George A. Cooper
Encyclopedia
George A. Cooper is an English
actor.
One of his best-known roles was as the caretaker
Mr. Griffiths in the long-running children's TV series Grange Hill
. He also enjoyed acclaim as Geoffrey Fisher, the stern father of the eponymous antihero Billy Liar
, in both the original West End
stage version (1960) and the later sitcom (1973-74).
His other credits include Danger Man
, Z-Cars
, Dixon of Dock Green
, No Hiding Place
, Doctor Who - The Smugglers
, Softly, Softly
, The Avengers
, The Saint
, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
, The Troubleshooters, Steptoe and Son
, Coronation Street
, Doomwatch
, Public Eye, Budgie
, Bless This House, Sykes
, Rising Damp
, The New Avengers, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
, All Creatures Great and Small, Juliet Bravo
, When The Boat Comes In
, Terry and June
, Taggart
, Casualty
and Heartbeat.
He had roles in various films including: Violent Playground
(1958), Hell Is a City
(1960), The Cracksman
(1963), Nightmare
(1964), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
(1968) with Christopher Lee
and the film version of Bless This House
(1972) with Sid James
.
George A. Cooper has now retired from acting.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor.
One of his best-known roles was as the caretaker
Janitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
Mr. Griffiths in the long-running children's TV series Grange Hill
Grange Hill
Grange Hill is a British television drama series originally made by the BBC. The show began in 1978 on BBC1 and was one of the longest running programmes on British television...
. He also enjoyed acclaim as Geoffrey Fisher, the stern father of the eponymous antihero Billy Liar
Billy Liar
Billy Liar is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs....
, in both the original West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage version (1960) and the later sitcom (1973-74).
His other credits include Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
, Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
, Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green
Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...
, No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place
No Hiding Place is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967....
, Doctor Who - The Smugglers
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Softly, Softly
Softly, Softly (TV series)
Softly, Softly is a British television drama series, produced by the BBC and screened on BBC 1 from January 1966. It centred around the work of regional crime squads, plain-clothes CID officers based in the fictional region of Wyvern - supposedly in the Bristol and Chepstow area of the UK...
, The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
, The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
, The Troubleshooters, Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965, followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974. Its theme tune, "Old...
, Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
, Doomwatch
Doomwatch
Doomwatch is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC One between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present-day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist , responsible for investigating and combating various...
, Public Eye, Budgie
Budgie (TV series)
Budgie was a popular British television series starring former popstar Adam Faith which was produced by ITV company London Weekend Television and broadcast on the ITV network between 1971 and 1972....
, Bless This House, Sykes
Sykes
Sykes is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1972 to 1979. Starring Eric Sykes and Hattie Jacques, it was written by Eric Sykes, who had previously starred with Jacques in Sykes and A... and Sykes and a Big, Big Show ....
, Rising Damp
Rising Damp
Rising Damp is a television sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV, first broadcast from 1974 to 1978. It was adapted for television by Eric Chappell from his well-received 1971 stage play, The Banana Box The series was the highest-ranking ITV sitcom on the 100 Best Sitcoms poll run in...
, The New Avengers, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was a BBC situation comedy, written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice.The series followed the accident-prone Frank Spencer and his tolerant wife Betty through Frank's various attempts to hold down a job, which frequently end in...
, All Creatures Great and Small, Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo is a British television series, which ran on BBC1 between 1980 and 1985. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over control of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire.-Programme name:...
, When The Boat Comes In
When the Boat Comes In
When the Boat Comes In is a British television period-drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981.The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken town of Gallowshield in the North East of England in the 1920s.The memorable traditional...
, Terry and June
Terry and June
Terry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...
, Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
, Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
and Heartbeat.
He had roles in various films including: Violent Playground
Violent Playground
Violent Playground is a 1958 British film directed by Basil Dearden starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing and David McCallum.-Plot:A British take on the popular genre of J.D. films, Violent Playground centres on a Liverpool street gang led by Johnny Murphy...
