Acting
Jack Norton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Norton (September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in 184 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a teetotaler. Career Jack Norton was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 2, 1882. In his early career he had a vaudeville comedy act with his wife Lillian Healy. Norton made his Broadway debut in 1925 in that year's edition of Earl Carroll's Vanities, and also appeared in Florida Girl, which was produced and staged by Carroll. Norton's first film work was for a musical short, School for Romance, in 1934, in which a young Betty Grable appeared, but his scenes were deleted. His work survived to reach the screen in his next assignment, The Super Snooper, a comedy short, and in his third film, his first full-length movie, Finishing School, which featured Frances Dee, Billie Burke, Ginger Rogers and Bruce Cabot, Norton played a drunk, setting the pattern for many of his future performances. Although he also played stone sober characters as well, he was best known for his inebriated characterizations, and he improved his work by following genuine drunks around, picking up behavioral tips. Norton worked continuously and consistently, sometimes appearing in as many as 20 films in one year, although many of his performances went uncredited. One of the few times he was credited as part of the main cast was in 1945 for the film A Guy, a Gal and a Pal In the 1940s, Norton was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in five films written and directed by Sturges. He is perhaps best known to modern audiences as A. Pismo Clam, the drunken film director whom W.C. Fields is hired to replace in The Bank Dick (1940). In 1947, Norton retired from films due to illness, his last appearance being in Alias a Gentlemen, which was released in 1948, although he did make some live television appearances in the early 1950s. Jack Norton's final appearance would have been in the 1956 episode of The Honeymooners entitled "Unconventional Behavior", but age and infirmity had so overwhelmed him that he was literally written out of the show as it was being filmed, though Jackie Gleason saw to it that Norton was paid fully for the performance he was ready, willing, but unable to give. Norton died on October 15, 1958 in Saranac Lake, New York at the age of 76. He is buried in Sacred Hearts Cemetery in Southampton, New York on Long Island.
Filmography
The Big Parade of Comedy
Film · 1964
I Was a Burlesque Queen
Film · 1953
Malice in the Palace
Film · 1949
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
Film · 1947
Variety Girl
Film · 1947
Linda, Be Good
Film · 1947
Hired Husband
Film · 1947
Shadows Over Chinatown
Film · 1946
Rhythm and Weep
Film · 1946
Nocturne
Film · 1946
Flame of Barbary Coast
Film · 1945
The Scarlet Clue
Film · 1945
Fashion Model
Film · 1945
Man Alive
Film · 1945
Captain Tugboat Annie
Film · 1945
Two O'Clock Courage
Film · 1945
Strange Confession
Film · 1945
The Naughty Nineties
Film · 1945
A Guy, a Gal and a Pal
Film · 1945
Hold That Blonde!
Film · 1945
Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
Film · 1944
Going My Way
Film · 1944
Once Upon a Time
Film · 1944
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
Film · 1944
Make Your Own Bed
Film · 1944
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Film · 1944
Hail the Conquering Hero
Film · 1944
The Big Noise
Film · 1944
Taxi, Mister
Film · 1943
Prairie Chickens
Film · 1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars
Film · 1943
The Kansan
Film · 1943
So's Your Uncle
Film · 1943
Crazy House
Film · 1943
The Falcon Strikes Back
Film · 1943
It Ain't Hay
Film · 1943
The Palm Beach Story
Film · 1942
The Fleet's In
Film · 1942
Moonlight in Havana
Film · 1942
Dr. Broadway
Film · 1942
The Spoilers
Film · 1942
Brooklyn Orchid
Film · 1942
My Favorite Spy
Film · 1942
Dr. Renault's Secret
Film · 1942
No Hands on the Clock
Film · 1941
Let's Make Music
Film · 1941
Ride on Vaquero
Film · 1941
Pacific Blackout
Film · 1941
Louisiana Purchase
Film · 1941
The Villain Still Pursued Her
Film · 1940
The Bank Dick
Film · 1940
The Ghost Breakers
Film · 1940
The Way of All Flesh
Film · 1940
City of Chance
Film · 1940
The Farmer's Daughter
Film · 1940
Opened by Mistake
Film · 1940
A Night at Earl Carroll's
Film · 1940
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt
Film · 1939
News Is Made at Night
Film · 1939
The Roaring Twenties
Film · 1939
Grand Jury Secrets
Film · 1939
Society Smugglers
Film · 1939
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
Film · 1939
Thanks for the Memory
Film · 1938
The Awful Tooth
Film · 1938
Hold That Kiss
Film · 1938
Meet the Girls
Film · 1938
Love Is a Headache
Film · 1938
Everybody's Doing It
Film · 1938
Arsène Lupin Returns
Film · 1938
Jezebel
Film · 1938
Meet the Missus
Film · 1937
The Women Men Marry
Film · 1937
My Dear Miss Aldrich
Film · 1937
Time Out for Romance
Film · 1937
Marked Woman
Film · 1937
Who's Looney Now
Film · 1936
The Preview Murder Mystery
Film · 1936
Down the Ribber
Film · 1936
Forgotten Faces
Film · 1936
Sweet Music
Film · 1935
Foolish Hearts
Film · 1935
Dr. Socrates
Film · 1935
His Night Out
Film · 1935
Calling All Cars
Film · 1935
Going Highbrow
Film · 1935
One More Spring
Film · 1935
Broadway Gondolier
Film · 1935
Stolen Harmony
Film · 1935
Page Miss Glory
Film · 1935
Ship Cafe
Film · 1935
Don't Bet on Blondes
Film · 1935
The Gilded Lily
Film · 1935
Fixing a Stew
Film · 1934
The Super Snooper
Film · 1934
Finishing School
Film · 1934
Counsel on De Fence
Film · 1934
Cockeyed Cavaliers
Film · 1934
One Too Many
Film · 1934
Woman Haters
Film · 1934