, closing the first half,
which is a very important spot.

179
00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,840
And he was getting very nervous.

180
00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:03,360
I didn't mind what time I went on,
so I said,
"Would you like to swap places?"

181
00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:08,920
So he said, "Yes, could I, please?
You know, I'd like to get it over."

182
00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,920
He received three ovations.

183
00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,720
Vera's generous act was
the turning point of his career.

184
00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,160
I really didn't think any more
about it.

185
00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:25,400
But then the first time I met him
after the occasion, he reminded me,

186
00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:29,560
and every time we met,
he reminded me.

187
00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:32,440
He used to say how much he owed me.

188
00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:38,480
He didn't owe me anything.
Whatever he achieved,
he owed to his own talent.

189
00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,560
Norman was about to become one
of the top entertainers of the era.

190
00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:48,640
In the audience at the Victoria
Palace was the agent Billy Marsh,

191
00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:52,120
the man who would launch
Norman's career in films.

192
00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:56,320
Billy was one of the most respected
agents in the business.

193
00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:58,720
He was with the Delfont Organisation.

194
00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:00,840
And Billy made a point

195
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:05,760
of trying to make
all these up-and-coming people
into major stars -

196
00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,560
Morecambe and Wise, Bruce Forsyth
and, of course, Norman.

197
00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:13,440
Billy also went across to America
with him

198
00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:17,480
and really looked after his career
and they became great friends.

199
00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:26,520
It was Billy Marsh who secured
Norman's seven-year contract
with the Rank Organisation.

200
00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:33,760
Norman's debut as a film star
was in the 1953 release
of Trouble In Store

201
00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:37,800
where Norman played a hapless
shop assistant called Norman Pitkin.

202
00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,600
What on earth are you doing here?

203
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,080
Mr Freeman sent me.
I'm the new window dresser. You?

204
00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:50,200
How utterly grotesque!

205
00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:52,680
He became the biggest box-office draw

206
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:57,720
and his films made more money than
James Bond films in the early '60s.

207
00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,560
This whole Norman franchise
came up around it,

208
00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:05,760
so Trouble In Store probably began
the whole legend of Norman Wisdom.

209
00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:21,920
I remember him telling me
about the night he became a star.

210
00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,880
I imagine Rank made his first film...

211
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:31,480
..you know, under sufferance and
with a low budget and all of that.

212
00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,480
At the time, the Rank Organisation
took a chance on Norman Wisdom.

213
00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:39,560
He was a recognised stage comedian,
but films are a different beast.

214
00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,600
Apparently, at the premiere
for Trouble In Store, he stood there

215
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,520
with all these bigwigs, Earl St John,
the head of Rank, coming in.

216
00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:52,920
..being frightfully snobbish and just
thinking he was some piece of dirt.

217
00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,960
I was too scared to look at the
screen. I was watching the audience,

218
00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,320
hoping that they'd laugh
and lucky for me, they did.

219
00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:05,960
After the film was finished, they
were a different crowd of people
coming out, the Earl St Johns.

220
00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:09,840
They were coming out and saying,
"Norman, oh, Norman!"

221
00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,080
It's a very English story. The idea
that he then became a film star...

222
00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:22,640
Sally! Sally, look,
you forgot your handbag! Sally,
you won't be able to pay your fare!

223
00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,720
You've got to stop! Stop!

224
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,840
Trouble In Store
broke box-office records.

225
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:35,480
Norman received
the British Film Academy Award
for Most Promising Newcomer.

226
00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,480
He would go on
to star in 17 further films.

227
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:47,400
When the British film industry
was going into decline, Norman kept
the British film industry afloat.

228
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:53,360
He made a fortune for the Rank
Organisation. He kept Pinewood
Studios going for nigh-on 15 years.

229
00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,600
Sometimes it was only him and
the Carry Ons in there making movies,

230
00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:03,480
so it was a very important part
of the industry, as well as making
millions of people laugh.

231
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,480
The film plots were based
on recurring themes.

232
00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,440
The character, Norman Pitkin,
the good guy,

233
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,320
pulling through against the odds
and always getting the girl.

234
00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:29,480
I think my favourite Norman Wisdom
film is probably The Square Peg.

235
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:35,160
I love army comedies and I love
the great cast. Honor Blackman is
a wonderful leading lady.

236
00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,200
# A square peg in a round hole

237
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,640
# You're in the army now... #
Try and get out!

238
00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:43,760
Here we are, miss.

239
00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:51,680
Why don't you look
where you're going? Lunatic!

240
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,640
I seem to remember
that I was an officer in the army

241
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,520
and at the beginning of the film,
I'm based in England.

242
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:03,400
And that's where Wizzy sees me
and falls in love with me.

243
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,640
He was the little Private.

244
00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:07,800
Wasn't he Private Pitkin?

245
00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,920
God knows how the army put up
with him! I don't know.

246
00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,280
Mr Grimsdale, she saluted me.
I think I'll have another one.

247
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:26,840
'There was one particular scene
where he's just learnt to salute

248
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:31,240
'and he sees me coming along and he
thinks how wonderful, he can salute,

249
00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,320
'so he keeps running ahead and hiding
round corners and everything

250
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,560
'to get the opportunity
of saluting again.'

251
00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:43,320
I don't remember
what my reaction was -
a raised eyebrow, I should think.

252
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,280
Haven't I seen you somewhere before?

253
00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,720
Yes, miss. Last time we met,
I was in civvy street.

254
00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,800
Norman's character was often
pitted against an authority figure,

255
00:18:57,800 --> 00:19:00,880
memorably played by Edward Chapman.

256
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,560
A scenario which gave Norman
his most famous line.

257
00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:09,600
Mr Grimsdale!

258
00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:15,480
We're not here to give all the dogs
of the neighbourhood free meat!
It was mostly bone, Mr Grimsdale.

