Jack Norton

This article is about the actor. For the American filmmaker and children's musician, see Jack Norton (filmmaker). For the American general, see John Norton (soldier). For the American chemist, see Jack R. Norton.

Jack Norton
Norton circa 1940
Born
Mortimer J. Naughton

(1882-09-02)September 2, 1882
Brooklyn, New York U.S.
DiedOctober 15, 1958(1958-10-15) (aged 76)
Saranac Lake, New York U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1925–1948
Spouse
Lucille Healy
​
(m. 1922)​

Jack Norton (born Mortimer John Naughton; September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in more than 180 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a teetotaler.[1]

Career

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Norton was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 2, 1882.[1]

In his early career he had a vaudeville comedy act with his wife Lillian Healy,[2] and toured as half of a comedy team with boxer "Gentleman Jim" Corbett.[3] Norton made his Broadway debut in 1925[4] in that year's edition of Earl Carroll's Vanities,[5] and also appeared in Florida Girl, which was produced and staged by Carroll.[6]

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.[2]

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[7] 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.[8] 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.

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.[2]

Norton died on October 15, 1958, in Saranac Lake, New York, at the age of 76.[1] He is buried in Sacred Hearts Cemetery in Southampton, New York, on Long Island.[9]

Partial filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Jack Norton, Comedian, Is Dead at 69. Played Lovable Drunk' in 200 Films". New York Times. October 16, 1958.
  2. ^ a b c Erickson, Hal Biography (Allmovie)
  3. ^ Los Angeles Evening Express, July 1, 1924, p. 25
  4. ^ "Jack Norton". Internet Broadway Database.
  5. ^ "Earl Carroll's Vanities [1925]". Internet Broadway Database.
  6. ^ "Florida Girl". Internet Broadway Database.
  7. ^ Allmovie Filmography
  8. ^ Norton appeared in Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Hail the Conquering Hero and The Sin of Harold Diddlebock.
  9. ^ Resting Places
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