SIR Norman Wisdom was the Isle of Man’s most famous resident. As tributes to the star flood in isleofman.com looks at his life and career.
Norman Joseph Wisdom was born on February 4, 1915 in the Marylebone district of London.
He left school at the age of 13, became a cabin boy in the Merchant Navy - and also worked as a coal-miner, waiter and pageboy - before joining the 10th Royal Hussars of the British Army.
In 1930 he was posted to Lucknow in India as a bandsman. While performing a comedy boxing routine in an army gym Wisdom discovered he had a talent for entertainment.
When the Second World War broke out Wisdom was sent to work in a communications centre, in a command bunker in London, where he connected telephone calls from war leaders to the prime minister.
After leaving the army in 1946 Wisdom made his debut as a professional entertainer at the age of 31.
He is probably best known for the series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 which feature his character the Gump aka Norman Pitkin - a hapless, barely competent, junior in a manual occupation underneath Mr Grimsdale.
Two years later he became a West End star and made his TV debut. In 1954 Wisdom won a BAFTA Award for the Most Promising Newcomer to Film for the film Trouble in Store.
Norman Wisdom first came to the Isle of Man in 1978 to do a three month summer season at the Gaiety Theatre. After falling in love with the Island he relocated here permanently in 1980 and moved into a house in Andreas called Ballalaugh which is Manx for "House of Laughs."
Wisdom appeared on the television programme This Is Your Life twice - in 1957 and in 1987. He became prominent again in the 1990s helping the young comedian Lee Evans whose act was often compared to Wisdom's work.
Norman Wisdom was a cult icon in Albania where he was the only Western actor whose films were allowed in the country during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha.
On a visit in 2000, which coincided with the England football team playing Albania in Tirana, his presence at the training ground eclipsed that of David Beckham. In the same year he received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
From 1995 to 2004 he appeared in the recurring role of Billy Ingleton in the BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine and in 2004 he appeared in a cameo role in Coronation Street playing the fitness fanatic pensioner Ernie Crabbe.
Wisdom announced his retirement from the entertainment industry on his 90th birthday in 2005. He stated that he intended to spend more time with his family, playing golf and driving around the Isle of Man.
He was also heavily involved in charity work in the Island including Manx Mencap and the Friends of Chernobyl Children.
In 2007 a Norman Wisdom themed bar was opened at The Sefton Hotel in Douglas called Sir Norman’s. The statue of Norman, which used to be on a bench outside Douglas Town Hall, was moved to the steps leading into the bar.
In the same year Norman Wisdom became a resident at the Abbotswood Nursing Home in Ballasalla which is where he died peacefully yesterday (Monday) at the age of 95.
Also see: Isle of Man's chief minister pays tribute to Sir Norman Wisdom
Sir Norman Wisdom - a life in pictures
Leave your tributes below to Sir Norman Wisdom by filling in the comments box below
