Anecdotes

June 6, 2000: Awarded a Knighthood by the Queen, he deliberately tripped as he left the ceremony. The Queen was reported as being very amused by his antics! Norman Wisdom stated: "I couldn't help it, I did a little trip.".

At age 14, he left school and walked from London to Cardiff to find work and ended up as a cabin boy on a cargo ship to Argentina and was taught boxing by the crew which later led him to be a Flyweight Boxing Champion when he was in the British Army.

He was famous for not being able to complete a joke before bursting into fits of laughter.

Though Norman resided on the Isle of Man, he had chosen to continue to pay Tax at the UK rate, not the Isle of Man rates.

His 1950s and 1960s movies, where his working-class characters typically eventually overcame the oppressive management, were the only Western movies allowed into Albania by the Communist dictatorship of 'Enver Hoxha', who viewed them as a parable for the workers' struggle against capitalism. However, the Albanian people loved his physical comedy and he became the best-known and loved Western artist in the country. Since the fall of Communism, Wisdom has been involved in much work supporting Albanian children's charities.

He pledged to retire completely from show business by his 90th Birthday on February 4, 2005. His final television acting appearance was in the 2004 Christmas special of Last of the Summer Wine (1973).

In 2007, a Norman Wisdom-themed bar opened at the Sefton Hotel, Douglas, called Sir Norman's. It has stills from his many films on the walls and television screens playing some of his old films. The bronze statue of Wisdom, which used to be on a bench outside Douglas Town Hall, has been moved to the steps leading into the hotel bar on Harris Promenade.

On a visit in 2001, which coincided with the England football team playing Albania in the city of Tirana, his appearance at the training ground overshadowed that of David Beckham. He appeared on the pitch before the start of the Albania v England match wearing a half-Albanian and half-English football shirt. He was well received by the crowd, especially when he performed one of his trademark trips on his way out to the centre circle. In 1995, Wisdom was made an honorary citizen of Tirana.

Out of most of his films, his favourite film was Le roi de la pagaille (1953).

Made his stage debut at the Coliseum, Portsmouth.

He was one of several actors initially considered for the role of Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em (1973), however he turned down the role which eventually went to Michael Crawford. The creator of the series Raymond Allen later stated "Norman Wisdom was offered the role, but turned it down because he didn't find it funny.".

Left school at age 13 and worked a variety of jobs including an errand boy, a coal-miner, a waiter, a pageboy and a cabin-boy before joining the British Army.

The song "Don't Laugh at Me ('Cause I'm a Fool)" was written by Norman Wisdom for the film Le roi de la pagaille (1953) and became his theme song. He used the song to close his one man show.

Born of very humble beginnings to Frederick Wisdom, a chauffeur, and Maude Wisdom, a dressmaker. His mother left the family (which included an older brother) when he was nine.

Pictured on a set of six Grenada $1.50 postage stamps issued 3 November 2002. Shown in the role of Norman Pitkin, which made him famous in a series of comedy movies.

In 1947, he was in a Summer Season at Scarborough on a bill that included a conjuror who, having difficulty with part of his act, suggested that Norman come up on stage from the audience to assist him. That was when he bought his 'Gump Suit'.

Norman and Doreen had one son, Michael Wisdom (born 1945), and Norman and Freda had two children, Nick Wisdom (born 1953) and Jaqui Wisdom (born 1954).

He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours List and Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Entertainment.

After touring South Africa and Australia with some success, his appearances in Britain became more infrequent. He spent much of the 1980s in seclusion on the Isle of Man.

Norman Wisdom Fan Club, PO Box 196, Hoddesdon, Herts, EN10 7WG, United Kingdom.

In 1963, he bought a new motor yacht. The 94 feet (29 m) long hull and superstructure were built in Spain for £80,000, before being towed to Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, for fitting-out. After three years of extensive works and sea trials, she was named M/Y Conquest and valued at £1.25 million by insurers. It was available for charter at £6,000 a month but Wisdom later sold it, saying that he was "no sailor".

He was an honorary member of the Winkle Club, a charity in Hastings, East Sussex.

His stage performances often involved musical numbers, however he wrote only a few of them. He has seven songs attributed to him in the ASCAP database, which are: "Beware", "Don't Laugh at Me ('Cause I'm a Fool)", "Falling in Love", "Follow a Star", "I Love You", "Please Opportunity" and "Up in the World".

He won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the 1992 British Comedy Awards.

He was nominated for the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his Broadway show "Walking Happy", the show itself being nominated for Best Musical, losing to "Cabaret".

Sir Norman Wisdom passed away on October 4, 2010, four months away from what would have been his 96th birthday on February 4, 2011.

He enjoyed golf, and was a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats.

A lover of cars, his collection included a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental R Type fastback, which he first bought in 1961, and then again in the late 1980s. In 1969, he purchased, after the divorce from Freda Simpson, a Shelby Cobra 427, CSX3206, in New York, which he kept until 1986, when it was sold to another car enthusiast in Brighton, UK. Until his age and declining mental health meant he failed a Department of Transport fitness-to-drive test, he owned and drove a 1987 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit and a Jaguar S-Type, which were sold in September 2005.

In his book and television series One Hit Wonderland (2002), Tony Hawks united with Wisdom and, along with Tim Rice, released a single, "Big in Albania", in an attempt to enter the Albanian pop charts. It reached number 18 on the Top Albania Radio chart.

During the 1960s, he was involved in a famous legal case (Wisdom v Chamberlain, 1968) in which he was pursued by the Inland Revenue for tax on profits made from the sale of silver bullion he had bought when concerned about the further devaluation of sterling. He contended these purchases were an investment however the court held it had been a trading venture and was duly chargeable to income tax.

A supporter of various charities including Mencap, in 2005 he starred in a video for the Manx girl group Twisted Angels, for their single "L.A.", in support of the local charity Project 21.

In mid-2006, after he suffered an irregular heart rhythm, Wisdom was flown by helicopter to hospital in Liverpool and was fitted with a heart pacemaker.

He won many awards including Comic of the Year four times, two Broadway awards, the Jersey Critics Award and a Silver Record for most novel records.

His mother Maud Wisdom and his older brother Fred Wisdom passed away in 1971.

His children Nick and Jaqui had small roles in his film Follow a Star (1959).

He was to have played Albert in These Foolish Things (2006), but he decided to retire the day after his 90th Birthday and was replaced by Joss Ackland.

He was a lifelong supporter and a former board member of the football team Brighton and Hove Albion. He also liked Everton and Newcastle United.

Singer Tina Charles, who had a number one with "I Love to Love" in 1976, alleged that Wisdom molested her in his dressing room when she was age 16.

British Prime Minister, John Major has been referred to as "the Norman Wisdom of Western democracy".