It remains the world's largest country and the largest oil producer
It retains its permanent seat on the UN Security Council (one among five)
Its nuclear arsenal (in Cold War times one of five countries, but now one of nine) has been progressively modernised
Sustained increases in defence spending have brought it close to its goal of escalation dominance in local and regional war
But the economic base for these capabilities is steadily declining. Russia's economy is the 10th largest in the world, producing little of value beyond hydrocarbons. Corruption and rent-seeking extract an enormous economic toll. It
remains burdened with Soviet era infrastructure, and its ability to
meet the educational and medical needs of its population is rapidly
declining. Whatever one's view, two further points for and against Russia's global standing are undeniable:
Russia regards itself as a great power - it is not in question anywhere inside the country
China has long since eclipsed Russia as the world's number two power behind the US
Yet for all Russia's pretence about a rebalancing of priorities
towards Asia, since the fallout over Ukraine, it still measures itself
against the West, and America in particular.
Distinct Eurasian niche
Regardless
of hypothetical rankings or real-world measurements, Russia has carved
out a niche for itself as a distinct Eurasian pole in world politics,
allied to neither Europe nor Asia but seeking influence there and
beyond. Its
membership of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)
group of rising powers suggests an acknowledgement that Russia has not
quite arrived (there is no contradiction for Russia between this and
pre-existing great power status) but also that is it is civilisationally
distinct from Europe. Certainly, there is no current desire to be part of most prominent Western-led organisations such as the European Union. Indeed,
Russia has striven to come up with its own alternatives over the years,
the latest of which, a Eurasian Union, is designed precisely as a
counterweight but free of the burden of Western norms and values. Whether
it will have a longer life than its antecedents, considering Russia's
failing economic fortunes and other countries' evident reluctance to be
joined too closely, remains to be seen. Russia's mission beyond the quest for influence is hard to discern. It is the world's most ostentatious foe of democracy promotion. But
its foreign aid is minimal (especially beyond the other former Soviet
states - where its purpose is often regarded as a double-edged sword),
and its contribution to UN-led peacekeeping has withered since the
1990s.
World's largest economies by gross domestic product (GDP) (in millions of US dollars, 2014):
US: 17,419,000
China: 10,360,105
Japan: 4,601,461
Germany: 3,852,556
UK: 2,941,886
France: 2,829,192
Brazil: 2,346,118
Italy: 2,144,338
India: 2,066,902
Russian Federation: 1,860,598
Until the recent campaign in Syria, Russia had talked of itself as a global power, but behaved like a regional power. Russia's
greatest challenge is to preserve its global importance while most of
the relevant indicators are dropping and its allies are few and far
between (dictators, largely). For some, Russia's natural and historical pre-eminence mean it will always be a key player. Others fear Russia may compensate for weakness with risky foreign adventurism. Indeed, for many, it is already doing just that.
Мне после смерти моей мамы - Владимир Титов осенью 1987 года в "диссидентском" Боровске Калужской области: "Теперь НТС будет для тебя мамой..." Некоторые видные деятели Народно-Трудового Союза российских солидаристов, с которыми я встречался и сотрудничал
Валерий Сендеровсамый дорогой для меня, очень активные отношения с 1987 по 1993 год, Москва
Владимир Рыбаков (Щетинский)очень дорогой для меня, активные отношения, в 1992 году проехали вместе по группам НТС в Новосибирске, Красноярске, Иркутске, Владивостоке, жил у него в Хофхайме, пригороде Франкфурта-на-Майне, в марте 1992 года
Интересные факты:
Моё участие в работе Совета НТС во Франкфурте-на-Майне в марте 1992 года было первой моей поездкой за границу. Конечно, поразило тогда в Западной Германии очень многое. Даже то, что, оказывается, Германия - это тёплая страна. Когда я покидал Москву, то стоял мороз, везде ещё лежал грязный снег. Во Франкфуртеуже всё цвело и благоухало, пели птицы как в у нас в мае. Поражала просто неестественная, стерильная, немецкая чистота. Утром, на следующий день после моего приезда, я подошёл к окну в комнате, в квартире В.М. Рыбакова на втором этаже. Как красиво! Какой аромат! И птицы даже лучше поют. Окно выходило на небольшую тихую улицу из небольших четырехквартирных домов. Улица - как из рекламного журнала. Тоже неестественно чистая.Только лепестки с цветущих деревьев падают на тротуар. Около дома напротив стоит симпатичная немка одетая как бы по-домашнему, в фартуке, но как будто из журнала "Burda moden". В руках у неё - симпатичная метла тоже как будто из какого-то каталога. Меня заинтересовало - что же она собирается подметать на такой стерильно чистой улице? Немка немного поговорила с проходившей мимо знакомой и чинно, картинно, не торопясь принялась подметать... лепестки цветов. Как говорится - WOW. Ростислав Евдокимоввстречался с 1988 по 1993 год, Ленинград, Франкфурт-на-Майне, март, 1992 г.