259
00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,360
Good morning...Mr Grimsdale.

260
00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:23,560
Over the years, many fine actors
also took on the role
of the straight man.

261
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:29,560
The late David Lodge appeared in
many hits such as The Bulldog Breed
and On The Beat.

262
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,960
That's what you have to copy.

263
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:35,000
When there's a comic
and the straight man,

264
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:39,040
the better the straight man, the
funnier the comic, and he knew that.

265
00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:46,160
Years before me, he had
Jerry Desmonde, who was not only
a fine-looking man who was tall,

266
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,280
but he had power.

267
00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:52,520
You've got to have that certain
power for him to bounce off.

268
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,560
By now, Norman had developed
a skill for causing a riot on set.

269
00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:05,240
We laughed.

270
00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,120
I used to look forward
to going to work.

271
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:10,360
Now, Pitkin...

272
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:15,440
One scene in the film On The Beat
created a particular challenge.

273
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:20,320
'This man he was going to play,
the crook, was very fay.'

274
00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:25,240
I had to teach Norman how to walk
with his hand on his hip
and do all the...

275
00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,800
And when we did it, because I had
to do this, it was hysterical.

276
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,840
As you put your foot forward,
you let your weight rest on to it,

277
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,680
so that your hip swings out.
Oh, yeah.

278
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,760
You then change feet, that is to say,
you turn on the other one,

279
00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,280
transferring the weight
in exactly the same manner.

280
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,200
This you continue to do
alternately...

281
00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,880
'He walked behind me
and of course, he tripped over

282
00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:54,480
'and the producer took us both
outside the studio.'

283
00:20:54,480 --> 00:21:01,600
And he said, "You two have got to get
yourselves together. It's costing me
so many thousands a minute."

284
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:07,240
I said to Norman, "Look,
you're a star, you can do this.
It's my living, you know?"

285
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,400
He said, "Come on then."

286
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:16,000
I said, "Can you do it? Can you get
through the scene?" "Yes."

287
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,080
No, hand shoulder high!

288
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,760
We came in.
They said, "Right, action!"

289
00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:27,400
And we did it, and as we did it,
we fell on one side
screaming of laughter.

290
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:32,800
And Asher was on the floor
with a handkerchief in his mouth,
but we got the scene.

291
00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:35,840
Oh, sir, he's fabulous!

292
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,600
Can I get my uniform now, sir?
By all means.

293
00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:43,600
Thank you, sir.

294
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:50,000
We come to the fact that Norman was
a little man with a giant ego,

295
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,520
which is what I always think,

296
00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:56,520
but he was big in as much as he did
what he bloody wanted to do.

297
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,120
And nobody would ever tell Norman.

298
00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:02,200
'He would do the most daring things.'

299
00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:08,600
I heard the result of the two
o'clock on the radio. It's exciting!
We're absolutely hysterical.

300
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:11,000
'Norman used to disappear.'

301
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,440
We'd be out shooting
on location somewhere

302
00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:19,360
and the director would say, "We'll
get Norman now, we'll do scene 42."

303
00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:22,160
And they'd say, "Where is Norman?"

304
00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,800
Nobody could find him.

305
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:33,560
They had megaphones almost in those
days. They used to scream, "Norman!"

306
00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:39,680
He'd gone. He'd disappeared.
I mean, absolutely...

307
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:45,120
There is no other person
I've ever worked with
who would have got away with that.

308
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:56,760
'This is the BBC Home Service.'

309
00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:02,520
Throughout the 1950s and '60s,
Norman was one of the nation's
best loved film stars,

310
00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,160
seldom off the national news.

311
00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:09,840
He was also in great demand
as a variety performer.

312
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:14,080
Wherever he went in public,
he would appear in character,

313
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:19,480
demonstrating
the remarkable dexterity
which had long become his trademark.

314
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:31,080
I thought he was a bit of a nutter,
frankly, when I first met him.
I think we all did, really.

315
00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:35,680
Certainly, if there's one pair of
eyes watching him, he's performing.

316
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,920
He just entertains instinctively.

317
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:45,320
He... That's who he is. If you're
there, he's got to make you laugh.

318
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:49,120
One would call him a comic, really,
a comic mover,

319
00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:55,560
an ability to look
as though he was going
to kill himself by falling over

320
00:23:55,560 --> 00:24:00,560
and he lands up like a cat does,
you know, unhurt.

321
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:08,080
The last time I had breakfast
with him was about eight o'clock
in the morning.

322
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,960
I went down and Norman
was just going into the restaurant.

323
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:18,560
There was one step, so he did
his little fall, got up. And he'd
already been for a four-mile walk.

324
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,640
Norman always maintained
his fitness.

325
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,560
And on camera, he endeavoured
to perform his own stunts,
however demanding...

326
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,320
..or bizarre.

327
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,000
How do you stop it?

328
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,440
Are you there, Mr Hunter?

329
00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:46,760
On one occasion,
much to Norman's disappointment,

330
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:51,000
a stuntman was booked
to perform an ambitious scene.

331
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,080
On the first take,
the stuntman broke his arm.

332
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:56,600
The film star cheerfully stepped in.

333
00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:02,080
The result, in the 1963 film
A Stitch In Time,
is pure Norman Wisdom.

334
00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:15,240
Pitkin will be disappointed
he missed all the excitement.

335
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:22,040
I remember holding myself, watching
this scene. It was unbelievable.

336
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:27,960
So... God, so corny,
but the way he pulled it off,
it was brilliant.

337
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:30,360
Absolutely brilliant.

338
00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:34,920
And it takes a lot for me to laugh
out loud. It really, really does.

339
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,560
But honestly, I used to just scream
laughing at him, you know?

340
00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:44,520
I love him. I love the man.

341
00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,920
Good afternoon.

342
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:56,760
What's he doing out of bed?

