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Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, 4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010. PA
R.I.P.

The Wisdom of Wisdom: Norman dies at 95

Tributes are paid to the famed singer, comedian and actor – who, apparently, was big in Albania.

THE DEATH has occurred of the much-loved actor and comedian, Sir Norman Wisdom. He was 95.

A talented songwriter and musician as well as comedian, Wisdom was best known for his appearances as a dishevelled man in an ill-fitting suit – a role that the Guardian says it describes as one that concealed his “immense technical skill”.

He had suffered from ill-health in the last few months, having suffered a series of strokes, and died yesterday evening.

So beloved was Wisdom that even the great Charlie Chaplin described him as his ‘favourite clown’ – and even Enver Hoxka, the former dictator of Albania, gave his films exemption from the heavy-handed censorship regime.

Born in desperate poverty in London, Wisdom ran away at 11 and joined the Army to serve in India during World War II – where he made his entertainment debut in the Royal Corp of Signals’ band.

He stayed in entertainment after being demobbed, and made his West End debut in 1948 to rave reviews. From there he began to make regular appearances in the Royal Variety Performance and started his film career in 1953.

His worldwide fame even stretched to appearances in Broadway in the sixties, as he tried to shake off his character stereotype unsuccessfully – leading to some time away from the entertainment business.

The era of mass television was kind to him, however; his first major TV role, in BBC drama Going Gently, saw him earn critical acclaim for his troubled portrait of a man struggling to manage his terminal illness. Having restored his public image, he retired to the Isle of Man, occasionally returning for appearances in Last of the Summer Wine and for a part in Coronation Street.

He was knighted in 2000, and went into residential care in 2008 suffering from dementia. He no longer recognised himself in his older work.