Евгений Романов (Островский)был в гостях, дома у него, Франкфурт-на-Майне, март,1992 г. Роман Редлих
очень дорогой для меня, встречался в 1991-92 г.г., жили вместе с ним на
"партийной квартире" в Москве, в Кузьминках, в 1991-92 г.г. около трех
месяцев, Франкфурт-на-Майне, март, 1992 г.
Интересные факты: Р.Н. Редлих в 1992 году начал преподавать в Гуманитарном университете. Как-то зимой 1992 года к нему пришёл для беседы, для интервью, молодой журналист из одного солидного московского издания. По-видимому, "всухую" этот рыцарь пера не привык работать с теми, у кого он брал интервью. Накрыли стол. Появилось несколько бутылок... Начали выпивать. Я, правда, как принципиальный трезвенник в этом не участвовал. Причём пили на равных - этот молодой человек и сухонький, небольшого роста восьмидесятилетний Р.Н. Редлих. Между ними завязалась оживленная беседа. Мне пришлось покинуть их на некоторое время. Когда я вернулся, то моему взору открылось любопытное зрелище. Бодрый, прямой, твёрдо держащийся Р.Н. Редлих, ученик русских философов-классиков Ивана Ильина, Семёна Франка и Бориса Вышеславцева, и "клюющий", шатающийся на стуле журналист, уже лепечущий что-то невнятное. Спустя некоторое время журналист просто упал со стула. Мы уложили его на диван. Я был поражен такой стойкостью Р.Н. Редлиха, ведь пили они одинаково. Стал расспрашивать Романа Николаевича - как же это? С замечательным самообладанием, с тонким юмором, совершенно необескураженный Роман Николаевич сослался на свой многолетний опыт. Иван Фризен очень дорогой для меня, активные отношения с
1987 по 1993 год, встречался в 1991-92 г.г., Москва, Франкфурт-на-Майне, март,
1992 г.
Интересные факты:
Долгое время, несколько лет, мне приходилось общаться с Иваном Фризеном, представлявшим зарубежный центр НТС во Франкфурте-на-Майне, только по телефону как с "Иваном Ивановичем". Иван Фризен -мой ровесник - представлялся мне тогда пожилым человеком лет шестидесяти. Объясняется
это тем, что до контактов с Иваном Фризеном мне приходилось несколько раз
общаться по телефону с другим Иваном Ивановичем, действительно пожилым
человеком - И.И. Агрузовым, председателем Международного общества прав человека
во Франкфурте-на-Майне, одним из старейших членов НТС.
Борис Брюно был в гостях, дома у него, Франкфурт-на-Майне, март, 1992 г.
Интересные факты:
Борис Степанович Брюно - маркиз. Настоящий русский аристократ. Так же поражал простотой в общении, как и Е.Р. Миркович.
Фридрих Незнанский Франкфурт-на-Майне, март, 1992 г.
Борис Пушкарев активные отношения, встречался в 1991-92 г.г., жили вместе на "партийной квартире" в Москве в 1991-92 г.г.
Интересные факты: В 1991-м году в процессе сотрудничества с Б.С. Пушкаревым и Екатериной Брейтбарт -создания московского филиала издательства "Посев" - я впервые увидел персональный компьютер. Настоящий, original American PC. Привезли несколько компьютеров для филиала издательства. Windows в современном виде тогда, конечно, ещё не было на этих компьютерах. Впервые я увидел, как пользуются дискетами. Б.С. Пушкарев приехал в помещениеиздательства в Раменском, сел поработать за компьютер, достал дискету 3,5 дюйма. Так всё это было ново тогда. Об Интернете и компьютерных сетях я узнал впервые ещё летом 1989 года от приехавшего из США Виктора Балашова, бывшего политзаключенного, отсидевшего в ГУЛАГе лет десять. Виктор закончил то ли Гарвардский, то ли Принстонский университет и приехал по приглашению Аэрофлота - налаживать там компьютерные сети. Мы стояли с ним на балконе у Адели Найденович. Виктор курил, облокотившись на перила, и рассказывал мне про совершенно новую реальность - глобальную компьютерную сеть, глобальное информационное поле. Для филиала издательства "Посев"мы арендовали вначале часть этажа одного из общежитий в г. Раменское Московской области. Помещение филиала издательства состояло из комнат, жилых блоков, для сотрудников издательства и помещений для готовых тиражей. Впервые я увидел в реальности, что это такое - тираж книг и журналов по 50, 100 тыс. экземпляров -большие помещения, заставленные штабелями пачек от пола до потолка. Для перевозки тиража требовались КАМАЗы. Уже зимой 1991-1992 г.г. в России впервые вышли большие тиражи журналов "Посев" и "Грани". На заседание Совета НТС во Франкфурте-на-Майне в марте 1992 года я уже ехал с образцами изданной нами литературы - двумя пачками "Посева" и "Граней". Первыми книгами, изданными "Посевом" в Москве, были книга В.К. Штрик-Штрикфельда "Против Сталина и Гитлера" и книга Г.К. Гинса"Предприниматель". Обе - в твёрдом переплете. Филиал издательства "Посев" вначале активно сотрудничал с московским издательством "Терра".
