George A. Cooper
Acting
1925-03-07 · Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK
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.
Filmography
The Ties That Bind Us
2008 · Movie
Fair Game
1994 · Movie
Heartbeat
1992 · Series
Nice Work
1989 · Series
Customers From Hell
1989 · Movie
Casualty
1986 · Series
Reunion at Fairborough
1985 · Movie
Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle
1984 · Movie
Amy
1984 · Movie
The Star Chamber
1983 · Movie
Red Monarch
1983 · Movie
Q.E.D.
1982 · Series
Somewhere More Central
1981 · Movie
Terry and June
1979 · Series
Turning Year Tales
1979 · Series
The Light Princess
1978 · Movie
Grange Hill
1978 · Series
Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat
1978 · Movie
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
1978 · Movie
All Creatures Great and Small
1978 · Series
Mind Your Language
1977 · Series
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977 · Series
The New Avengers
1976 · Series
Trial by Combat
1976 · Movie
Decorators Limited
1976 · Movie
Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done
1975 · Movie
Awkward Customers
1975 · Movie
Wonder Woman
1975 · Series
Two's Company
1975 · Series
Shadows
1975 · Series
Dawson's Weekly
1975 · Series
Billy Liar
1973 · Series
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1973 · Series
The Bouncing Boy
1972 · Movie
Crown Court
1972 · Series
Sykes
1972 · Series
Bless This House
1972 · Movie
What Became of Jack and Jill?
1972 · Movie
The Villa Maroc
1972 · Movie
Lifting Safely
1972 · Movie
Justice
1971 · Series
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971 · Series
Office Party
1971 · Movie
Budgie
1971 · Series
Roll On Four O'Clock
1970 · Movie
I Can't See My Little Willie
1970 · Movie
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
1970 · Movie
Play for Today
1970 · Series
Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It
1970 · Movie
Doomwatch
1970 · Series
Start the Revolution Without Me
1970 · Movie
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969 · Series
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
1968 · Movie
The Strange Affair
1968 · Movie
The Expert
1968 · Series
The First Lady
1968 · Series
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse
1968 · Series
Smashing Time
1967 · Movie
The Confession
1967 · Movie
Man in a Suitcase
1967 · Series
ITV Playhouse
1967 · Series
In Two Minds
1967 · Movie
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1967 · Series
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
1966 · Movie
King of the River
1966 · Series
Life at the Top
1965 · Movie
Ferry Cross the Mersey
1965 · Movie
Public Eye
1965 · Series
The Wednesday Play
1964 · Series
Sherlock Holmes
1964 · Series
Theatre 625
1964 · Series
The Bargee
1964 · Movie
Nightmare
1964 · Movie
Espionage
1963 · Series
Tom Jones
1963 · Movie
Sergeant Cork
1963 · Series
The Cracksman
1963 · Movie
The Saint
1962 · Series
The Brain
1962 · Movie
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
1962 · Series
In the Doghouse
1962 · Movie
Steptoe and Son
1962 · Series
Z-Cars
1962 · Series
The Avengers
1961 · Series
Danger Man
1960 · Series
An Age of Kings
1960 · Series
Hell Is a City
1960 · Movie
No Hiding Place
1959 · Series
A Night to Remember
1958 · Movie
Violent Playground
1958 · Movie
Saturday Playhouse
1958 · Series
Miracle in Soho
1957 · Movie
Fortune Is a Woman
1957 · Movie
The Secret Place
1957 · Movie
Armchair Theatre
1956 · Series
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1955 · Series
Dixon of Dock Green
1955 · Series
Okinawa
1952 · Movie