Norman Beaton
Norman Beaton was a popular and much loved Guyanese born British actor. He arrived in the UK in 1960 and worked as a calypso singer and musician and a teacher - being the first black teacher employed by the education authority in Liverpool. His heart set on a career in showbusiness, he moved to Bristol and became a presenter on the regional news magazine Points West, before a two week prison sentence curtailed his presenting career. He subsequently found work in London's West End, appearing in The Tempest as Ariel, a role he subsequently cited as the most important in his career. He helped set up the Black Theatre in Brixton in the mid 70s and broke into television with the first black British sitcom, The Fosters in 1976, playing Lenny Henry's father. A star turn in the movie Black Joy followed a year later, as did the principal role in the fledgling black soap Empire Road for the BBC. But it is perhaps his performance as Desmond Ambrose, the crotchety Peckham barber in Channel 4's hit sitcom Desmond's that Beaton will forever be remembered for. The series ran from 1988 until his ill health curtailed the show in 1994. He retired to Georgetown, the place of his birth, but collapsed and died of a heart attack at the airport on arrival, on 13th December 1994. He was 60 years old.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 1.928 |
Birthday | 1934-10-31 |
Place of Birth | Georgetown, Guyana |
Also Known As |
1977
Black Joy
6.4/7
An innocent and unsophisticated Guyanese immigrant is exposed to the hustlin' way of life in the Brixton ghetto.
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Black Joy
1989
Endgame
0/0
A performance of Samuel Beckett's 'Endgame', a play in which nothing happens, once - unlike Beckett's first play 'Waiting for Godot' in which nothing...
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Endgame
1987
Playing Away
5.6/5
To mark the conclusion of their "Third World Week" celebration, a cricket team in a small English village invites a black cricket team from South Lond...
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Playing Away
1989
The Mighty Quinn
6.2/107
Police chief Xavier Quinn investigates the gruesome murder of Donald Pater, one of the wealthiest residents on a Caribbean island. He was found decapi...
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The Mighty Quinn
1976
Pressure
5.7/6
A British-born younger son of an immigrant family from Trinidad finds himself adrift between two cultures.
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Pressure
1984
Nice
7.75/2
A naïve and "nice" West Indian's descent into postcolonial cynicism is depicted in a twenty minute monologue from writer Farrukh Dhondy.
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Nice
1977
Black Christmas
1/1
A bittersweet drama on a familiar theme - the frictions forced to the surface during a Christmas family get-together - Michael Abbensetts' Black Chris...
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Black Christmas
1987
Big George Is Dead
0/0
Returning to England from Trinidad and Tobago for one night only, a former trickster finds that old friends and communities have moved on.
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Big George Is Dead
1990
When Love Dies
0/0
A young man looks back over his unhappy marriage and struggles to come to terms with his wife's suicide.
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When Love Dies
1982
Easy Money
0/0
At a concert Marcia picked Terry out of the crowd. So he no longer feels alone. Until he learns about her secret life and dare not tell his friends.
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Easy Money
1992
Black and White in Colour
0/0
A two part documentary that details the contribution of black and Asian people to television history from the birth of television in 1936 to 1992. Int...
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Black and White in Colour
1983
Eureka
5.2/67
An Alaskan gold prospector lives in luxury with his family on an island which gangsters want.
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Eureka
1987
Mark of the Hand
0/0
Guyanese painter Aubrey Williams (1926-1990) returns to his homeland on a “journey to the source of his inspiration” in this vivid Arts Council docume...
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Mark of the Hand
1979
The Last Window Cleaner
0/0
When DC Denis Deacey finds himself surprisingly transferred to Belfast he gets digs in a most unusual boarding house called The Crumlin View where no...
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The Last Window Cleaner
1980
Growing Pains
4.6/5
An old book containing a strange poem resurrects a vengeful spirit from the dead. Originally an episode of British horror anthology TV series, Hammer...
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Growing Pains
1988
Airbase
0/0
Hidden beneath an airbase the elite F-111 pilots live in a secret fantasy world as they wait, primed for the ultimate war game of World War Three. The...
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Airbase
1975
In Sickness and in Health
0/0
A hard-working doctor must also carry the burden of a turbulent home life, due to the expectations of his demanding wife. Part of Thames Televison's A...
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In Sickness and in Health
1984
Real Life
0/0
A comedy about a dreamer whose Walter Mitty-like fantasies turn his world of make-believe into a world of trouble.
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Real Life
1972
Up the Chastity Belt
3.8/18
A funny thing happened to Lurkalot, serf to Sir Coward de Custard, on the way to Custard Castle. Lurkalot sells lusty love potions and rusty chastity...
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