Елизавета Мирковичвстречался в 1991-92 г.г., Москва
Интересные факты:
Елизавета Романовна Миркович - урожденная баронесса фон Кнорринг. Отец её был ротмистром в царской армии. Настоящая русская аристократка. Поражала её изящная, очаровательная простота в общении. Такая простота, кажется, один из признаков подлинного аристократизма. Владимир Поремский Франкфурт-на-Майне, март, 1992 г.
Екатерина Самсонова (Брейтбарт) активные отношения, встречался в 1992 году, Москва
Ну не скоты ли эти "соотечественники"?
Ремонтировали подъезд, запачкали дверь и лестничную площадку побелкой и не
помыли их за собой... Почему-то они считают, что я, инвалид, должен мыть и
убирать за ними. 56 лет прожил в этой дрянной стране, а всё никак не могу привыкнуть
к их скотству, скотству на каждом шагу. Но я не убираю за скотами. Пока я был четыре года в Москве соседи сверху и снизу разворотили трубы в
туалете и теперь у меня нет слива в туалете, не течёт вода из крана на кухне.
Соседи сверху меняли себе отопление, в моей комнате пробили потолок, устроили
погром, из моего книжного шкафа вывалили ценные книги - много
раритетных, "тамиздатовских", затоптали их, многие книги пропали. Но моя комната до сих пор в таком состоянии потому, что я не убираю за скотами. В мае 2000-го года при моём аресте сотрудники саратовского управления ФСБ, проводя
обыск, сломали дверь моей комнаты, закрытой на замок, и до сих пор косяк двери
изуродован следами взлома. Но я не ремонтирую после скотов. Пока я был в Москве эти годы, будановская сволочь из этой Донбасской авиадивизии
отгородила себе часть Лётного городка, перегородив узкую дорогу, по которой
двигался автотранспорт, и теперь весь этот транспорт движется по узкой
дороге под моими окнами как по междугородней автотрассе. Пока я сидел в тюрьме в 2000-2004 годах за оппозиционную деятельность эта же
будановская сволочь захватила прекрасное поле за авиагородком, запасной
аэродром, всегда доступное для всех - для прогулок, для загара, для отдыха.
Закрыли доступ на это поле. Но пока я мог гулять, я всегда ходил туда, несмотря
на то, что однажды эта будановская сволочь гонялась там за мной даже на
вертолете. Но я не отдаю скотам свои права гражданина.
81 % "россиян" - за цензуру в Интернете, за его полное отключение и считает Интернет происками ЦРУ 89% "россиян" - за Путина и его диктатуру согласно исследованиям июня 2015 г., проведенным аналитическим
центром Юрия Левады
Защищать
свободу в российском интернете не готова основная масса его
пользователей: 58% не возражали бы даже против тотального отключения
интернета. Это следует из исследования, которое подготовили американские
ученые совместно с Всероссийским центром изучения общественного мнения
(ВЦИОМ). Среди респондентов в РФ 42% верят, что
иностранные государства используют сеть во вред России, 49% считают, что
информацию в интернете следует цензурировать, а 81% отрицательно
относятся к распространению призывов протестовать против руководства
страны — это часть показателей, на которые опирались авторы исследования
"Чего желает общество: стремление россиян к контролю интернета". Его
готовила Обсерватория интернет-политики Центра изучения глобальных
коммуникаций при Университете Пенсильвании (США) на основании данных
ВЦИОМ. "Представители гражданского общества зачастую воспринимают
общественное мнение как сдерживающий фактор авторитарного поведения,—
отмечает директор Центра изучения глобальных коммуникаций Монро Прайс.—
Однако, как показывает исследование, все может быть ровно наоборот.
Общество может не ценить свои информационные права". Когда
"запретительные настроения сильны одновременно и у общества, и у
правительства, позитивные изменения, особенно привнесенные извне, будут
труднодостижимы", полагает он.
