Norman Beaton

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
    Place of birth
    Georgetown, Guyana
    Birthday
    10/31/1934
In Sickness and in Health
In Sickness and in Health
0
Real Life
Real Life
0
Up the Chastity Belt
Up the Chastity Belt
3.8
Black Joy
Black Joy
6.4
Playing Away
Playing Away
5.6
The Mighty Quinn
The Mighty Quinn
6.2
Pressure
Pressure
5.7
Endgame
Endgame
0
Nice
Nice
7.8
Big George Is Dead
0
Black Christmas
Black Christmas
1
When Love Dies
0
Easy Money
0
Black and White in Colour
0
Eureka
Eureka
5.2
Mark of the Hand
0
The Last Window Cleaner
0
Growing Pains
Growing Pains
4.6
Airbase
Airbase
0
Easy Money
Easy Money
0
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Nuxt Movies
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