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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-born American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of 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 networks, but upon acce ...

, 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Illya Kuryakin, p ...

'' and '' Dr. Kildare''.

Background

Felton was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 ...

, and Gertrude Anne Felton, a

cleaning lady A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter or caretaker, is a pe ...

.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 (U of I, UIowa, or 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 organized int ...

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, Jessica, 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 Theatre, theatrical performance made in relation to particular Community, communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a communit ...

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, or novella, that ran on NBC from January 31 to March 4, 1949. The show was broadcast live from WMAQ-TV, WNBQ in Chicago, Illinois, airing 15 minutes a day, five days a week, at 5&nbs ...

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

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

. 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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

award for ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The Live television, live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run ...

''.

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 '' Dr. Kildare''. It was Felton who approached

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

creator

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, 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., and his ...

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 The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

Award for ''

'' and 1966 he received an

Award nomination for the same show. Felton made one

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

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

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

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 production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of the

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a board member of the Screen Actors Guild, and also served on the ...

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 award ...

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

focusing on

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

, '' 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 the production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme C ...

'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 Ja ...

''.

Later career

In 1975, he produced the

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

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 aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

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 ...

, and the

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

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

, ''

Executive Suite ''Executive Suite'' is a 1954 American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama film directed by Robert Wise and written by Ernest Lehman, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Cameron Hawley. The film stars William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara St ...

''. 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 the interests Television producer, television producers, Film producer, film producers and emerging media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership inclu ...

. In 2013, Death Penalty Focus awarded Felton with their Human Rights Award. 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 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 English emigrants to the United States Mass media people from Cleveland Television producers from London Television producers from Ohio American television show creators