Don't Laugh at Me

Norman Wisdom was born in poverty in the East End. By the age of 12 he was a homeless tramp who had to beg and steal to eat. Eventually he joined the Army where he became a boxing champion and also discovered his true vocation as an entertainer. On leaving the Army he blew his savings on a trip to Hollywood where he bluffed his way in to see Charlie Chaplin, who predicted that Norman Wisdom would be the man to take his mantle. This little man in a tight suit and cloth cap was to make over 40 films and became Britain's most successful comedian of the 1950s and early 1960s. His stories from this time revolve around film greats including Laurel and Hardy, Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson and John Wayne. His song, "Don't Laugh At Me", was in the top ten for nine months, hinting at a sadness behind all the success, and his wife Freda was to leave him when, as he says, she found someone tall and good-looking. Now Norman's film career is reviving with the release of a new film called "Double X".