George A. Cooper
Known for: Acting
Born: March 7, 1925
Died: November 16, 2018
Place of birth: 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.
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Filmography
48 movies · 50 TV shows, newest first
NR
The Ties That Bind Us
2008
4.8
Fair Game
1994
7.2
Heartbeat
1992
6.7
Nice Work
1989
NR
Customers From Hell
1989
6.2
Casualty
1986
5.8
Reunion at Fairborough
1985
NR
Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle
1984
8.3
Amy
1984
6.0
The Star Chamber
1983
5.4
Red Monarch
1983
7.1
Q.E.D.
1982
NR
Somewhere More Central
1981
6.5
Terry and June
1979NR
Turning Year Tales
1979
7.0
The Light Princess
1978
6.7
Grange Hill
1978
NR
Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat
1978
9.5
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
1978
7.8
All Creatures Great and Small
1978
8.2
Mind Your Language
1977
7.0
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977
7.1
The New Avengers
1976
7.8
Trial by Combat
1976NR
Decorators Limited
1976
9.0
Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done
1975
9.0
Awkward Customers
1975
7.0
Wonder Woman
1975
7.3
Two's Company
1975
6.8
Shadows
1975
7.0
Dawson's Weekly
1975
6.5
Billy Liar
1973
7.5
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1973
NR
The Bouncing Boy
1972
5.7
Crown Court
1972
6.7
Sykes
1972
6.4
Bless This House
1972
4.8
What Became of Jack and Jill?
1972
NR
The Villa Maroc
1972
NR
Lifting Safely
1972
7.3
Justice
1971
7.5
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971
NR
Office Party
1971
7.2
Budgie
1971
6.0
Roll On Four O'Clock
1970
8.0
I Can't See My Little Willie
1970
6.0
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
1970
6.6
Play for Today
1970NR
Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It
1970
6.4
Doomwatch
1970
6.0
Start the Revolution Without Me
1970
7.0
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
6.7
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
1968
5.1
The Strange Affair
1968
9.0
The Expert
1968
10.0
The First Lady
19688.0
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse
1968
6.3
Smashing Time
1967NR
The Confession
1967
7.2
Man in a Suitcase
1967
7.0
ITV Playhouse
1967
7.0
In Two Minds
1967
NR
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1967
5.8
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
19667.0
King of the River
1966
5.9
Life at the Top
1965
6.1
Ferry Cross the Mersey
1965
8.2
Public Eye
1965
5.2
The Wednesday Play
1964
6.9
Sherlock Holmes
1964
7.2
Theatre 625
1964
7.0
The Bargee
1964
6.8
Nightmare
1964
10.0
Espionage
1963
5.9
Tom Jones
1963
7.2
Sergeant Cork
1963
6.6
The Cracksman
1963
7.4
The Saint
1962
5.8
The Brain
1962
6.7
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
1962
6.4
In the Doghouse
1962
7.8
Steptoe and Son
1962
7.3
Z-Cars
1962
7.8
The Avengers
1961
7.3
Danger Man
1960
5.3
An Age of Kings
1960
6.6
Hell Is a City
1960
4.8
No Hiding Place
1959
7.6
A Night to Remember
1958
7.2
Violent Playground
1958NR
Saturday Playhouse
1958
5.6
Miracle in Soho
1957
6.8
Fortune Is a Woman
1957
6.6
The Secret Place
1957
6.0
Armchair Theatre
1956
6.4
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1955
6.0
Dixon of Dock Green
1955
5.6
Okinawa
1952