Как
показало исследование, "первым" по значимости источником информации
новостные сайты называют всего 10% респондентов, 6% — соцсети. У 60% это
место занимает центральное телевидение, у 6% — радио, у 5% — газеты, у
остальных — региональные традиционные СМИ. А интернет используется
гражданами прежде всего для поиска "информации для собственных нужд"
(63%) и общения в соцсетях (62%). Для чтения российских новостей, к
примеру, его используют 45% респондентов, международных новостей — 31%,
блогов и форумов — 25%. При этом граждане, пользующиеся интернетом, в
целом не видят в нем больших угроз (см. график). Различие между ними и
россиянами, далекими от интернета, видно на конкретных примерах. Так,
39% среди тех, кто интернетом не пользуется, согласны, что он вредит
семейным ценностям, 33% — политической стабильности. А среди тех, кто
интернет использует постоянно, так считают 18% и 19% соответственно. Но "в интернете люди сталкиваются и с весьма
шокирующим контентом", например насилием, которое вызывает отторжение
"среди различных групп населения", заявила "Ъ" директор по международным
исследованиям ВЦИОМ Ольга Каменчук. Даже среди постоянных пользователей
интернета 43% так или иначе поддерживают цензуру в сети (57% среди не
пользующихся интернетом). Граждане в ряде случаев готовы даже на
радикальные меры — "временное, но тотальное отключение интернета
правительством". Среди всех интернет-пользователей, говорится в
исследовании, 58% поддержали бы такой шаг (главным аргументом для них
стало бы обеспечение национальной безопасности). 42% не поддержали бы
этот шаг. Но на защиту свободы в сети готовы встать офлайн немногие: из
9% пользователей, которые допускают для себя такой шаг, 40% говорят, что
поводом стал бы полный запрет на использование интернета. В 2014 году
аналогичное исследование в Турции выявило, что даже 38% сторонников
правящей Партии справедливости и развития выступают против инициатив по
ограничению интернета, заявил "Ъ" автор доклада Эрик Нисбет, а среди
пользователей интернета 53% там выступают против любой государственной
цензуры. Но там "выступления правительства о регулировании интернета
оспариваются сильной оппозицией", уверен он.
The resistance to abomination of sodomites in Holy City Jerusalem. On July, 30, 2015, 6 sodomites were stabbed at the Jerusalem pederasts parade by religious Orthodox Jew Yishai Schlisse. Yishai Schlisse was recently released from prison after serving a 10-year sentence for the 2005 attack at the same sodomites parade. After his release Schlissel returned to his hometown, where he distributed hand-written pamphlets in which he called on all Jews faithful to God to risk beatings and imprisonment for the sake of preventing the abominable parade.
Две банды - США и путинская Россия. Две враждующие гангстерские группировки - правящие круги и крупный капитал США и чекистская верхушка путинской диктатуры, олигархия РФ. Обе цинично используют подвластное им население в своих шкурных воровских интересах. И, в принципе, в США и в РФ - одинаковый тоталитаризм, одинаковое подавление прав и свобод. Только в США всё это гораздо изощрённее и подлее. Новый глобальный тоталитаризм новой империи зла, "четвертого Рима" - США и местечковый захолустный тоталитаризм путинской диктатуры, близнеца КНДР. Всё, что они, эти две банды, говорят и пишут друг про друга - правда. США - про Россию, Россия - про США. Как, оказывается, было правдой то, что говорили друг про друга сталинский СССР и гитлеровская Германия. В обличениях друг друга они не врут. В США, на Западе - такое же затыкание рта инакомыслящим, "экстремистам", такие же блокировки в Facebook и Wikipedia, как затыкание рта, лишение прав инакомыслящих в РФ и блокировки в российском Интернете всего и вся. Противникам всеобщей содомии, неоязычества или новых оранжевых ставленников США в России или на Украине "демократические" США так же заткнут рот, как фашистская путинская РФ. В лучшем случае - никогда не услышат, вечное игнорирование, информационное небытие. Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia на самом деле - банальные инструменты американской пропаганды и навязывания всему миру интересов и "ценностей" пиндосов, т.е. американцев - духовно примитивных, в принципе. Таких "ценностей" вроде всеобщего гомосексуализма, однополых браков, всяких ересей вроде мормонов или сайентологии и бешеного культа денег. Достаточно взглянуть на PR, раскрутку, ставленников США - таких ничтожеств, как Навальный, Немцов или Касьянов в западной прессе или даже в американской Wikipedia, чтобы всё стало ясно. США и их оранжево-белоленточные ставленники в России - такие же лютые враги Свободной и Великой России, как и путинская диктатура. Никогда Свобода для России не придет с Запада. Рассчитывать на помощь США, Запада - то же самое, что надежды 1941 года на помощь гитлеровской Германии в освобождении от большевиков СССР. Никакие санкции никогда не помогут. Циничные и своекорыстные западные колонизаторы никогда не помогут наивному островному племени в его проблемах - только шкуру снимут с островитян и овладеют всем за горсть стеклянных бус и стакан "огненной воды". Безусловно, в России все эти белоленточно-оранжевые, совки-ельциноиды и всякие "правозащитники", смотрящие в рот Обаме или Бушу и кормящиеся с их руки - предатели, изменники, мазепы, иуды, каины. Все эти навальные, касьяновы, буковские, каспаровы, всякие шпионы и перебежчики, сутягины и литвиненки. Все эмигранты, бывшие русские - это просто дрянь, жалкое дерьмо в большой игре их новых хозяев в США и Евросоюзе. Конечно, это дело большого времени, десятилетий, больших глобальных процессов, и нам до этого просто не дожить - но эта новая империя зла, новый Карфаген или Рим - Соединенные Штаты Америки - заслуживает такого же уничтожения, как эта омерзительная постсоветская КГБистская путинская диктатура. Плох ли или хорош русский народ, ненавидеть его или любить, но никто не поможет ему кроме Бога и его самого, этого русского народа. Свобода и счастье для России могут родиться только в России.