(1958), Hell Is a City
Hell Is a City
Hell Is a City is a 1960 film based on the novel by Maurice Procter. It was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions filmed in Manchester it was also written and directed by Val Guest...
(1960), The Cracksman
The Cracksman
The Cracksman is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott.-Plot:Charlie Drake plays an honest locksmith whose problem is that he cannot resist the challenge of a lock. He gets smoothtalked into a safecracking scheme by a couple of ruthless gangsters. He is duped by a debonair con...
(1963), Nightmare
Nightmare (1964 film)
Nightmare is a 1964 horror/suspense film from Hammer Films. The film was directed by Freddie Francis and written by Hammer Films regular Jimmy Sangster. The British Film Institute has the only 35mm print in the UK.-Plot:...
(1964), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is a 1968 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with support from Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barry Andrews, Barbara Ewing, Ewan Hooper and Michael Ripper.- Plot :The film opens in a...
(1968) with Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
and the film version of Bless This House
Bless This House (film)
Bless This House is a 1972 British comedy film and a spin off from the television sitcom Bless This House.-Cast:The film starred many of the main stars from the TV series but some were missing and were replaced.*Sid James as Sid Abbot...
(1972) with Sid James
Sid James
Sid James was an English-based South African actor and comedian. He made his name as Tony Hancock's co-star in Hancock's Half Hour and also starred in the popular Carry On films. He was known for his trademark "dirty laugh" and lascivious persona...
.
George A. Cooper has now retired from acting.
Selected filmography
- Sailor Beware!Sailor Beware! (1956 film)Sailor Beware! is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry.-Cast:* Peggy Mount ... Emma Hornett* Shirley Eaton ... Shirley Hornett* Ronald Lewis ... Albert Tufnell* Cyril Smith ... Henry Hornett* Esma Cannon ... Edie Hornett...
(1956) - The Secret PlaceThe Secret Place (film)The Secret Place is a 1957 British film directed by Henry Hathaway. It stars Belinda Lee and Ronald Lewis.-Cast:* Belinda Lee as Molly Wilson* Ronald Lewis as Gerry Carter* Michael Brooke as Freddie Haywood* Michael Gwynn as Steve Warring...
(1957) - Miracle in SohoMiracle in SohoMiracle in Soho is a 1957 British drama film directed by Julian Amyes and starring John Gregson, Belinda Lee and Cyril Cusack. The film depicts the lives of the inhabitants of a small street in Soho and the romance betweena local road-builder and the daughter of Italian immigrants.-Main cast:* John...
(1957) - Violent PlaygroundViolent PlaygroundViolent Playground is a 1958 British film directed by Basil Dearden starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing and David McCallum.-Plot:A British take on the popular genre of J.D. films, Violent Playground centres on a Liverpool street gang led by Johnny Murphy...
(1958) - A Night to Remember (1958)
- Friends and NeighboursFriends and NeighboursFriends and Neighbours is a 1959 British comedy film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Arthur Askey, Megs Jenkins and Peter Illing. At the height of the Cold War, a working-class British family have to entertain two visitors from Russia.-Cast:...
(1959) - Hell Is a CityHell Is a CityHell Is a City is a 1960 film based on the novel by Maurice Procter. It was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions filmed in Manchester it was also written and directed by Val Guest...
(1960) - Follow That Horse!Follow That Horse!Follow That Horse! is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Alan Bromly from a screenplay by William Douglas-Home. It starred David Tomlinson, Cecil Parker, Richard Wattis, Mary Peach and Dora Bryan.-Cast:* David Tomlinson as Dick Lanchester...
(1960) - The BrainThe Brain (1962 film)The Brain is a 1962 film directed by Freddie Francis. It stars Anne Heywood and Janette Scott. A UK-West German production The Brain differs from earlier film versions of the Curt Siodmak novel Donovan's Brain: in this remake, the dead man seeks his own murderer, through contact with the doctor...