343
00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:01,560
He walked and jogged and rode his
bike. This helped him with his act

344
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:05,640
because he learnt how to tumble
and fall without hurting himself.

345
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:11,520
One of the lines he used to use
in his concert was he just used to
think of the money and he was OK.

346
00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:22,520
The big revelation I had about him
was this thing of thinking
he was a bit of a twit.

347
00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:24,640
He wasn't.

348
00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:31,600
And it was when you realised this,
when you started to work with him
and talk to him,

349
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:35,880
you realised that although he was
a sort of loner in a way,

350
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,640
he was a very bright man...

351
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,000
and was quite able.

352
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,640
Probably from his background,
he had to be.

353
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:47,560
He had to be a bright man to cope.

354
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,200
What a delightful little fella!
BARKS LOUDLY

355
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:57,160
Behind Norman's huge success
lay a complex private life.

356
00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,600
Married briefly
and divorced in his 20s,

357
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:04,400
aged 32, Norman proposed
to his second wife Freda

358
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,400
on Bournemouth Pier.

359
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,720
As a young army man, Norman
had resumed contact with his mother.

360
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:16,320
Though the family were
rarely gathered together,

361
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:18,360
here they all are -

362
00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:23,600
his mother Maud,
his brother Fred whom he had lost
contact with for 16 years,

363
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,680
at Norman's wedding to Freda
in 1947.

364
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,760
Norman knew the value
of forgiveness.

365
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:38,160
Despite his troubled upbringing,
he embraced Maud into his life.

366
00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:44,920
His mother and brother died
in the same year - 1971.

367
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:51,080
Freda and Norman had two children -
Nick and Jaqui.

368
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:57,760
Growing up with Norman Wisdom
as your dad was as much fun
as you might imagine.

369
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,280
He wasn't really a disciplinarian.

370
00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:04,600
My mother was the disciplinarian,
but she was never going to win

371
00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:08,520
because we'd have tea
and he'd put the dog on the table.

372
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:14,200
"The dog's coming to have tea
with us." And she'd just
sort of shake her head, you know.

373
00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:16,600
I can remember when I was little,

374
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:20,480
my mum was taking me up
to the flat in London,

375
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:22,960
and I love After Eight mints.

376
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:28,600
And Dad knew exactly what I would do
because as soon as we got
into the flat,

377
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,600
I'd make a little beeline
for the sweet tray in the lounge.

378
00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,640
And there is sitting
an After Eight box.

379
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:42,160
And I just open it up and on the top
is a little note that Dad's written.

380
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:45,280
It just says,
"I'm watching you, Jaqui."

381
00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:51,160
The whole box went flying up
in the air and I just ran out
of the room screaming my head off

382
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:56,160
because I was convinced
he was hiding behind a curtain,
so he did love to tease.

383
00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:00,120
To his children,
he was both father and film star.

384
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,640
They grew up watching him
on the set,

385
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,520
even managing to get in on the act
in Follow A Star.

386
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:12,760
I think it was 1959.
I just played the piano.
I pretended to have a piano lesson.

387
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:16,120
Oh! Ow! Hey! Oh! Ow!

388
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,880
HE PLAYS A FEW NOTES

389
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,680
Well, that's all,
thank you, Nicholas...

390
00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:28,440
It was very exciting going
to Pinewood Studio. Everybody wanted
to be on the Norman Wisdom set.

391
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:30,640
THEY SING HIGH NOTE

392
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,800
Very good.

393
00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:38,320
Mum said, "Jaqui, why don't you go
along and sit on the stool
in front of the piano?"

394
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:44,280
So I said, "OK." And then
they started, you know, "Action!"
And Hattie Jacques came in.

395
00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:48,120
Judy! Judy, read this!

396
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:55,160
'But they'd actually muted the piano,
so when you played,
no sound came out.'

397
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,000
I just went, "Mum,
this piano doesn't work!" "Cut!"

398
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,080
It's outrageous!

399
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:07,560
I kept looking at Hattie Jacques.
They had to cut again and they said,
"Jaqui, try and face forward."

400
00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:12,080
The next time, I was staring right
into the camera lens. "What's that?"

401
00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,680
So they wouldn't be hiring me again!

402
00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:21,960
NICK:
He was a lot of fun, but most
of the time, he was pretty normal.

403
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:27,800
The minus side,
we didn't see a lot of him.

404
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:33,280
A life on the road also put
great strain on Norman's marriage.

405
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:40,080
In 1969, he was busy forging
a successful career
in the United States.

406
00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:45,400
He did films in America.
He did Androcles And The Lion
for Noel Coward.

407
00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:49,000
He also did Walking Happy
on Broadway.

408
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:55,680
And it was on Broadway, whilst he was
working there, that he heard that his
wife had gone off with another fella.

409
00:30:55,680 --> 00:31:00,840
My wife at home had found
somebody tall and good-looking.

410
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:08,280
I think if Norman had stayed
in America, he would have been a big
international star in the States too.

411
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:14,200
But I think Peter Sellers eventually
got that slot as the English
funny man and the rest is history.

412
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:18,240
We had normal family problems
and I had to come back from America

413
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:22,000
to look after my two lovely children
and I'm glad I did.

414
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:28,320
The man who had been abandoned
as a child was granted custody
of his own children.

415
00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:31,480
Their mother remarried,
keeping in contact.

416
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,000
Norman never married again.

417
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:38,720
My mother left home
and I was absolutely devastated.

418
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,080
And, um...

419
00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:46,480
But he found a wonderful lady
called Madge

420
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:50,760
and we used to call her Magic
because that's exactly what she was.

421
00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:56,040
And Dad made sure, because he was
obviously still away working hard,

422
00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,480
that Madge was there
to look after us

423
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,280
and she really was
a very, very special lady.

424
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:06,840
He was a loving father at that time
and, um...

