Norman wisdom wealth

During a career which spanned seven decades, Sir Norman Wisdom went beyond clowning and slapstick to star in 19 movies.

His knighthood, which came in 2000, put the diminutive comic on a footing with the likes of Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir John Gielgud and Sir Alec Guinness.

But Sir Norman's lofty and cherished status among the British public could never have been imagined at the time of his birth in February 1915.

His parents divorced when he was nine and his violent, drunken father abandoned him and his brother Fred.

Sir Norman headed for a career first in the Merchant Navy and then the Army, where he found a platform for developing his showman's talents.

He became a bandsman, graduated to concert parties, and honed his comic skills.

After World War II, the British actor Rex Harrison advised Sir Norman to become a professional entertainer after seeing him in a Forces revue.

He was soon touring the country as straight man to the magician David Nixon and his perennial character, The Gump, was born.

Playing the fool

He signed to the Rank Organisation and made 19 films during the 1950s and 60s, each of which followed the same pattern.

Sir Norman played the fool in his shrunken jacket and flat cap, defying fate and Mr Grimsdale, to get the girl in the final frame.

Some called his work childish and trite and his films were certainly basic.

But Sir Norman's breath-taking physicality and cheery manner endowed them with a charm still recognised by people of all ages.

Charlie Chaplin said Sir Norman was his favourite clown.

Wisdom wowed Broadway in the 1960s and, was praised for his role in The Night They Raided Minsky's, a spirited evocation of the glory days of American burlesque theatre.

Deceptively simple

The slapstick nature of his films brought Sir Norman a worldwide following. Crowds in Hong Kong flocked to a 24-hour screening of his films.

He was a particular favourite in Albania. During the height of the Cold War, the country's Stalinist rulers decreed that his films were politically acceptable.