According to Pew, 73% of Russians say the economy is in bad shape while 24% say it is in good shape.
Over the past year the price of oil has fallen drastically, prompting Putin to say last October that "the global economy would suffer" if oil prices remained so low.
Many Russians believe Western powers are to blame for the bad economy
Of the 73% who believed the economy was in bad shape, Pew found that
one-third point to sanctions imposed by Western nations as the root
cause. The EU sanctions imposed last September target Russia's finance, energy, and arms sector.
Another one-third of respondents believe the sanctions are due to
falling oil prices, and about one-quarter blame current government
policies, Pew found.
Russians love Putin
The
Russian people support Putin on nearly all of his foreign and domestic
policies. In particular, at least eight in ten Russians agree with how
Putin handles relations with Ukraine, China, America, and the EU.
Domestically, upward of 60% of Russians support Putin's initiatives to
root out corruption, fix the economy, and his energy policy.
Pew notes that Putin's foreign policy approval ratings are the
highest documented since the organization began surveying Russians in
2003. However, his approval ratings for how he has dealt with Ukraine
have declined over the last year.
Russians do not like the US
Pew found that 15% of Russians view the US favorably, compared to 81% who view the US unfavorably.
They don't like NATO, the EU, or Germany much either
Only 12% of Russians like NATO and only 31% like the EU. Views
towards Germany are at an all-time low at 35% approval. Pew notes that
since 2011, opinions of the US, Germany, NATO, and the EU have all
fallen drastically.
Russians also want to keep Ukraine out of NATO and the EU
Only 3% of Russians want Ukraine to join NATO, and only 14% want it to join the EU.
Russians have little faith in Barack Obama and Angela Merkel
Only 11% of Russians have faith in Barack Obama to "do the right
thing regarding world affairs," according to Pew. German Chancellor
Angela Merkel has the faith of 28% of Russians. Pew adds that in 2012,
48% of Russians had confidence in Merkel and 28% had confidence in
Obama. President
Barack Obama toasts with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the
Orangerie at Schloss Charlottenburg palace on June 19, 2013 in Berlin,
Germany.
Russians miss the Soviet Union
Pew's research showed that 69% of Russians say the breakup of the
Soviet Union was a bad thing for Russia, while 17% say it was a good
thing. Specifically, 85% of older Russians (50 and up) who grew up in
the USSR say the breakup was a bad thing. Only 44% of younger Russians
concur, and 27% of them have no opinion.
Russians do not believe Russia is big enough
According to Pew, 61% of Russians agree with the statement “there
are parts of neighboring countries that really belong to us." In
contrast, 29% disagreed. Pew notes that this feeling has been growing
since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia is nearly twice the size of the US.
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom,[1]OBE[2] (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character that was often called Norman Pitkin.[3] He was awarded the 1953 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles following the release of Trouble in Store, his first film in a lead role.
Wisdom gained celebrity status in lands as far apart as South America, Iran and many Eastern Bloc countries, particularly in Albania where his films were the only ones by Western actors permitted by dictator Enver Hoxha to be shown.[4]Charlie Chaplin once referred to Wisdom as his "favourite clown".[5]
Wisdom later forged a career on Broadway in New York and as a television actor, winning critical acclaim for his dramatic role of a dying cancer patient in the television play Going Gently in 1981. He toured Australia and South Africa.[3] After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, a hospice was named in his honour.[4] In 1995 he was given the Freedom of the City of London and of Tirana.[4] The same year he was appointed OBE.[4]
Norman Joseph Wisdom was born in the Marylebone district of London. His parents were Frederick, a chauffeur, and Maud Wisdom (née Targett), a dressmakerwho often worked for West End theatres, and had made a dress for Queen Mary.[6] The couple married in Marylebone on 15 July 1912. Wisdom had an elder brother, Frederick Thomas "Fred" Wisdom (13 December 1912 – 1 July 1971).[citation needed]
The family lived at 91 Fernhead Road, Maida Vale, London W9, where they slept in one room.[7] He and his brother were raised in extreme poverty and were frequently hit by their father.[8]
After a period in a children's home in Deal, Kent, Wisdom ran away when he was 11 but returned to become an errand boy in a grocer's shop on leaving school at 13. Having been kicked out of his home by his father and become homeless,[8] in 1929 he walked (by his own account) to Cardiff, Wales, where he became a cabin boy in the Merchant Navy. He later also worked as a waiter. [4]