425
00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:13,680
But I think probably I should have
seen a little bit more of my mother.

426
00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,720
You know, she was a good woman
and, um...

427
00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:23,240
You know,
it was an acrimonious split.

428
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:27,400
The BBC presents
The Norman Wisdom Show.

429
00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:32,360
By the 1970s,
Norman was a screen and stage star.

430
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:36,720
But the pressure was now on
to make it in television.

431
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:41,560
# If I don't see a ribbon
round the old oak tree... #

432
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,800
He did some good shows in the '70s,

433
00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,880
just called Norman,
Nobody Is Norman Wisdom,

434
00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:51,440
A Little Bit Of Wisdom for ATV,
and they were successful,

435
00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:55,240
but not legendarily successful,
so they're not repeated now.

436
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:57,440
You don't see them on TV.

437
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:03,000
I made sure that he was on
every radio show we could get him on
or television appearances.

438
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:08,520
He didn't want to do them because
he was Norman Wisdom and he felt,
"Do I need to do this?"

439
00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,880
But I think with the public,
you have to keep that profile high.

440
00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:15,760
# ..the old oak tree-ee-ee... #

441
00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,280
APPLAUSE
That is all.

442
00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:20,720
Norman toured worldwide.

443
00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:26,960
And from the 1980s onward, he
featured in cameo roles in some of
our best-loved series like Bergerac.

444
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:31,200
I'll see if you can pick him out,
all right? We'll send a car round.

445
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:33,960
Yeah, all right.
Nothing wrong, is there?

446
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,760
No, it's just that I haven't done
anything like that before.

447
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:40,840
This is a one-off, this is.

448
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,120
And Last Of The Summer Wine.

449
00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:55,240
I'm an honest man. It has to be
admitted. She needs a touch of work.

450
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:57,360
EXPLODING SOUND

451
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:04,360
The one big TV role he was offered,
Frank Spencer in Some Mothers
Do 'Ave 'Em, he had to turn down.

452
00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:07,720
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
was written for Norman,

453
00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:13,520
but there were scenes in it where
they wanted him to put his foot down
the toilet and things like that,

454
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,360
which he thought was
lavatorial humour.

455
00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,960
I'm Mr Spencer.

456
00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:23,000
The wife's a bit tired,
so I thought I'd try you.

457
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:30,120
And consequently, he thought,
"This isn't for me," because he was
squeaky-clean at the time.

458
00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:35,600
And so consequently, he pulled out
of it and Michael Crawford got it.

459
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:42,360
Come back, Frank!

460
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:44,600
Please stop me!

461
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:49,400
That could have been
the big sort of TV break.

462
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:53,480
Off the back of the films from the
'60s into the '70s and early '80s,

463
00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:59,240
he could have been doing this sort
of comedy for the TV generation
and he regretted that for ever.

464
00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:02,160
# Honey, don't cry... #
Get off!

465
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:10,520
But there were no regrets
attached to Norman's role in
a television play released in 1981.

466
00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:13,480
It cast Norman in a whole new light,

467
00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,640
receiving critical
and audience acclaim.

468
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:21,640
The BBC Playhouse, Going Gently,
directed by Stephen Frears,

469
00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:26,440
featured Norman and Fulton Mackay
as terminal cancer patients.

470
00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:29,400
Do you drink?

471
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:31,600
Doctor's orders.

472
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,480
And what do the wizards of the knife
have in store for you?

473
00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:39,240
They're going to give me
an exploratory operation.

474
00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:41,240
Fun(!)

475
00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:43,600
How do you know?

476
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,160
Tomorrow, they're going to make it
a triumvirate.

477
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,000
Jesus!

478
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,560
We talked to a lot of people
about being in it.

479
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:59,600
Then his name was on a list. I said,
"That's a rather interesting idea."

480
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,640
I think this is
a rather wicked thought.

481
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:07,800
I think I thought
that if you were dying
and wanted a rather graceful death,

482
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:12,320
you might well wake up and find that
Norman was in the bed next to you.

483
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:16,080
He was so disruptive and anarchic

484
00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:22,160
that any thoughts
of a quiet, dignified, heroic death
would immediately be destroyed.

485
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,920
What's the matter with you?
I can't understand you at all.

486
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:35,720
He wasn't such a bad fella. Do you
need help? Probably not. I just said
he wasn't such a bad fella.

487
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:37,760
COUGHS AND SPLUTTERS

488
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:39,880
Are you all right?

489
00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,960
'I had to get up my courage
to cast him.'

490
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:50,040
I suppose I'd assumed that he'd be
very good and he was very good,

491
00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:55,280
but I could see
that I was using bits of him
that people didn't normally ask for.

492
00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:57,960
During lunch, Stephen Frears said,

493
00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:04,200
"Norman, I want specifically
for you to avoid doing any comedy."

494
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:09,480
And I said,
"Well, it's a straight play.

495
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:13,520
He said, "Yes, I know, but I want
you to avoid doing any comedy."

496
00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:18,480
I could see what he was getting at,
but I couldn't help pulling his leg
a bit.

497
00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:22,680
I said, "If I'm in a nightshirt..."
He said, "You will be."

498
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:26,720
I said, "There's certain comedy
within the bounds of the play.

499
00:37:26,720 --> 00:37:30,320
"If, as I walk away from the bed
having got out...

500
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:35,640
"and I catch my nightshirt
on the spring of the bed,

501
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:40,720
"as I walk away, eventually,
it will tighten up
and pull me back like that

502
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:44,800
"and I'll put my foot in the
chamber pot underneath the bed..."

503
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,000
And he'd gone pale.

504
00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:50,760
He would just send me up hopelessly.

505
00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:01,880
I asked him.

506
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:07,240
And?

507
00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:09,760
Not too good. It never is.

508
00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:11,720
What am I going to do?

509
00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:13,640
Complain.