(1962) - The Wild and the WillingThe Wild and the WillingThe Wild and the Willing is a 1962 British romantic drama film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Virginia Maskell, Paul Rogers, Ian McShane, Samantha Eggar and John Hurt. It marked the film debut of McShane, who later became famous for his television roles in Lovejoy and Deadwood...
(1962) - The CracksmanThe CracksmanThe Cracksman is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Peter Graham Scott.-Plot:Charlie Drake plays an honest locksmith whose problem is that he cannot resist the challenge of a lock. He gets smoothtalked into a safecracking scheme by a couple of ruthless gangsters. He is duped by a debonair con...
(1963) - Tom JonesTom Jones (film)Tom Jones is a 1963 British adventure comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling , starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards...
(1963) - NightmareNightmare (1964 film)Nightmare is a 1964 horror/suspense film from Hammer Films. The film was directed by Freddie Francis and written by Hammer Films regular Jimmy Sangster. The British Film Institute has the only 35mm print in the UK.-Plot:...
(1964) - The BargeeThe BargeeThe Bargee is a 1964 British comedy film directed by Duncan Wood, and starring Harry H. Corbett, Hugh Griffith, Eric Sykes and Ronnie Barker. The screenplay was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.-Plot:...
(1964) - Ferry Cross the MerseyFerry Cross the Mersey (film)Ferry Cross the Mersey is a 1965 musical film featuring Gerry and the Pacemakers.The film, directed by Jeremy Summers, is one of the more uncommon artifacts of the Mersey scene, shown very rarely on television and never issued on video...
(1965) - Life at the TopLife at the Top (film)Life at the Top is a 1965 drama film made by Romulus Films and released by Columbia Pictures. It is a sequel to Room at the Top. It was directed by Ted Kotcheff and produced by James Woolf with William Kirby as associate producer. The screenplay was by Mordecai Richler, based on the novel Life at...
(1965) - Smashing TimeSmashing TimeSmashing Time is a 1967 British comedy film starring Rita Tushingham and Lynn Redgrave. It is a satire on the 1960s media-influenced phenomenon of Swinging London.It was written by George Melly and directed by Desmond Davis...
(1967) - The Strange AffairThe Strange AffairThe Strange Affair is a 1968 British crime film directed by David Greene.-Cast:* Michael York - Peter Strange* Jeremy Kemp - Peirce* Susan George - Frederika 'Fred' March* Jack Watson - Quince* George A. Cooper - Kingsley...
(1968) - Dracula Has Risen from the GraveDracula Has Risen from the GraveDracula Has Risen from the Grave is a 1968 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with support from Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barry Andrews, Barbara Ewing, Ewan Hooper and Michael Ripper.- Plot :The film opens in a...
(1968) - Start the Revolution Without MeStart the Revolution Without MeStart the Revolution Without Me is a 1970 film directed by Bud Yorkin, starring Gene Wilder, Donald Sutherland, Hugh Griffith, Jack MacGowran, Billie Whitelaw, Orson Welles and Victor Spinetti. The comedy is set in revolutionary France where two peasants are mistaken for the famous swordsmen, the...
(1970) - The Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerThe Rise and Rise of Michael RimmerThe Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer is a British 1970 cult satire film written by and starring Peter Cook, John Cleese and Graham Chapman, and directed by Kevin Billington .-Synopsis:...
(1970) - Bless This HouseBless This House (film)Bless This House is a 1972 British comedy film and a spin off from the television sitcom Bless This House.-Cast:The film starred many of the main stars from the TV series but some were missing and were replaced.*Sid James as Sid Abbot...
(1972) - Red MonarchRed MonarchRed Monarch is a 1983 British TV film starring Colin Blakely as Joseph Stalin. It is directed by Jack Gold and features David Suchet as Lavrentiy Beria and David Threlfall as Stalin's son Vasily....
(1983)