George A. Cooper
Acting
- Born:
- 1925-03-07
- Died:
- 2018-11-16
- Place of birth:
- Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK
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 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.
Known For
Filmography
The Ties That Bind Us
Fair Game
Heartbeat
Nice Work
Customers From Hell
Casualty
Reunion at Fairborough
Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle
Amy
The Star Chamber
Red Monarch
Q.E.D.
Somewhere More Central
Terry and June
Turning Year Tales
The Light Princess
The Upchat Connection
Grange Hill
Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
All Creatures Great and Small
Mind Your Language
BBC2 Play of the Week
The New Avengers
Trial by Combat
Decorators Limited
Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done
Awkward Customers
Wonder Woman
Two's Company
Shadows
Dawson's Weekly
Billy Liar
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
The Bouncing Boy
Crown Court
Sykes
Bless This House
What Became of Jack and Jill?
The Villa Maroc
Lifting Safely
Justice
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
Office Party
Budgie
Roll On Four O'Clock
I Can't See My Little Willie
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
Play for Today
Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It
Doomwatch
Start the Revolution Without Me
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
The Strange Affair
The Expert
The First Lady
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse
Smashing Time
The Confession
Man in a Suitcase
ITV Playhouse
In Two Minds
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
King of the River
Life at the Top
Ferry Cross the Mersey
Public Eye
The Wednesday Play
Sherlock Holmes
Theatre 625
The Bargee
Nightmare
Espionage
Tom Jones
Sergeant Cork
The Cracksman
The Saint
The Brain
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
In the Doghouse
Steptoe and Son
Z-Cars
The Avengers
Danger Man
An Age of Kings
Hell Is a City
No Hiding Place
A Night to Remember
Violent Playground
Saturday Playhouse
Miracle in Soho
Fortune Is a Woman
The Secret Place
Armchair Theatre
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Dixon of Dock Green
Okinawa