510
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:16,240
Moan like the rest of us.

511
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:19,960
How long have you got?

512
00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:22,080
They didn't say.

513
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:25,240
But my guess is six weeks,
maybe seven.

514
00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:27,440
For me, six.

515
00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:30,840
I've got to have longer.

516
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,280
I've got to have more time.

517
00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:39,200
'He just was very, very powerful
and potent and expressive.'

518
00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,320
And that's always a pleasure.

519
00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:47,680
Certainly I didn't realise before
that you could strip away
all the faces

520
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,160
and the agility and all that

521
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:54,320
and just leave
that little man underneath.

522
00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:59,400
He'd acquired a sort of wisdom
by then.

523
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:06,960
I imagine... I imagine that life
had been quite rough to him
in the previous 10 or 15 years.

524
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:12,720
Going Gently won a BAFTA
and established Norman
as a serious actor.

525
00:39:12,720 --> 00:39:17,000
Even so, he continued to stay
in comic character publicly

526
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:21,640
and his ability to cause chaos
in interviews was by now legendary.

527
00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:24,200
I normally... I'll sit on this one.

528
00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:26,960
LAUGHTER

529
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:32,000
It is difficult to know
what he's going to do,
especially if you don't know him,

530
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:37,440
because he can do anything,
he can wind people up.
He's got a terrible sense of humour.

531
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:39,520
APPLAUSE

532
00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:48,920
It's good to see you.
Come and sit down there.

533
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:54,040
No, I meant over there.

534
00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:58,240
'He could just cause chaos
by walking into the room.'

535
00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:04,680
You could see people getting nervous
and looking for the exits.
He was very, very unsettling.

536
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:07,680
Thank you very much.
No, please, don't...

537
00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:09,560
Oh, blimey!

538
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:12,640
Oh, good Lord, there's my back gone!

539
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:16,480
Taking my life in my hands,
because I admired Norman so much,

540
00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:20,400
I asked if he'd take part in an
hour's special and he was brilliant.

541
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:26,280
Interviewing Norman was hell.

542
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:30,040
I mean,
he was a brilliant raconteur.

543
00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:34,040
And he knew exactly
how he was going to time every gag.

544
00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:39,200
You couldn't just ask him
a question because he was going
to tell you his way.

545
00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:42,920
Norman, still kissing the girls
at 82?

546
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:46,760
Still working at 82?
Still making people laugh at 82?

547
00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,920
More than 82 girls!

548
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:54,440
I was speaking of your years. Oh!
It's impossible to think of you...

549
00:40:54,440 --> 00:40:56,560
My ears are all right.

550
00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:03,440
It was extremely funny
and the audience enjoyed the fact
that he ran rings round me.

551
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:05,760
He popped up all over the place.

552
00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:10,040
He was totally dangerous,
unpredictable and always very funny.

553
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:12,600
APPLAUSE

554
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:18,480
As the cameras stop rolling
on The Esther Show,
Norman's antics continue.

555
00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:24,480
And the audience clapped.
As the applause died,

556
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:28,560
Norman leant forward,
looked me straight in the eyes...

557
00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:31,640
..and licked the end of my nose.

558
00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:35,280
A sensation I will never forget.

559
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:38,200
It hasn't happened much since.

560
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:42,120
Norman would often push
the boundaries of protocol.

561
00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:47,280
Throughout his career, he was a firm
favourite of the Royal Family,

562
00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:52,240
appearing
at nine command performances and
coming face-to-face with royalty

563
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:54,760
on many memorable occasions.

564
00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:58,680
I had him working
at St James's Palace once,

565
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:03,840
but I had to lead the line-up
for all the artists
to meet the Duchess of Kent.

566
00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:06,360
Vera Lynn was on the show as well.

567
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:11,400
I said to Norman,
"If you stand next to Vera..."
He said, "No, I'm not doing that."

568
00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:17,160
So he hid behind a big pillar
until I'd introduced the Duchess
of Kent to all the artists,

569
00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:20,200
then he jumped out on her and went,
"Ohhh!"

570
00:42:20,200 --> 00:42:24,440
I thought, "You can't do that to
royalty," but that's the way he is.

571
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:29,960
He forgets that they are royalty.
They're friends to him,
so he just joins in the fun.

572
00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:33,760
He had me chasing round
St James's Palace on one occasion.

573
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:37,280
We were there at a tea party
for the Queen Mother.

574
00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:41,120
She used to run these tea parties
for ex-servicemen

575
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:44,200
and he was there on one occasion.

576
00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:51,560
Of course, he was always playing
the fool and he was chasing me round,
trying to tweak my nose.

577
00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:56,080
But that was him. You know,
he couldn't help but play the fool.

578
00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,360
When he went to get his honour,

579
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:02,720
everyone was in this big room,
waiting for the Queen to appear.

580
00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:08,560
Prince Philip said to him,
"Hello, Norman, how are you doing?"
He said, "Thank you, sir, fine."

581
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:12,320
Then all of a sudden, there was...
MIMICS SOUND OF TRUMPET

582
00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:14,800
You know, the trumpet going off.

583
00:43:14,800 --> 00:43:20,160
And Norman said, "What's that?"
Prince Philip said,
"Oh, that'll be the Queen."

584
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:25,400
And Norman said,
"Bloody hell, she can't half play
that trumpet, can she?"

585
00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:30,680
For the first time in 25 years, the
Queen is visiting the Isle of Man.

586
00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,640
Waiting to meet her was the island's
allegedly most famous resident

587
00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:37,480
and royal favourite,
Sir Norman Wisdom.

588
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:40,680
Jennie Bond reports
on today's gripping encounter.

589
00:43:42,240 --> 00:43:46,760
'This was the Queen's first visit
to the Isle of Man for 25 years

590
00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:52,320
'and she took the precaution of
wearing a sprig of its national herb,
mugwort, on her lapel.

