[ 2010-1-7 10:11:02 | watches1013 ] 

          Byline: JANE KELLY                                                  YOU PROBABLY don't remember me,' he says, standing in the hall of his flat in Epsom, clutching my hand and inadvertently flashing an enormous gold Rolex.                          Not remembering Norman is practically impossible, as he well knows.             Schalke 04 Soccer Jersey              Between 1955 and 1966, Norman Wisdom was Britain's leading comedian and most successful film star, claiming higher audiences than Sean Connery in the James Bond movies.                          His first film, Trouble In Store in 1953, broke box office records, earning him a British Film Academy Award and a No 1 hit with his own song Don't Laugh At Me 'Cos I'm A Fool.                                       It is as a lovable clown that people still know Norman Wisdom today, even if they can recall none of his 19 films. Wearing his trademark butcher boy cap and 30-shilling suit, his character Norman Pitkin is part of our common folk memory.                          Only 5ft tall and struggling with ladder, bike or milk float, he was our clumsy, anarchic British 'gump' long before the Americans came up with their mawkish and pious Forrest Gump.                          The strange power of Norman's comedy, 53 years of falling off ladders and into holes and screeching 'Mr GrimsDALE!', is being celebrated at the Barbican next week.                          Hordes of fans are expected, including some from Albania where he is so popular that he has been given the freedom of the capital, Tirana, as well as many surprisingly young British fans.                          BUT you find, if you want to discuss the ups and downs of Norman's career, that you can't. He is sure there haven't been any downs, even though his popularity took a dive in the mid-Sixties. 'Taste in comedy hasn't changed at all,' he insists.                                             'My comedy is for children from three to 93. You do need a slightly childish sense of humour and if you haven't got that, it's very sad. There was no crest and downturn in my career - it's just lasted. I've just kept going.' His entire career has been all about 'keeping going'.                          'My first engagement was at 8.15pm, December 17, 1945 at the Collins Music Hall in Islington,' he says.                          He was paid [pounds sterling]8 a week. He details everything, particularly relishing the 1946 summer season in Scarborough, where 'the gump' was first born as a comic partner to David Nixon's straight magic act.                          The gump and Nixon moved on to the London Casino, then to the BBC Home Service. 'When David introduced me on radio, I whispered,' says Norman. 'When he asked me why, I said it was because my foot had gone to sleep. We both laughed like drains.' He does so again.                          Apparently the nation joined in, and with that somewhat feeble joke, a national treasure was launched.                          He worked on films at Pinewood studios by day and at the London Palladium by night, where he'd do two shows a night, finishing at 11pm. In 1955 he was earning about [pounds sterling]1,000 a week. By 1957 he had also married Freda, a beautiful blonde showgirl. His career at the Palladium culminated in 1961 with an appearance as an impromptu solo guest with host Bruce Forsyth seen by some as variety television's finest hour.                          'No one works like that now,' he says. 'No one did it then. But I was determined. I wanted to make it big. I wanted to be a success and I drove myself relentlessly.' This unstoppable urge to impress was the result of a disastrous start in life.                          'I wanted Boxs Replica Watch to be recognised, I wanted to impress and I wanted to
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