William W. Norton
William Wallace "Bill" Norton, Jr. (born September 24, 1925 in Ogden , Utah , † October 1, 2010 in Santa Barbara , California ) was an American screenwriter .
Life
Norton and his family moved to El Monte via Berkeley after losing their ranch . During the Second World War he served in the army and was deployed in Europe. He then found employment as a ranger in California's National Park. In the 1950s and 1960s he wrote first stories for smaller literary magazines and plays that were performed in small theaters in Los Angeles.
Norton was politically interested and at times belonged to the Communist Party , which is why he had to testify before the Committee on Un-American Activities . Even in later years he, the son of Mormon pioneers, remained a militant advocate for human rights and liberation theology . In the 1980s he supported the Catholic side in the Northern Ireland conflict and was arrested for arms trafficking there and spent 19 months in prison. He and his wife were then given asylum in Nicaragua . In the 1990s he lived in Cuba , but soon moved to Mexico, disappointed by the conditions there . He returned to his homeland under adventurous circumstances. His last script, Exiled in America , from 1990 , processed parts of his own life.
He first worked for television through his participation in the books for the television series Big Valley , his first successful feature film was Iron Fists in 1968. In the following decade he wrote most of his 22 screenplays, including Brannigan - A Man of Steel for John Wayne and the animal horror film Panic in the Sierra Nova .
Filmography (selection)
- 1968: With Fists of Iron (The Scalphunters)
- 1969: Sam Whiskey
- 1970: Breakout of 28 (The McKenzie Break)
- 1975: Brannigan - A Man of Steel (Brannigan)
- 1976: My name is Gator (Gator)
- 1977: Panic in the Sierra Nova (Day of the Animals)
- 1992: Exiled in America
Web links
- William W. Norton in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Obituary of variety
Individual evidence
- ^ Obituary in the Los Angeles Times
- ^ Obituary in the New York Times
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Norton, William W. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Norton, William William Jr. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American screenwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 24, 1925 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ogden, Utah |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 1, 2010 |
| Place of death | Santa Barbara (California) |