591
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,840
'It's meant to ward off evil spirits.

592
00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:58,760
'It did not ward off the persistent
attentions of Sir Norman Wisdom.

593
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:04,640
'Now 88, he's an old favourite
among the royals who has performed
for them at Windsor Castle.

594
00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:11,160
'Taking the Queen firmly by the hand
at a cheese stall, he invited her to
pose with him for the photographers.

595
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:14,760
'Next he suggested
she should try some of the cheese.'

596
00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:16,840
No, not now.

597
00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:21,840
'"Not now," said the Queen,
showing him that she was being given
some to take away.

598
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:24,320
'But Sir Norman wanted a longer chat.

599
00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:28,800
'Ignoring royal protocol, he crept up
and touched her on the arm,

600
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:32,800
'then took her hand
and hung on and on.'

601
00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:36,520
I don't think
the Queen will forget him.

602
00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:41,840
It was quite a surprise to me
when I heard he'd given her
a piece of cheese to eat.

603
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:46,120
Terrible, really. I mean, who else
would do that but Norman Wisdom?

604
00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:52,040
And who else but Norman Wisdom
could achieve the status
of a country's hero?

605
00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:56,720
His visual comedy
has always appealed
to audiences in eastern Europe,

606
00:44:56,720 --> 00:44:59,240
nowhere more so than in Albania.

607
00:44:59,240 --> 00:45:04,640
A lot of the dictatorship over there,
especially in Albania,

608
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:10,320
thought that Norman represented
the downtrodden communist
by the capitalist,

609
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:12,480
which is untrue completely.

610
00:45:12,480 --> 00:45:16,880
The people were kind of subjected
to a pretty awful regime,

611
00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:22,400
the only joy of which came when
they saw maybe on a Sunday night
the Norman Wisdom film.

612
00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:25,680
They were shown every week
and it's kept going.

613
00:45:25,680 --> 00:45:30,040
For 30, 40, 50 years,
they've just had Norman Wisdom

614
00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:34,400
and so he's so in their hearts,
it's extraordinary.

615
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:40,520
And in 2002, Tony Hawks saw
a chance to win a bizarre challenge.

616
00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:46,320
I took on a wacky bet that I had
to have a hit record somewhere
in the world within two years

617
00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:52,160
because I'd had a hit record in 1988
with a song called Stutter Rap
by Morris Minor & The Majors.

618
00:45:52,160 --> 00:45:58,200
Somebody called me a one-hit wonder.
I said, "I haven't finished my life.
I'll probably have another hit."

619
00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:02,560
So I set off going round the world
trying to have this hit and failed

620
00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:06,120
until I struck upon this idea
of pure genius

621
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:10,080
which was to involve myself
with Norman Wisdom in Albania.

622
00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:16,080
Remarkably, Tony persuaded
Oscar-winning lyricist Sir Tim Rice
to write the song.

623
00:46:16,080 --> 00:46:20,480
So, Sir Tim phoned Sir Norman. I was
excluded from that conversation.

624
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:25,160
I rang him up and put forward
this strange proposition

625
00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:27,960
that he should record a song for us

626
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:31,240
which would be a Top 20 hit
in Albania.

627
00:46:31,240 --> 00:46:35,040
And Norman agreed.
"I'll do it. Anything you say.

628
00:46:35,040 --> 00:46:39,080
"Yeah, all right. Where? Albania?
They like me there. I'll do it."

629
00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:43,200
We therefore wrote a song,
Tony and I, called Big In Albania.

630
00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:48,360
Norman went along with this.
He loved the idea. He came down
to London and recorded it.

631
00:46:48,360 --> 00:46:52,200
The next plan was
Operation Tour Albania.

632
00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:57,800
The morning we left
at Heathrow Airport,

633
00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:03,000
Norman began the journey
by running up the "down" escalator
at 87 years old

634
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:09,040
and going through the security cordon
without going through the bit in the
middle. He walked up the side of it.

635
00:47:09,040 --> 00:47:13,840
This was only six months
after September the 11th
and security was very high.

636
00:47:13,840 --> 00:47:17,240
Norman walked straight through it
and into Sock Shop.

637
00:47:17,240 --> 00:47:22,680
He was always doing his act.
But in a way, it wasn't his act.
It was Norman being Norman.

638
00:47:22,680 --> 00:47:26,920
He just had this desire,
this necessity to entertain.

639
00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:31,000
I'm amazed that in some places
we went to, he wasn't shot!

640
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:34,000
# From Scutari to Koritsa

641
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,520
# From Gjirokastra to Berat

642
00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:41,000
# From Valona to Tirana

643
00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:43,600
# I'm really where it's at... #

644
00:47:43,600 --> 00:47:46,000
In Albania, everybody loves Norman.

645
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:50,520
It was like a scene for Take That,
but with an 87-year-old man.

646
00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:54,280
He got lost on at least
two occasions, but always turned up.

647
00:47:54,280 --> 00:47:57,440
We just looked for a big crowd
and there he was!

648
00:47:57,440 --> 00:48:04,200
The little shepherds and all these
fellows with donkeys up the hill
would say, "Pitkiny, we love you!"

649
00:48:04,200 --> 00:48:09,280
He was getting kissed by men, kids,
boys, girls, all sorts of people.

650
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:11,760
They just loved him out there.

651
00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:14,720
# I've made my name in many places

652
00:48:14,720 --> 00:48:18,080
# A thousand falls,
a thousand faces

653
00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:22,440
# But nowhere's more devoted
than Albania... #

654
00:48:22,440 --> 00:48:27,520
Miming superbly with Tim's daughter
on backing vocals,
his son on trumpet,

655
00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:31,640
Sir Tim was happy to perform
on a plastic toy saxophone.

656
00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:37,440
We were all thrilled to be in the
presence of somebody that my kids
thought was as funny as I did.

