George A. Cooper

Acting

George A. Cooper

Born 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.

Acting credits

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave poster
6.7

In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave

1968

The Star Chamber poster
6.0

As violence escalates in Los Angeles and heinous murders are committed, Steven Hardin, a young judge of the California Supreme Court, must struggle with his tortured conscience and growing despair as he watches helplessly as the ruthless criminals brought before his court go free because clever lawyers find obscure loopholes in the law.

The Star Chamber

1983

A Night to Remember poster
7.6

The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.

A Night to Remember

1958

Tom Jones poster
5.9

Tom loves Sophie and Sophie loves Tom. But Tom and Sophie are of differering classes. Can they find a way through the mayhem to be true to love?

Tom Jones

1963

The Bargee poster
7.0

After a lock-keeper entrusts his daughter to a canal Casanova, he is shocked to learn that she is pregnant. He then refuses to open his locks - causing barges to pile up in every direction until the guilty party confesses.

The Bargee

1964

Fair Game poster
4.8

It is 1970, there is World Cup and General Election fever. Marco, a wealthy Italian, has come to England to discover his true identity. Carl, a student, is torn between canvassing for the Labour party, watching the World Cup or going on a walking holiday with his girlfriend Ellie. Their paths cross in Preston library and the three take an epic journey across the Pennines.

Fair Game

1994

Okinawa poster
5.6

On the eve of their return to the states, the crew of the U.S.S. Blake is unpleasantly surprised when their new captain, Lt. Commander Hale, announces that they've been reassigned to the upcoming invasion of Okinawa. With the news turning the crew against him, Hale must rise to the occasion to keep his men inline.

Okinawa

1952

Nightmare poster
6.8

A young woman is plagued by nightmares of her asylum-patient mother. Upon returning to her family home, the nightmares become real when she sees a strange woman pacing the halls.

Nightmare

1964

Start the Revolution Without Me poster
6.0

Two sets of identical twins are accidentally switched at birth. One pair, Phillipe and Pierre DeSisi, are aristocratic and haughty, while the other, Charles and Claude Coupé, are poor and dim-witted. On the eve of the French Revolution, both sets find themselves entangled in palace intrigue.

Start the Revolution Without Me

1970

Life at the Top poster
5.9

Successful businessman Joe Lampton is married to the wealthy Susan, has two children, and lives in the mill town of Warley in northern England. But his career seems to have plateaued, leaving him disillusioned. This feeling is only exacerbated when he discovers his wife's infidelity with local man Mark. So he takes up with attractive TV host Norah and moves with her to London, aiming to reignite the fire that drove him to the top.

Life at the Top

1965

A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story poster
9.5

One of the most moving stories in the annals of sports is presented in this true drama documenting the love affair of baseball immortal Lou Gehrig and his wife Eleanor. Their romance spans the time period from his days of glory with Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees to his unsuccessful battle with an incurable disease. As the story begins, the talented but shy Gehrig is already a popular Yankee slugger when he meets the outgoing Eleanor. Their romance begins hesitantly, but blossoms as they exchange letters while Gehrig is on the road with the team. However, Gehrig's possessive mother becomes a formidable obstacle, first to their marriage and later to their happiness. But their love for one another proves triumphant. In the midst of their happiness, when Gehrig is at the peak of his career, he learns that he is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The courage and dignity exhibited by the Gehrigs during this crisis make this a powerful, memorable film.

A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story

1978

The Strange Affair poster
5.1

When rookie P.C. Strange falls for an under aged girl, he is unknowingly compromised by a pair of pornographers. Meanwhile, seasoned Det. Pierce is out to catch mob boss Quince and soon both plots intertwine.

The Strange Affair

1968

Smashing Time poster
6.3

Two young women arrive in London to make it big in show business, and become corrupted by money and fame in the process.

Smashing Time

1967

Hell Is a City poster
6.6

Set in Manchester, heartland of England's industrial north, Don Starling escapes from jail becoming England's most wanted man. Ruthless villain Starling together with his cronies engineered a robbery that resulted in the violent death of a young girl. Detective Inspector Martineau has been assigned to hunt him down and bring him in. From seedy barrooms, through gambling dens the trail leads to an explosive climax high on the rooftops of the city.

Hell Is a City

1960

The Brain poster
5.8

After the mysterious crash of a millionaire's private plane, scientists secretly harvest the dying man's brain and keep it alive in a laboratory in order to communicate via telepathy.

The Brain

1962

Red Monarch poster
5.4

British comedy satirising Stalin's inner circle as an absolute monarchs court. In the face of rampant abuse of power and poisonous distrust some still manage to keep faith with the Bolshevist creed until the very end. In front of the firing squad a stalwart bolshevist of the first hour exclaims: "Even in the best democracy errors are being made!"

Red Monarch

1983

Somewhere More Central poster
NR

A TV play by Beryl Bainbridge. Formby. As the family gathers for Grandma's funeral, it seems to Olive that the eccentric old lady they have come to bury is far from dead.

Somewhere More Central

1981

Trial by Combat poster
7.8

A group called The Knights Of Avalon are unhappy with the justice system so are taking the law into their own hands by executing criminals using medieval methods such as jousting.

Trial by Combat

1976

Violent Playground poster
7.2

A Liverpool juvenile liaison officer struggles with a young and dangerous pyromaniac.

Violent Playground

1958

Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done poster
9.0

Able Seaman Dick Deadeye is charged by Queen Victoria to find the stolen Ultimate Secret. His ugliness means that his life has always been lonely but a buxom barmaid takes a shine to him. Together, they battle pirates and an evil magician before discovering that the Ultimate Secret is nothing but LOVE! Using songs based on the original works of Gilbert and Sullivan (but updated with modern lyrics), this film was created to commemorate the centenary anniversary of the first collaboration of the composers of the Savoy Operas.

Dick Deadeye, or Duty Done

1975

The Ties That Bind Us poster
NR

A look at the subtle (and not so subtle!) links to the show's past and future contained within the story of The Five Doctors.

The Ties That Bind Us

2008

Bless This House poster
6.4

The legendary Sid James stars as the head of a chaotic household in this movie spin-off from the hit ITV sitcom. Sid Abbott and his best mate Trevor (Peter Butterworth) enjoy home-brewing. Plans to turn their hobby into a profitable, if illicit, sideline come unstuck when a Customs and Excise officer (Terry Scott) moves in next door! What’s more, Sid’s outspoken and madcap family hinder neighbourly relations even further.

Bless This House

1972

Fortune Is a Woman poster
6.8

An insurance man discovers his ex-girlfriend and her husband's art-forgery/arson scam.

Fortune Is a Woman

1957

Amy poster
8.3

A tale of real-life British aviation pioneer Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly from Britain to Australia, who would later mysteriously disappear.

Amy

1984