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George A. Cooper
Acting
Biography
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…
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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.
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BODY OF WORK
George A. Cooper's Filmography
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The Ties That Bind Us
as Cherub (archive footage)
Fair Game
as George
Customers From Hell
Reunion at Fairborough
as Bartender
Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle
as Alf
Amy
as Will Johnson
The Star Chamber
as State Senator Walden
Red Monarch
as Kaganovitch
Somewhere More Central
as Uncle Joe
The Light Princess
as King
Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat
as Man
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
as Mr. Twitchell
Trial by Combat
as 2nd Leather Jerkin
No Poster
Decorators Limited
as Porter
Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done
as The Pirate King (voice)
Awkward Customers
as Awkward Customer: Mr. Wart-hog
The Bouncing Boy
as Ashcroft
Bless This House
as Mr. Wilson
What Became of Jack and Jill?
as Trouncer
The Villa Maroc
as Lionel
Lifting Safely
Office Party
as Manager
Roll On Four O'Clock
as Ted Crampton
I Can't See My Little Willie
as Frank Palmer
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
as Blacket
No Poster
Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It
as Mr. Tundish
Start the Revolution Without Me
as Dr. Duval
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
as Village Landlord
The Strange Affair
as Supt. Kingsley
Smashing Time
as Irishman
No Poster
The Confession
as Albert Verdoni
In Two Minds
as Mr. Winter
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
as Cherub
Life at the Top
as Graffham
Ferry Cross the Mersey
as Mr. Lumsden
The Bargee
as Official in Office
Nightmare
as John
Tom Jones
as Mr. Fitzpatrick
The Cracksman
as Fred
The Brain
as Thomas Gabler
In the Doghouse
as Examiner (Uncredited)
Hell Is a City
as Doug Savage
A Night to Remember
as Carpathia Purser Hughes (uncredited)
Violent Playground
as Chief Inspector
Miracle in Soho
as Foreman
Fortune Is a Woman
as Hotel Porter
The Secret Place
as Harry
Okinawa
as Yeoman