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Wisdom was sent to work in a communications centre in a command bunker in London, where he connected telephone calls from war leaders to the prime minister. He met Winston Churchill on several occasions when asked for updates on incoming calls,[7] Wisdom then joined the Royal Corps of Signals, and performed a similar military function at the unit headquarters in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Whilst performing a shadow boxing routine in an army gym, Wisdom discovered he had a talent for entertainment,[9] and began to develop his skills as a musician and stage entertainer.[5] In 1940 aged 25, at a NAAFI entertainment night, during a dance routine, Wisdom stepped down from his position in the orchestra pit, and started shadow boxing. Hearing his colleagues and officers giggling, he broke into a duck waddle, followed by a series of facial expressions. He later described the reaction as: "They were in hysterics. All the officers were falling about laughing."[10]
Wisdom later said this was where he first patented his persona as "The Successful Failure".[10] Over the next few years, until he was demobilized in 1945, his routine included his characteristic singing and the trip-up-and-stumble. After Wisdom appeared at a charity concert at Cheltenham Town Hall, actor Rex Harrison came backstage and urged him to become a professional entertainer.[11]
Wisdom made his debut as a professional entertainer at the age of 31; his rise to the top was phenomenally fast. Initially the straight man to the magicianDavid Nixon,[5] he had already adopted the costume that would remain his trademark: tweed flat cap askew, with peak turned up; a suit at least two sizes too tight; a crumpled collar and a mangled tie. The character that went with this costume—known as "the Gump"—was to dominate Wisdom's film career. A West End theatre star within two years, he honed his performance skills mainly between theatres in London and Brighton:[10]
I spent virtually all of those years on the road. You could keep incredibly busy just performing in pantomimes and revues. There was a whole generation of performers who learned everything on the stage.
Wisdom made his TV debut in 1948 and was soon commanding enormous audiences and had a small film role in A Date with a Dream released in the same year.
Starring film roles for the Rank Organisation[edit]
Wisdom made a series of low-budget star-vehicle comedies for the Rank Organisation, beginning with Trouble in Store (1953).[12] This film earned him a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Film in 1954.[13] It was the second most popular film at the British box-office in 1954 and exhibitors voted him the tenth biggest star at the British box office the same year.[14]
His films' cheerful, unpretentious appeal make them the direct descendants of those made a generation earlier by George Formby.[15] Never highly thought of by the critics, they were very popular with domestic audiences and Wisdom's films were among Britain's biggest box-office successes of their day. They were also successful in some unlikely overseas markets, helping Rank stay afloat financially when their more expensive film projects were unsuccessful.[citation needed]
The films usually involved the Gump character, usually called Norman, in a manual occupation in which he is barely competent and in a junior position to a straight man, often played by Edward Chapman (as Mr Grimsdale) or Jerry Desmonde. They benefited from Wisdom's capacity for physical slapstick comedy and his skill at creating a sense of the character's helplessness. The series often contained a romantic subplot; the Gump's inevitable awkwardness with women is a characteristic shared with the earlier Formby vehicles. His innocent incompetence still made him endearing to the heroine.
Wisdom's second film as star, One Good Turn (1955), was the seventh most popular movie of 1955 in Britain.[16] He made a cameo in As Long as They're Happy (1955) then returned in Man of the Moment (1955). He was the 6th most popular star of 1955.[17]
Wisdom was a window cleaner in Up in the World (1956) and worked in a jewellery store in Just My Luck (1957). The box office receipts of these last few films had declined from previous Wisdom films but The Square Peg (1959), an army comedy, reversed the trend and was one of the year's biggest hits. The film was the 7th most popular movie at the British box office in 1959.[18] Less successful was Follow a Star (1959). There Was a Crooked Man (1960) was an attempt to change Wisdom's image away from Rank Organisation. The Bulldog Breed (1960) was more conventional. The film also starred a young Michael Caine who later recalled he did not enjoy working with Wisdom because he "wasn't very nice to support-part actors".[19] Wisdom remained the 10th biggest star at the British box office.
Wisdom was in The Girl on the Boat (1961) from a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, a second film away from the Rank formula. On the Beat (1962) as a car cleaner. and A Stitch in Time (1963), in which he was cast as an apprentice butcher, returned him to the regular format.
The Early Bird (1965), his first colour film, had Wisdom as a milkman. After a cameo in The Sandwich Man (1966), Wisdom starred in Press for Time(1966), the last film in this sequence of starring vehicles. Wisdom was still voted the 5th most popular star at the British box office.[20]
Whilst Wisdom's stage performances often involved musical numbers, he wrote only a few of them. He has seven songs attributed to him in the ASCAP database, which are: "Beware", "Don't Laugh at Me ('cause I'm a Fool)", "Falling in Love", "Follow a Star", "I Love You", "Please Opportunity", and "Up in the World".[21]
Norman Wisdom demonstrating a typical expression (1965)
In 1966, Wisdom spent a short period in the United States to star in a Broadway production of the Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahnmusical comedyWalking Happy. His performance was nominated for a Tony Award.
