Norman Felton
Encyclopedia
Norman Felton is a British
-born American television producer
, best known for his involvement in shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
and Dr. Kildare
, both on NBC
.
s before becoming a producer-director of radio progams for NBC in Chicago. In 1950 he moved to New York to direct live television shows. In 1952 he won an Emmy award for Robert Montgomery Presents
.
and Dr. Kildare
.
It was Felton who approached James Bond
creator Ian Fleming
to collaborate in the development of U.N.C.L.E. When contractual obligations forced Fleming to pull out, Felton brought in Sam Rolfe
to replace him. In 1965, he received a Golden Globe Award for The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
and 1966 he received an Emmy Award nomination for the same show.
Felton made one cameo appearance
in U.N.C.L.E., as a chess player
in the party scene of the first season episode, "The Giuoco Piano Affair".
At this time, he was also executive producer
of the Wendell Corey
/Jack Ging
/Ralph Bellamy
medical drama
focusing on psychiatry
, The Eleventh Hour
, which aired on NBC from 1962-1964.
(for which he received another Emmy nomination) and in 1979, And Your Name Is Jonah. He also produced Hawkins
, a drama featuring James Stewart
as a defense lawyer, and the prime-time soap
, Executive Suite
.
In 1997 he was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership of the Producers Guild of America
.
He lives in Los Angeles
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
-born American television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, best known for his involvement in shows such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
and Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
, both on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
Background
Norman Felton was born in London, the son of John Felton, a lithographer, and Gertrude Anne Felton, a cleaning lady. He left school at 13 to go to work. In 1929 the family emigrated to the USA where they settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Felton left his job as a truck driver to attend The University of Iowa where he received a bachelor's degree in 1940 and a master's in 1941. In 1940 he married Aline Stotts, they had three children.Early career
Felton started out directing community theatreCommunity theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
s before becoming a producer-director of radio progams for NBC in Chicago. In 1950 he moved to New York to direct live television shows. In 1952 he won an Emmy award for Robert Montgomery Presents
Robert Montgomery Presents
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example,...
.
The 1960s
The greatest successes of Felton's career came in the 1960s, when he produced and developed several classic television shows including The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
and Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
.
It was Felton who approached James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
creator Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
to collaborate in the development of U.N.C.L.E. When contractual obligations forced Fleming to pull out, Felton brought in Sam Rolfe
Sam Rolfe
Samuel Harris Rolfe was an American screenwriter best known for his work on 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Eleventh Hour, both on NBC.-Background:Rolfe was born in New York...
to replace him. In 1965, he received a Golden Globe Award for The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
and 1966 he received an Emmy Award nomination for the same show.
Felton made one cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in U.N.C.L.E., as a chess player
Chess player
A chess player is someone who plays the game of chess, and may also refer to:* The Chess Players , painting by Thomas Eakins* The Chess Players , film directed by Satyajit Ray...
in the party scene of the first season episode, "The Giuoco Piano Affair".
At this time, he was also executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of the Wendell Corey
Wendell Corey
Wendell Reid Corey was an American actor and politician.He was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, the son of Milton Rothwell Corey and Julia Etta McKenney . His father was a Congregationalist clergyman...
/Jack Ging
Jack Ging
Jack Lee Ging is an American actor best known for his role as General Harlan 'Bull' Fullbright in the NBC television series The A-Team.-Early life:...
/Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy was an American actor whose career spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:He was born Ralph Rexford Bellamy in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Lilla Louise , a native of Canada, and Charles Rexford Bellamy. He ran away from home when he was fifteen and managed to get into a road show...
medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
focusing on psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)
The Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
, which aired on NBC from 1962-1964.
Later career
In 1975, he produced the made-for-television film BabeBabe
Babe is generally a slang term of endearment, but may also refer:-Entertainment:* Babe, the title character of the Dick King-Smith book The Sheep-Pig** Babe , a 1995 Australian film based on the book...
(for which he received another Emmy nomination) and in 1979, And Your Name Is Jonah. He also produced Hawkins
Hawkins (TV series)
Hawkins is a television series which aired for one season on CBS between 1973 and 1974. The mystery, created by Robert Hamner and David Karp, starred James Stewart as rural-bred lawyer Billy Jim Hawkins, who investigated the cases he was involved in...
, a drama featuring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
as a defense lawyer, and the prime-time soap
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, Executive Suite
Executive Suite
Executive Suite is a 1954 MGM drama film depicting the transfer of power in a corporation in trouble. The film stars William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, and Walter Pidgeon. It was directed by Robert Wise and produced by John Houseman from a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the...
.
In 1997 he was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership of the Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
.
He lives in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Norman Felton awards
Norman Felton has lent his name to multiple awards.- The Death Penalty FocusDeath Penalty FocusFounded in 1988, Death Penalty Focus is a non-profit organization dedicated to the abolition of capital punishment through grassroots organizing, research, and the dissemination of information about the death penalty and its alternatives....
organization's Aline and Norman Felton Humanitarian Awardhttp://www.deathpenalty.org/section.php?id=31 - Producers Guild of AmericaProducers Guild of AmericaProducers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
's Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award
External links
- http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/Bai/felton.htm