Norman Wisdom

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Lore & Background

Norman Wisdom was born on 4 February 1915 at 91 Fernhead Road, Maida Vale, London, into extreme poverty. His father, Frederick, was a chauffeur and an alcoholic who subjected Norman and his elder brother Frederick Thomas to violence, sometimes picking them up and throwing them across the room. After their parents separated, the boys were placed with paid guardians, but their father failed to pay, and they were eventually turned out. Expelled from home entirely, Norman became homeless and slept rough on the streets of London. After a series of unsuccessful foster placements, a generous couple took him in. He found work as an errand boy in a grocer's shop, despite not knowing how to ride a bicycle. By age 13, he was working long shifts in a hotel. A fellow boy worker persuaded him to walk to Cardiff to become a miner, but the boy's family couldn't house him, and Norman was homeless again. He joined the Merchant Navy as a cabin boy, sailing to Argentina, where he learned to box and entered a prize fight, lasting three rounds before being badly beaten. He also had to fend off unwanted sexual advances from a fellow sailor. Returning to Cardiff and out of work, he made his way back to London, where he was advised to join the British Army. Though he had no musical training, he tearfully persuaded the recruiting officer to let him join as a band recruit at age 14. In 1930, Wisdom was posted to Lucknow, British India, as a band boy. He learned to ride horses, became flyweight boxing champion of the British Army in India, and taught himself piano, trumpet, saxophone, flute, drums, bugle, and clarinet. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was assigned to a communications centre in a London command bunker, handling telephone connections between war leaders and the prime minister, meeting Winston Churchill several times. He later joined the Royal Corps of Signals in Cheltenham. In 1940, while shadow boxing in an army gym, he spontaneously stepped out of an orchestra pit during a NAAFI entertainment night, adding a duck waddle and comic facial expressions. He recalled: 'They were in hysterics. All the officers were falling about laughing.' This was where he first developed his trademark persona as 'The Successful Failure'. After a performance at Cheltenham Town Hall on 31 August 1944, actor Rex Harrison came backstage and encouraged him to pursue professional entertainment. Demobilised in 1945, Wisdom worked as a private hire car driver and night telephone operator before making his professional debut at age 31. A review from August 1946 praised his 'unusual and most versatile' act. A successful run at the London Casino in April 1948 led to a summer season in Scarborough, sharing the stage with magician David Nixon. By then, he had adopted his trademark costume: an askew tweed flat cap, a suit two sizes too small, a crumpled collar, and a mangled tie—the 'Gump' persona that defined his film career.

Reader's Guide

Norman Wisdom's significance rests on his series of low-budget comedies for the Rank Organisation, beginning with Trouble in Store (1953), which earned him a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles and became the second most popular film at the British box office that year. Exhibitors ranked him the tenth biggest box-office star in Britain in 1954. His screen persona—lighthearted and physical—made his films natural successors to George Formby's. While never critically acclaimed, Wisdom's comedies were popular with domestic audiences and represented some of Britain's most successful box-office draws of the era. They found unexpected success overseas, helping sustain Rank financially when its costlier productions faltered. Most films featured his Gump character—usually named Norman—in manual jobs, subordinate to straight men like Edward Chapman (as Mr Grimsdale) or Jerry Desmonde. His second film, One Good Turn (1955), ranked seventh most popular British film that year. He was named the sixth most popular British film star of 1955. The Square Peg (1959), an army-themed comedy, reversed a dip in box-office returns, finishing seventh at the British box office. A young Michael Caine co-starred in The Bulldog Breed (1960) and later said Wisdom 'wasn't very nice to support-part actors'. Wisdom retained his position as the tenth most popular star at the British box office. In later years, he performed on Broadway in New York City alongside Mandy Patinkin and won critical acclaim for his dramatic performance as a terminally ill cancer patient in the 1981 television play Going Gently. He also toured internationally, including performances in Australia and South Africa. Charlie Chaplin once described Wisdom as his 'favourite clown'.

Did You Know?

• Wisdom's films were among the few Western productions allowed in Albania during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha.
• Charlie Chaplin described Wisdom as his 'favourite clown'.
• Wisdom taught himself to play piano, trumpet, saxophone, flute, drums, bugle, and clarinet while serving in the British Army in India.
• He became flyweight boxing champion of the British Army in India during his military service.
• Actor Rex Harrison encouraged Wisdom to pursue professional entertainment after a charity concert in Cheltenham on 31 August 1944.