Norman Felton obit

 

Producer Norman Felton dies at 99

Co-created 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E'

He was not on the list.

British-born writer, producer and director Norman Felton, the exec producer of numerous American television series, including “Dr. Kildare” and “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” died of natural causes in Santa Barbara, Calif., on June 25. He was 99.

Felton created “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” starring Robert Vaughn, with Sam Rolfe. “Dr. Kildare” began as a film series in the late 1930s before heading to radio and then eventually television, where Felton exec produced all 190 episodes of the series starring Richard Chamberlain.

Felton won an Emmy in 1950, in the very early days of television, for directing an episode of “Robert Montgomery Presents.” As exec producer, he drew a mention when “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” was nominated for outstanding drama series in 1966 and he shared a nom for TV biopic “Babe” with Stanley Rubin in 1976.

Felton produced several projects spun off from “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” including the “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” TV series, starring Stefanie Powers, and a number of related theatrical films. (A new feature adaptation of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” is in the works at Warner Bros., with Guy Ritchie set to direct.)

Felton also exec produced a number of other series, including “The Eleventh Hour,” “The Lieutenant,” “Strange Report,” “Executive Suite” and the 1973 legal drama “Hawkins,” starring Jimmy Stewart, as well as telepics including “Ghostbreakers”; “Marriage: Year One,” with Sally Field; psychic mystery “Baffled!,” with Leonard Nimoy; and 1979’s “…And Your Name Is Jonah,” with James Woods and Sally Struthers.

Norman Frances Felton was born in London to a modest family and, as a teenager, with his family emigrated to the U.S., settling in Cleveland. He held many jobs until he entered the U. of Iowa, where he received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Theatre Arts.

After college he worked in community theaters throughout the country, moved on to radio in Chicago and then eventually to live television in New York and then to Los Angeles. Felton directed episodes of “The United States Steel Hour” and “The Alcoa Hour” and then did his first TV producing work on several episodes of “Studio One in Hollywood” in the late 1950s.

Eventually he formed Arena Prods., the banner behind most of his series.

Felton received an Honorary Lifetime Membership Award from the Producers Guild of American in 1997.

His wife Aline and a daughter preceded him in death.

Survivors include a daughter and a son; two grandsons; a great-grandson; and his companion Denise Aubuchon.

Producer

The Visionary (1990)

The Visionary

4.6

Video

producer

1990

 

...and Your Name Is Jonah (1979)

...and Your Name Is Jonah

7.1

TV Movie

producer

1979

 

Trisha Noble in Executive Suite (1976)

Executive Suite

7.2

TV Series

executive producer

1976

1 episode

 

Babe (1975)

Babe

7.2

TV Movie

producer

1975

 

Hawkins (1973)

Hawkins

7.4

TV Series

executive producer

1973–1974

8 episodes

 

Leonard Nimoy and Susan Hampshire in Baffled (1972)

Baffled

5.6

TV Movie

executive producer

1972

 

Sally Field in Marriage: Year One (1971)

Marriage: Year One

7.1

TV Movie

executive producer

1971

 

The Psychiatrist (1970)

The Psychiatrist

7.4

TV Series

executive producer

1970

1 episode

 

Kaz Garas, Anthony Quayle, and Anneke Wills in Strange Report (1969)

Strange Report

8.3

TV Series

executive producer

1969

16 episodes

 

How to Steal the World (1968)

How to Steal the World

5.3

executive producer

1968

 

Robert Vaughn, Leo G. Carroll, and David McCallum in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.7

TV Series

executive producer

producer

1964–1968

105 episodes

 

The Helicopter Spies (1968)

The Helicopter Spies

5.7

executive producer

1968

 

Ghostbreakers

6.9

TV Movie

producer

1967

 

Noel Harrison and Stefanie Powers in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966)

The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.

6.6

TV Series

executive producer

1966–1967

29 episodes

 

Robert Vaughn and David McCallum in The Karate Killers (1967)

The Karate Killers

5.3

executive producer

1967

 

Janet Leigh, Jack Palance, Robert Vaughn, and David McCallum in The Spy in the Green Hat (1967)

The Spy in the Green Hat

5.7

executive producer

1967

 

Jericho (1966)

Jericho

7.5

TV Series

executive producer

1966–1967

16 episodes

 

Robert Vaughn and David McCallum in One of Our Spies Is Missing (1966)

One of Our Spies Is Missing

5.6

executive producer

1966

 

Dr. Kildare (1961)

Dr. Kildare

7.0

TV Series

executive producer

1961–1966

191 episodes

 

One Spy Too Many (1966)

One Spy Too Many

5.8

executive producer

1966

 

Robert Vaughn in The Spy with My Face (1965)

The Spy with My Face

6.0

executive producer

1965

 

To Trap a Spy (1964)

To Trap a Spy

6.0

producer

1964

 

Gary Lockwood in The Lieutenant (1963)

The Lieutenant

8.4

TV Series

executive producer

1963–1964

29 episodes

 

Angela Lansbury and Tuesday Weld in The Eleventh Hour (1962)

The Eleventh Hour

7.9

TV Series

executive producer

producer

1962–1963

32 episodes

 

Patty McCormack, Reba Waters, and Bernadette Withers in Peck's Bad Girl (1959)

Peck's Bad Girl

7.7

TV Series

executive producer

1959

9 episodes

 

Dennis Hopper, Lyle Bettger, and Cameron Mitchell in Pursuit (1958)

Pursuit

7.8

TV Series

executive producer

1958–1959

10 episodes

 

Studio One (1948)

Studio One

7.6

TV Series

producer

associate producer

1957–1958

19 episodes

 

Saturday Square

TV Series

producer

1950

1 episode

 

The Quiz Kids

4.7

TV Series

producer

1949

1 episode

 

Director

Studio One (1948)

Studio One

7.6

TV Series

Director

1957

4 episodes

 

Goodyear Playhouse (1951)

Goodyear Playhouse

7.9

TV Series

Director

1957

1 episode

 

Kraft Theatre (1947)

The United States Steel Hour

8.1

TV Series

Director

1955–1957

5 episodes

 

The Alcoa Hour (1955)

The Alcoa Hour

7.4

TV Series

Director

1955–1956

3 episodes

 

Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)

Robert Montgomery Presents

8.0

TV Series

Director

1950–1955

78 episodes

 

Proudly I Love

TV Movie

Director

1953

 

These Are My Children

6.5

TV Series

Director

1949

 

Writer

Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)

Robert Montgomery Presents

8.0

TV Series

written by

adaptation

1950–1955

6 episodes