657
00:48:37,440 --> 00:48:43,040
# As I wandered down
this fine Albanian street... #

658
00:48:43,040 --> 00:48:46,880
I had this dream that
if we were going to be a supergroup,

659
00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:49,880
which Norman Wisdom And The Pitkins
clearly were,

660
00:48:49,880 --> 00:48:52,920
that we had to perform a stadium gig,

661
00:48:52,920 --> 00:48:58,080
so I arranged for us to perform
at half-time at the national
football stadium in Tirana.

662
00:48:58,080 --> 00:49:00,880
# I love Albania back... #

663
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:05,800
Norman Wisdom And The Pitkins
did not disappoint their fans.

664
00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:08,480
# I love Albania back... #

665
00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:17,480
The outcome of the bet was
a rather happy conclusion

666
00:49:17,480 --> 00:49:21,480
in that the Albanian people
in their 20s and 30s voted for us

667
00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:26,320
and we reached the dizzy heights
of No.18 in the Albanian charts,

668
00:49:26,320 --> 00:49:31,920
so we all celebrated on the way back
and Norman, of course,
had had his first hit in Albania.

669
00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:35,160
Surely, that's everyone's ambition,
isn't it?

670
00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:40,400
# I love Albania back
Oh, I do! #

671
00:49:43,960 --> 00:49:50,000
For the last 30 years of Norman's
life, he lived on the Isle of Man.
It was a place close to his heart.

672
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:53,960
He lived in a beautiful house.
He designed it himself.

673
00:49:53,960 --> 00:49:58,680
He had these fabulous cars
which he used to try and design.

674
00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:03,040
He had a huge, a massive ocean-going
yacht which he designed himself.

675
00:50:03,040 --> 00:50:06,960
He just became
like Lord of the Manor out there.

676
00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:13,720
I came here in 1978 to do a summer
season at the Gaiety Theatre
just down the road here in Douglas.

677
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:20,240
I'd never been here before.
I couldn't believe
how beautiful the place was.

678
00:50:20,240 --> 00:50:27,280
And the time was coming where
I didn't want to work all the time.
Just semi-retirement, if you like.

679
00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:29,760
And so I got a place here

680
00:50:29,760 --> 00:50:32,360
and I've never been happier.

681
00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:34,160
Lovely.

682
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:42,960
# I'd like to put on record that I...

683
00:50:42,960 --> 00:50:45,960
# Need you, need you, need you... #

684
00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:49,480
Throughout his life,
Norman supported good causes,

685
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:52,520
always putting his talents
to good use,

686
00:50:52,520 --> 00:50:55,560
talents which were many and varied.

687
00:50:56,600 --> 00:50:59,280
# I love you

688
00:50:59,280 --> 00:51:03,880
# It simply means, my darling,
that... #

689
00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:06,320
I love you.

690
00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:09,640
Well, he had a very lovely voice.

691
00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:14,040
Soft. And he knew how to get
the best out of a song.

692
00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:18,720
And of course, this was
an added talent for his work.

693
00:51:18,720 --> 00:51:22,560
And it was different too

694
00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:25,640
because it brought the comedy down

695
00:51:25,640 --> 00:51:29,800
and I think people enjoyed that
as much as they did his antics.

696
00:51:29,800 --> 00:51:35,760
People don't realise what a great
musician he is. He was incredible.
Seven or eight instruments.

697
00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:38,360
PLAYS JAZZ MUSIC

698
00:51:40,640 --> 00:51:43,240
His passions in life - he loved golf.

699
00:51:43,240 --> 00:51:48,640
He was a great golfer, even though
at his age, a lot of people
were sitting in armchairs,

700
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:52,400
feet up, watching the telly,
but he was out there.

701
00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:57,880
He loved motorbikes, cars.
We couldn't go anywhere
without stopping at a car showroom.

702
00:52:03,240 --> 00:52:09,080
But even his friends would admit
he had one or two unsettling
character traits.

703
00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:14,360
He always used to eat and show
his food, which was a bit...

704
00:52:14,360 --> 00:52:20,080
He would be forking the food
into his mouth and he said to me,
"Robbo, do you like seafood?"

705
00:52:20,080 --> 00:52:23,280
I said, "Yes, OK." He goes, "Naaah."
Like that.

706
00:52:23,280 --> 00:52:25,120
"Sea"...food?

707
00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:27,880
LAUGHTER

708
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:32,400
Quite often, he'd listen to his own
tapes or films. He liked his films.

709
00:52:32,400 --> 00:52:36,680
He used to sit in the car and we'd go
for a drive and he would sing to me.

710
00:52:36,680 --> 00:52:40,400
All the stuff he'd written.
But that's the way he was.

711
00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:45,960
'Norman Wisdom has become
the great British clown, very much
in the mould of Charlie Chaplin

712
00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:49,800
'with his little man in
the ill-fitting suit and cloth cap.

713
00:52:49,800 --> 00:52:55,840
'He has the honour of being the
national comedy hero of Albania and
not many people can make that boast.'

714
00:52:55,840 --> 00:53:01,840
In his lifetime, Norman received
many honours, including an OBE
and the Variety Club Award.

715
00:53:01,840 --> 00:53:06,440
'An outstanding contribution to
showbusiness, Sir Norman Wisdom...

716
00:53:06,440 --> 00:53:09,480
'Oh, here he goes!'
LAUGHTER

717
00:53:09,480 --> 00:53:13,240
I have to say
how very grateful I am.

718
00:53:13,240 --> 00:53:17,600
As you did say, I've been 50 years
in showbusiness now.

719
00:53:17,600 --> 00:53:20,400
And you were wrong.
LAUGHTER

720
00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:23,240
It's nearly 55.

721
00:53:23,240 --> 00:53:26,960
And I'm very grateful to get this.
Really, I am.