This led to Wisdom's being cast in his first Hollywood movie, The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968). Back in England he tried to change his image slightly in What's Good for the Goose (1969), which featured a topless scene, but it was financially unsuccessful.
Wisdom was one of several actors initially considered for the role of Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, however he turned the role down and it eventually went to Michael Crawford. The creator of the series Raymond Allen later stated "Norman Wisdom was offered the role but turned it down because he didn't find it funny".[22]
On 31 December 1976, Wisdom performed his theme song "Don't Laugh at Me ('cause I'm a Fool)" on BBC1's A Jubilee of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.[23] Wisdom had performed in front of the Queen at many Royal Command Performances, the first being in 1952.[24]
He also completed his first American film as a vaudeville comic in The Night They Raided Minsky's. After a typical performance on The Ed Sullivan Show,[5] further US opportunities were denied him when he had to return to London after his second wife left him. His subsequent career was largely confined to television, and he toured the world with a successful cabaret act. He won critical acclaim in 1981 for his dramatic role of a dying cancer patient in the television play Going Gently.
After touring South Africa and Australia with some success, his appearances in Britain became more infrequent. He spent much of the 1980s in seclusion on the Isle of Man.[25]
Wisdom's career revived in the 1990s, helped by the young comedian Lee Evans, whose act was often compared to Wisdom's work.[26] His films for Rank were playing to new audiences via television screenings, with young fans in the United Kingdom and abroad. The high point of this new popularity was the knighthood he was awarded, for services to entertainment, in the 2000 New Year's honours list.[27] During the ceremony, once he had received his knighthood, he walked away and again performed his trademark trip, at which the Queen smiled and laughed.[28]
From 1995 until 2004 he appeared in the recurring role of Billy Ingleton in the long-running BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine. The role was originally a one-off appearance, but proved so popular that he returned as the character on a number of occasions. In 1996, he received a Special Achievement Award from the London Film Critics.[29]
In 2002 Wisdom filmed a cameo role as a butler in a low-budget horror film. In 2004, he made an appearance on Coronation Street, playing fitness fanatic pensioner Ernie Crabbe. In 2007 he came out of retirement to take a role in a short film called Expresso.[31]
Wisdom was a well-known performer in Albania, where he was one of the few Western actors whose films were allowed in the country during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. From Hoxha's misconceived view, proletarian Norman's ultimately victorious struggles against capitalism, personified by Mr Grimsdale and the effete aristocratic characters played by Jerry Desmonde, were a Communist parable on the class war. He was known as "Mr Pitkin" after the character from his films. In 1995, he visited the post-Stalinist country where, to his surprise, he was greeted by many appreciative fans, including the then President, Sali Berisha. During this trip, Wisdom was filmed by Newsnight as he visited a children's project funded by ChildHope UK.[32]
On a visit in 2001, which coincided with the England football team playing Albania in the city of Tirana,[33] his appearance at the training ground overshadowed that of David Beckham. He appeared on the pitch before the start of the Albania v England match wearing a half-Albanian and half-English football shirt. He was well received by the crowd, especially when he performed one of his trademark trips on his way out to the centre circle.[34] In 1995 Wisdom was made an honorary citizen of Tirana.[35]
In his book and TV series One Hit Wonderland, Tony Hawks united with Wisdom and, along with Tim Rice, released a single, "Big in Albania", in an attempt to enter the Albanian pop charts. It reached number 18 on the Top Albania Radio chart.[36]
In October 2004 Wisdom announced he would retire from the entertainment industry on his 90th birthday (4 February 2005). He announced that he intended to spend more time with his family, playing golf and driving around the Isle of Man, where he was living.[37]
In 2007, Wisdom returned to acting in a short film directed by Kevin Powis, Expresso. The film, which Wisdom later announced (reported BBC/ITV News) was to be officially his last film role, is set during one day in a coffee shop and was funded by the UK Film Council and ScreenWM. Shot in January, it premièred at the Cannes Film Festival on 27 May 2007. It was later adopted by the UK charity Macmillan and released on DVD in aid of the charity.
