Place of Birth: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK
George A. Cooper
George Alphonsus Cooper was born in Leeds in 1925. After training as an electrical engineer and architect he was called up for National Service, working for the Royal Artillery in India. During that period he became interested in performing and on his discharge joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in Manchester. To avoid confusion with American actor George Cooper he used his middle initial in his stage name. His first appearance on television was in 1946. Over the next fifty years, he was a regular on the screen developing a career out of portraying slightly bumbling authoritarian characters. In 1964, he won a recurring role in ITV's Coronation Street playing businessman Willie Piggott who famously tried to bribe Ken Barlow to give his son Brian a pass on his tech exam. He had regular roles in Z-Cars and Dixon of Dock Green. In 1960, he appeared in the West End play Billy Liar playing the father of the title character, later reprising the role in the 1973 television series. He appeared in comedies such as Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Sykes and Mind Your Language. In 1985, he took on the role of no-nonsense caretaker Eric Griffiths in the incredibly successful children's drama Grange Hill, playing the role for seven years and earning a place in the hearts of a generation of children. His last TV appearance was in a 1995 episode of Casualty. He died in a nursing home in Hampshire on 16th November, 2018.
Movie | Cast | Year |
---|---|---|
Hell Is a City | Doug Savage | 1960 |
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave | Village Landlord | 1968 |
Nightmare | John | 1964 |
Ferry Cross the Mersey | Mr. Lumsden | 1965 |
The Strange Affair | Supt. Kingsley | 1968 |
Amy | Will Johnson | 1984 |
The Brain | Thomas Gabler | 1962 |
Decorators Limited | Porter | 1976 |
The Secret Place | Harry | 1957 |
In Two Minds | Mr. Winter | 1967 |
Trial by Combat | 2nd Leather Jerkin | 1976 |
Red Monarch | Kaganovitch | 1983 |
Smashing Time | Irishman | 1967 |
The Light Princess | King | 1978 |
Roll On Four O'Clock | Ted Crampton | 1970 |
I Can't See My Little Willie | Frank Palmer | 1970 |
The Villa Maroc | Lionel | 1972 |
Fortune Is a Woman | Hotel Porter | 1957 |
Life at the Top | Graffham | 1965 |
The Star Chamber | State Senator Walden | 1983 |
Bless This House | Mr Wilson | 1972 |
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer | Blacket | 1970 |
Doctor Who: The Smugglers | Cherub | 1966 |
Tom Jones | Mr. Fitzpatrick | 1963 |
In the Doghouse | Examiner (Uncredited) | 1962 |
Start the Revolution Without Me | Dr. Duval | 1970 |
Office Party | Manager | 1971 |
Violent Playground | Chief Inspector | 1958 |
Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done | The Pirate King (voice) | 1975 |
The Bargee | Official in Office | 1964 |
The Cracksman | Fred | 1963 |
Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle | Alf | 1984 |
Fair Game | George | 1994 |
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story | Mr. Twitchell | 1978 |
What Became of Jack and Jill? | Trouncer | 1972 |
The Bouncing Boy | Ashcroft | 1972 |
Okinawa | Yeoman | 1952 |
A Night to Remember | Carpathia Purser Hughes (uncredited) | 1958 |
Abrasive Wheels | (voice) | 1971 |
The Confession | Albert Verdoni | 1967 |
Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It | Mr. Tundish | 1970 |
Somewhere More Central | Uncle Joe | 1981 | Series | Cast | Year |
Z-Cars | 1962 | |
The Avengers | Burgess | 1961 |
Heartbeat | Walter Pettigrew | 1992 |
The Saint | Harold Laker | 1962 |
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse | 1968 | |
Dr. Finlay's Casebook | Tom Farquhar | 1962 |
Public Eye | 1965 | |
An Age of Kings | Earl of Northumberland | 1960 |
Billy Liar | 1973 | |
Crown Court | 1972 | |
Dixon of Dock Green | Topper Brown | 1955 |
Doomwatch | Thomas Prentice | 1970 |
Barlow | 1971 | |
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em | 1973 | |
King of the River | 1966 | |
The First Lady | 1968 | |
The New Avengers | Burt Brandon | 1976 |
No Hiding Place | 1959 | |
Espionage | 1963 | |
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes | Inspector Beedel | 1971 |
Play for Today | 1970 | |
Man in a Suitcase | 1967 | |
Sherlock Holmes | 1964 | |
Dawson's Weekly | 1975 | |
Grange Hill | Mr. Griffiths | 1978 |
Casualty | Albert Collins | 1986 |
Two's Company | Mr. Begley | 1975 |
The Saint | Milton Ourley | 1962 |
Nice Work | Mr. Wilcox Snr | 1989 |
The Expert | Arnold Bottomley | 1968 |
Justice | Supt. George Grover | 1971 |
Wonder Woman | Gen. Clewes | 1975 |
Dixon of Dock Green | Jackson | 1955 |
Dixon of Dock Green | Monty Pitman | 1955 |
All Creatures Great and Small | Mr. Crump | 1978 |
Public Eye | Alec Payton | 1965 |
Terry and June | Mr. Ridge | 1979 |
Terry and June | Uncle Bob | 1979 |
Terry and June | Eric | 1979 |