George A. Cooper
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.
92 acting credits
Acting · 92
The Avengers
1961
Casualty
1986
Play for Today
1970
The Saint
1962
Crown Court
1972
Heartbeat
1992
Grange Hill
1978
Z-Cars
1962
ITV Playhouse
1967
Theatre 625
1964
No Hiding Place
1959
All Creatures Great and Small
1978
Danger Man
1960
Dr. Finlay's Casebook
1962
Wonder Woman
1975
The Expert
1968
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes
1971
Justice
1971
Public Eye
1965
The New Avengers
1976
BBC2 Play of the Week
1977
Doomwatch
1970
Sykes
1972
Espionage
1963
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
Terry and June
1979
Man in a Suitcase
1967
Dixon of Dock Green
1955
Budgie
1971
Mind Your Language
1977
An Age of Kings
1960
Sherlock Holmes
1964
Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
1973
A Night to Remember
1958
Two's Company
1975
Shadows
1975
Saturday Playhouse
1958
King of the River
1966
Armchair Theatre
1956
Tom Jones
1963
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1967
The First Lady
1968
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
1968
The Ronnie Barker Playhouse
1968
The Star Chamber
1983
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story
1978
Nice Work
1989
Start the Revolution Without Me
1970
Dawson's Weekly
1975
Trial by Combat
1976
Nightmare
1964
Hell Is a City
1960
The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
1970
The Brain
1962
Red Monarch
1983
The Ties That Bind Us
2008
Billy Liar
1973
Life at the Top
1965
Give Us a Break: Hustle Bustle Toil and Muscle
1984
Miracle in Soho
1957
Bless This House
1972
Okinawa
1952
Violent Playground
1958
Fair Game
1994
Smashing Time
1967
Amy
1984
The Bargee
1964
What Became of Jack and Jill?
1972
In the Doghouse
1962
Roll On Four O'Clock
1970
The Cracksman
1963
The Light Princess
1978
The Secret Place
1957
The Strange Affair
1968
Reunion at Fairborough
1985
Fortune Is a Woman
1957
Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done
1975
Ferry Cross the Mersey
1965
The Confession
1967
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
1966
Somewhere More Central
1981
In Two Minds
1967
Office Party
1971
Mr and Mrs Bureaucrat
1978
I Can't See My Little Willie
1970
Awkward Customers
1975
Don't Touch Him, He Might Resent It
1970
Customers From Hell
1989
Decorators Limited
1976
The Bouncing Boy
1972
The Villa Maroc
1972
Lifting Safely
1972