722
00:53:26,960 --> 00:53:31,640
I'm a very lucky little devil being
in showbusiness in the first place.

723
00:53:31,640 --> 00:53:37,040
I've been a lucky little devil
all the time because
it's given me happiness.

724
00:53:37,040 --> 00:53:41,280
I've thoroughly enjoyed myself
and on top of that, you get paid.

725
00:53:44,880 --> 00:53:48,400
Norman continued his career
into his 90s.

726
00:53:48,400 --> 00:53:53,880
Aged 89, he played
a fitness-obsessed pensioner
in Coronation Street.

727
00:53:57,080 --> 00:54:02,480
At 92, he took on
his last acting role in a film
for charity called Expresso.

728
00:54:02,480 --> 00:54:04,560
BUZZING

729
00:54:04,560 --> 00:54:08,560
By now, Norman's health was
in decline with Alzheimer's.

730
00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:12,600
He would still want to keep
his finger in the pie a little bit

731
00:54:12,600 --> 00:54:16,680
and something like that was perfect
because there were no lines.

732
00:54:16,680 --> 00:54:19,840
At that point,
his memory was not that good.

733
00:54:19,840 --> 00:54:26,000
Of course, that's what Dad excelled
in with the facial expressions
and that perfect timing that he has.

734
00:54:27,080 --> 00:54:30,960
In his final years,
he remained on the Isle of Man.

735
00:54:30,960 --> 00:54:35,880
His family,
including two proud grandsons,
took turns to look after him.

736
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:40,720
HE PLAYS THEME FROM "The Snowman"

737
00:54:40,720 --> 00:54:42,600
Slower, Greggy.

738
00:54:46,920 --> 00:54:48,920
Very nice. Very nice.

739
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:52,240
Hello there.

740
00:54:52,240 --> 00:54:57,200
It was just so nice
to be with somebody
that was always light and breezy

741
00:54:57,200 --> 00:54:59,240
and joking

742
00:54:59,240 --> 00:55:01,720
and Norman just didn't know

743
00:55:01,720 --> 00:55:04,120
how to be sad or unhappy.

744
00:55:04,120 --> 00:55:06,080
Oh, Norman!

745
00:55:07,200 --> 00:55:11,680
In 2007, the decision was reached
to place him in a care home.

746
00:55:11,680 --> 00:55:13,920
But he was happy there.

747
00:55:17,360 --> 00:55:20,640
His family were really his life.

748
00:55:21,600 --> 00:55:25,320
And the way that he kept in contact

749
00:55:25,320 --> 00:55:28,200
and everybody would go and see him.

750
00:55:28,200 --> 00:55:31,720
I mean, he was very, very much
a family man.

751
00:55:31,720 --> 00:55:36,960
All the family were present
when he received the award
he held most dear -

752
00:55:36,960 --> 00:55:41,000
a knighthood from the Queen
in the year 2000.

753
00:55:42,600 --> 00:55:46,600
Sir Norman Wisdom,
for services to entertainment.

754
00:55:54,360 --> 00:55:58,400
Sir Norman Wisdom's career spanned
more than half a century

755
00:55:58,400 --> 00:56:01,640
in theatre, film and television.

756
00:56:03,160 --> 00:56:08,040
Wherever he went, Norman could be
depended upon for one thing -

757
00:56:08,040 --> 00:56:10,400
to create laughter.

758
00:56:14,640 --> 00:56:17,320
Just a minute, Mr...?

759
00:56:22,400 --> 00:56:24,320
Pitkin.

760
00:56:24,320 --> 00:56:27,520
Thank you, Mr Pitkin. What for?

761
00:56:27,520 --> 00:56:32,680
You obviously don't realise,
but you've just done
something wonderful.

762
00:56:33,760 --> 00:56:35,680
Me? Mm-hm.

763
00:56:38,960 --> 00:56:44,120
I think he's continued the great
tradition of the silent comics,

764
00:56:44,120 --> 00:56:48,360
the ones who provided
so much genius for us on the screen,

765
00:56:48,360 --> 00:56:51,720
the sort of...
the Chaplin little man.

766
00:56:54,320 --> 00:57:00,120
It seemed to me that his idea was
life has been hell

767
00:57:00,120 --> 00:57:04,920
and let's make the most
of every minute we have now.

768
00:57:04,920 --> 00:57:08,840
You're... You're joking?

769
00:57:08,840 --> 00:57:14,240
He just wanted to prove
that he could be something in life
and he was something in life.

770
00:57:15,360 --> 00:57:19,560
It's a very British story
of class and snobbery

771
00:57:19,560 --> 00:57:21,880
and tremendous hardship.

772
00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:31,200
What we admire is something
that we feel we can't do.

773
00:57:31,200 --> 00:57:35,120
And not many people could do
what Norman Wisdom did.

774
00:57:35,120 --> 00:57:39,640
Dickens could have written about him.
He's like a figure out of Dickens.

775
00:57:39,640 --> 00:57:42,240
But he was brilliant.

776
00:57:42,240 --> 00:57:48,960
I think his legacy will live on,
actually. I think his films will
always be there for people to see.

777
00:57:51,480 --> 00:57:56,760
There is one thing that no-one
will ever be able to destroy

778
00:57:56,760 --> 00:58:00,080
and that is the love I have
for my father.

779
00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:07,920
LESLIE PHILLIPS:
I would say he's got more opportunity
than most to be remembered.

780
00:58:07,920 --> 00:58:11,480
I don't think we'll forget Norman,
somehow.

781
00:58:20,760 --> 00:58:25,480
# Some day maybe

782
00:58:25,480 --> 00:58:30,240
# My star will smile

783
00:58:30,240 --> 00:58:34,240
# On me

784
00:58:34,240 --> 00:58:38,760
# Don't laugh at me

785
00:58:38,760 --> 00:58:46,720
# Cos I'm a fool... #