Norman Francis Felton (April 29, 1913 – June 25, 2012) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-born American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

, known for his involvement in shows such as ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...

'' and ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

''.

Background

Felton was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of John Felton, a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, and Gertrude Anne Felton, a

cleaning lady A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who cleans homes or commercial premises for payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners. Cleaning oper ...

.Best of Luck: The Education of Norman Felton
in ''Books at Iowa'' 1985, no. 43, pp. 3-14. He left school at 13 to go to work. In 1929, the family immigrated to the US, where they settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Felton left his job as a truck driver to attend the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

where he received a bachelor's degree in 1940 and a master's in 1941. In 1940, he married Aline Stotts and had three children: Julie Anne, born in 1948, John Christopher, born in 1953, and Aline Elizabeth, born in 1957. Aline, her husband David Berkley, and their nine-month-old daughter, Jessicca, were murdered December 18, 1982 in Detroit near Wayne State Medical Center where David was a medical student. Three men were subsequently convicted of the triple-murders. Two were sentenced to life in prison, the third to 25-to-40 years in prison.

Early career

Felton started out directing

community theatre Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside he ...

before becoming a producer-director of radio programs, such as '' Curtain Time''Dunning, John. (1976). ''Tune in Yesterday: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, 1925-1976''. Prentice-Hall, Inc. . P. 151. for NBC in Chicago. In 1949, he directed the three-week run of ''

These Are My Children ''These Are My Children'' is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from January 31 to March 4, 1949. The show was broadcast live from WNBQ in Chicago, Illinois, airing 15 minutes a day, five days a week, at 5 p.m. EST. It is wide ...

'' for NBC, which is considered the first daily daytime

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

. In 1950, he moved to New York to direct live television shows. In 1952 he won an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

award for ''

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 eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

''.

The 1960s

The greatest successes of Felton's career came in the 1960s, when he produced and developed several classic television shows for Arena Productions including ''

'' and ''

''. It was Felton who approached

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

creator

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., a ...

to collaborate in the development of ''U.N.C.L.E.'' When contractual obligations forced Fleming to pull out, Felton brought in

Sam Rolfe Samuel Harris Rolfe (February 18, 1924 – July 10, 1993) was an American screenwriter best known for creating (with Herb Meadow) the 1950-60s highly rated CBS television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel'', as well as his work on the 1960s NBC ...

to replace him. In 1965, he received a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

Award for ''

'' and 1966 he received an

Award nomination for the same show. Felton made one

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

in ''U.N.C.L.E.'', as a

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player in the party scene of the first-season episode, "The Giuoco Piano Affair". At this time, he was also

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. Biography Early years Corey was ...

Jack Ging Jack Lee Ging (November 30, 1931 – September 9, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known as General Harlan "Bull" Fulbright on NBC's television adventure series ''The A-Team'', and for his supporting role in the final season of ''Tales ...

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

focusing on

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

, '' The Eleventh Hour'', which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1964. In 1969, he became executive producer on

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

's UK-produced series ''

Strange Report ''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 Jan ...

''.

Later career

In 1975, he produced the

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

film ''

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'' (for which he received another Emmy nomination) and in 1979, ''And Your Name Is Jonah''. He also produced '' Hawkins'', a drama featuring

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

as a

defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various jur ...

, and the

prime-time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

, ''

Executive Suite An executive suite in its most general definition is a collection of offices or rooms—or suite—used by top managers of a business—or executives. Over the years, this general term has taken on a variety of specific meanings. Corporate off ...

''. In 1997, he was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...

. He died of natural causes in Santa Barbara, California on June 25, 2012. Felton was survived by a son and daughter, two grandsons and a great-grandson.

Norman Felton awards

Norman Felton lent his name to multiple awards: * The

Death Penalty Focus Founded 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. With o ...

organization's Aline and Norman Felton Humanitarian Award

*

's Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award

References

External links

*
Papers of Norman Felton, Msc 265
are housed a
The University of Iowa Special Collections & University Archives

from Books at Iowa 43, Nov. 1985.
Norman Felton Interview
at The Archive of American Television {{DEFAULTSORT:Felton, Norman 1913 births 2012 deaths American television producers British emigrants to the United States