In the film Wisdom plays a vicar plagued by a fly in a café. Producer Nigel Martin Davey gave him only a visual role so that he would not have to remember any lines, but on the day Wisdom was alert and had his performance changed to add more laughs.[38]
Wisdom was married twice. His first wife was Doreen Brett, whom he married in 1941. By 1944 they had separated when Doreen gave birth to a son, Michael (born 1944), fathered by Albert Gerald Hardwick, a telephone engineer.[citation needed] The marriage was dissolved in 1946.[39]
Popular in the Isle of Man, he lived for 27 years in a house in Andreas named Ballalough (Manx language for "lake farm", also a humorous corruption of the English "belly laugh"). A supporter of various charities and charitable works including supporting orphanages in Albania.[41] In 2005 Wisdom starred in a video for the Manx girl group Twisted Angels, for their single "LA", in support of the local charity Project 21.[42]
During the 1960s, he was involved in a famous legal case (Wisdom v Chamberlain, 1968) in which he was pursued by the Inland Revenue for tax on profits made from the sale of silver bullion he had bought when concerned about the further devaluation of sterling. He contended that it was an investment but the court held that it had been a trading venture and was duly chargeable to income tax.[43]
A lover of cars, his collection included a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental R Type fastback, which he first bought in 1961, and then again in the late 1980s.[47] In 1969, he purchased, after the divorce from Freda Simpson, a Shelby Cobra 427, CSX3206, in New York, which he kept until 1986, when it was sold to another car enthusiast in Brighton, UK. Until his age and declining mental health meant he failed a Department of Transport fitness-to-drive test, he owned and drove a 1987 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit and a Jaguar S-Type, which were sold in September 2005.[citation needed]
In 1963, he bought a new motor yacht. The 94 feet (29 m) long hull and superstructure were built in Spain for £80,000, before being towed to Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, for fitting-out. After three years of extensive works and sea trials, she was named M/Y Conquest and valued at £1.25 million by insurers. It was available for charter at £6,000 a month but Wisdom later sold it, saying that he was "no sailor".[10]
Actress Fenella Fielding, who worked with Wisdom on his 1959 film Follow a Star, said he was "not a very pleasant man. Always making a pass – hand up your skirt first thing in the morning. Not exactly a lovely way to start a day's filming."[48]Lynda Bellingham, who worked with Wisdom on A Little Bit of Wisdom, recalled a comedy sketch where "for ten minutes I stood there while he basically touched me up and you couldn't say anything because he was the master of comedy."[49] Singer Tina Charles, who had a number one with "I Love To Love" in 1976, alleged that Wisdom molested her in his dressing room when she was 16.[49]
In mid-2006, after he suffered an irregular heart rhythm, Wisdom was flown by helicopter to hospital in Liverpool and was fitted with a heart pacemaker.[50]
On the release of Expresso to DVD in the same month, BBC News confirmed that Wisdom lived in a care home, because of his suffering from vascular dementia.[38] It was also reported that he had granted his children power of attorney over his affairs and, having sold off his flat in Epsom, Surrey, they were now in the process of selling his Isle of Man home to raise money to fund his longer term care.[52]
In an exclusive interview on 27 August 2007 with the News of the World, journalists were given access to Wisdom's room at the home. He said he was happy and content in a routine which his family and carers considered kept him safe in spite of the memory losses associated with his condition.[53]
On 16 January 2008,[54]BBC2 aired Wonderland: The Secret Life Of Norman Wisdom Aged 92 and 3/4.[55] The documentary highlighted the dilemma of coping with an ageing parent. His family said that Wisdom's memory loss had become so severe that he no longer recognised himself in his films.[56]
In the six months prior to his death, Wisdom suffered a series of strokes, causing a decline in his physical and mental health. He died on 4 October 2010 at Abbotswood nursing home on the Isle of Man at the age of 95.[57]
His publicist, Phil Day, said, "I have never met anyone in the profession who didn't like him, right up to royalty."[58]
His funeral took place on 22 October 2010 in Douglas, Isle of Man, and all of the island were invited.[59][60] His trademark cloth cap was placed on the coffin in the church.[60] The funeral was attended by a large number of showbusiness personalities and, at Wisdom's request, Moira Anderson sang "Who Can I Turn To",[60] which was specially arranged for the occasion by Gordon Cree.[61] Wisdom's body was buried at Kirk Bride Churchyard, Bride, Isle of Man.[62]
Norman Wisdom was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions, in December 1957 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the Playhouse Theatre, Manchester, and in February 1987, when Andrews surprised him at St Margaret’s Tavern Twickenham, on his 72nd birthday.
In 2007, a Norman Wisdom-themed bar opened at the Sefton Hotel, Douglas, called Sir Norman's. It has stills from his many films on the walls and TV screens playing some of his old films. The bronze statue of Wisdom, which used to be on a bench outside Douglas Town Hall, has been moved to the steps leading into the hotel bar on Harris Promenade.[60][63]
The 2011 film My Week with Marilyn features impersonator Glenn Michael Ford playing Norman Wisdom in a background scene.
A Wetherspoon pub in Deal, Kent, where Wisdom ran away from the children's home, was named The Sir Norman Wisdom in his honour when it opened in March 2013.[64]
In 2017 Kevin Powis, the Director of Norman's last film role in Expresso, completed a feature-length screenplay based on Norman's Life and Adventures; the project is ongoing and seeking production. There is a project website at www.wisdomthemovie.co.uk [67]
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