Norman Bowler

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norman Bowler (born on August 1, 1932 is a British actor.

Born in London, he became a member of the 1950s Soho set alongside such as John Minton, Francis Bacon and Daniel Farson, Norman Bowler played a variety of bit parts and single episode roles throughout the 1960s. He featured in one episode of The Avengers and stared alongside James Caan in the 1968 war film "Submarine X-1" about World War II British midget submarines.

From 1966 to 1976 Bowler played Det. Sgt. and later Det. Chief Inspector Harry Hawkins for the entire run of the BBC TV police drama "Softly, Softly" (later "Softly, Softly: Taskforce").

More recently, he is best known for playing the part of Frank Tate in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale between November 1989 and May 1997; when his character was killed off after suffering a heart attack, his TV wife Kim could have saved his life but chose to let him die as he begged for help.

Today, Bowler is very active in charity work and adult education in the Bristol area (where the original "Softly, Softly" series was filmed in the 60s)

Norman Bowler is now living with his second wife, Dianna, in Auroville International Township in South-India (near Pondicherry). There he is engaged in development work with people in the surrounding Tamil villages and often entertains the village children. He also works with and directs the amateur actors of the Township.