Michael Alden Norell (born October 4, 1937 in

Wallace, Idaho Wallace, Idaho is a city in and the county seat of Shoshone County, Idaho, in the Silver Valley mining district of the Idaho Panhandle. Founded in 1884, Wallace sits alongside the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River (and Interstate 90), app ...

) is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, and

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 ...

who starred as Captain Henry "Hank" Stanley in the

Jack Webb John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sgt. Joe Friday in the ''Dragnet'' franchise, which he created. He was a ...

-produced television series ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure 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) ...

'' from 1972 to 1978. Norell was born in Wallace, Idaho. His family moved to follow his father who was in the Army, and who ultimately retired with the rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

. His father was sent to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

during the war. The family lived in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

. Norell returned to the States after the war and attended

Falls Church High School Falls Church High School (FCHS) is a high school located in West Falls Church, Virginia, in unincorporated Fairfax County.Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

where he acted in several school plays. He attended college at

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexing ...

where he majored in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

. After graduating college Norell entered the Army where he spent the next five years, leaving with the rank of captain. After his stint in the Army he went to work for the ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

''. He went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

not too long after returning to civilian life and worked at acting full-time. Six months later he arrived in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

where he won the role of Captain Henry "Hank" Stanley for the show ''

''. In addition to acting in the show, Norell also wrote four episodes of ''Emergency!'' which began his career as a screenwriter. Norell commented on the show's writing process, "I would be invited by xecutive producer

Bob Cinader Robert A. Cinader (November 10, 1924 – November 16, 1982) was an American television producer best known for his work on two NBC series packaged by actor/producer Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited, ''Adam-12'' and ''Emergency!'' The latter show in p ...

to pitch ideas. You'd spend an hour or two throwing out ideas for rescues and hospital stories and firehouse stories and eventually there were enough that he liked and he'd tell you to go to work. A couple of weeks later, you'd turn in a first draft." All rewrites were handled by other writers. During his time as Captain Henry “Hank” Stanley, his most famous phrase/, which live on today, were “Squad 51 KMG365.”, “Engine 51 KMG365.”, and “Station 51 KMG365.”. KMG365 was the call sign for the radio frequency for Station 51 (present-day Los Angeles County Station 127), and LA County Fire Department Station 127 was used for exterior shots for intro sequences, response sequences, and occasional return to quarters sequences at Station 51 while a soundstage built to almost replicate the interior of Station 127 was used for interior shots at Station 51. After ''Emergency!'' ended, Norell turned to screenwriting. He wrote for shows such as ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'', '' Love Boat: The Next Wave'', ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The se ...

'', and ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially ...

'', among others. His screenwriting credits also include several made-for-TV movies such as ''

Doomsday Rock ''Doomsday Rock'' is a 1997 made-for-TV science fiction film about an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The film premiered on The Family Channel on August 24, 1997. Plot An astronomer named Dr. Karl Sorenson believes that an asteroid ...

'', ''Three on a Date'', ''The Covergirl and the Cop'', ''Pals'', ''Barnum'', '' Christmas Comes to Willow Creek'', and '' The Incident'' for which he was nominated for an

Emmy Award 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 ...

. Other films include ''

The Diamond Fleece ''The Diamond Fleece'' is a 1992 Canadian made-for-television film directed by Al Waxman and starring Ben Cross, Kate Nelligan and Brian Dennehy. The film earned Kate Nelligan the 1993 Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Ac ...

'', '' Long Gone'', and '' Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore''. Norell created and was executive producer for the short-lived ''Love Boat'' clone '' Aloha Paradise''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Norell, Michael 1937 births Living people American male screenwriters American male television actors People from Wallace, Idaho Screenwriters from Idaho