Wilfrid Brambell (22 March 1912 – 18 January 1985) was an Irish film and television actor, born in Dublin, best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son constantly being referred to as "a dirty old man". He also starred alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's grandfather, constantly being referred to as "very clean".
On leaving school he worked part-time as a reporter for The Iri...
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Wilfrid Brambell (22 March 1912 – 18 January 1985) was an Irish film and television actor, born in Dublin, best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son constantly being referred to as "a dirty old man". He also starred alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's grandfather, constantly being referred to as "very clean".
On leaving school he worked part-time as a reporter for The Irish Times and part-time as an actor at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, before becoming a professional actor for the Gate Theatre. In World War II he joined the British military forces entertainment organisation ENSA.
His television career began during the 1950s, when he was cast in small roles in three Nigel Kneale/Rudolph Cartier productions for BBC Television: as a drunk in The Quatermass Experiment (1953), as both an old man in a pub and later a prisoner in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) and as a tramp in Quatermass II (1955). All of these roles...
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