Jack Norton
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1889-09-01
Day of Death
1958-10-15 (69 years old)
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Jack Norton
Biography
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.
Acting
(1964)
The Big Parade of Comedy
as Actor in 'The Girl from Missouri' (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1953)
I Was a Burlesque Queen
as Jim Benson
(1949)
Malice in the Palace
as Emir of Schmoe (uncredited)
(1947)
Variety Girl
as Busboy at Brown Derby
(1947)
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
as James R. Smoke
(1947)
Linda, Be Good
as Jim Benson
(1947)
Hired Husband
as Mr. Drinkwater
(1946)
Nocturne
as Charlie (uncredited)
(1946)
Shadows Over Chinatown
as Cosgrove
(1946)
Rhythm and Weep
as Mr. Walsh
(1945)
Hold That Blonde!
as Drunk (uncredited)
(1945)
Flame of Barbary Coast
as Byline Conners, Reporter San Francisco Star
(1945)
The Naughty Nineties
as Drunk at the Gilded Cage (uncredited)
(1945)
Two O'Clock Courage
as Drunk at Blue Room Bar (uncredited)
(1945)
Man Alive
as William T. Lafferty
(1945)
The Scarlet Clue
as Willie Rand
(1945)
Captain Tugboat Annie
as Shiftless
(1945)
Fashion Model
as Herbert
(1945)
A Guy, a Gal and a Pal
as Norton
(1945)
Strange Confession
as Jack
(1944)
Going My Way
as Mr. Lilly (uncredited)
(1944)
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
as Country Club Man Ordering Champagne (uncredited)
(1944)
Hail the Conquering Hero
as Second Bandleader (uncredited)
(1944)
The Story of Dr. Wassell
as 'Janssen' Passenger (uncredited)
(1944)
Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
as Hotel Desk Clerk
(1944)
The Big Noise
as Drunk on Train
(1944)
Once Upon a Time
as Man In Barber Chair (uncredited)
(1944)
Make Your Own Bed
as Drunk
(1943)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Customer in Bette Davis Number (uncredited)
(1943)
Crazy House
as Drunk
(1943)
The Kansan
as Saloon Drunk
(1943)
The Falcon Strikes Back
as Second Hobo (uncredited)
(1943)
It Ain't Hay
as Drunk (uncredited)
(1943)
So's Your Uncle
as Drunk
(1943)
Taxi, Mister
as Reginald Van Nostrum - the Drunk
(1943)
Prairie Chickens
as Henry Lewis-Clark III
(1942)
The Spoilers
as Mr. Skinner
(1942)
The Palm Beach Story
as Second Member Ale and Quail Club
(1942)
My Favorite Spy
as Orchid Room Drunk
(1942)
Brooklyn Orchid
as Jonathan McFeeder
(1942)
Dr. Broadway
as Drunk
(1942)
The Fleet's In
as Kellogg
(1942)
Moonlight in Havana
as George
(1942)
Dr. Renault's Secret
as Mr. Austin
(1941)
Louisiana Purchase
as Jester
(1941)
Pacific Blackout
as Drunk
(1941)
No Hands on the Clock
as Bartender at The Nugget Room
(1941)
(1941)
Let's Make Music
as Drunk
(1940)
The Ghost Breakers
as Drunk (uncredited)
(1940)
The Bank Dick
as A. Pismo Clam
(1940)
The Way of All Flesh
as Barber
(1940)
The Villain Still Pursued Her
as Drunk
(1940)
The Farmer's Daughter
as Shimmy Conway
(1940)
City of Chance
as Mr. Murphy
(1940)
Opened by Mistake
as Al, the Bartender
(1940)
A Night at Earl Carroll's
as Alonzo Smith
(1939)
The Roaring Twenties
as Drunk at Henderson Club (uncredited)
(1939)
News Is Made at Night
as Drunk
(1939)
Society Smugglers
as Prentis
(1939)
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt
as Charlie Fenton - the Party Drunk (uncredited)
(1939)
(1939)
Grand Jury Secrets
as Doyle
(1938)
Jezebel
as Drunk (uncredited)
(1938)
Love Is a Headache
as Bartender (uncredited)
(1938)
Hold That Kiss
as Mallory
(1938)
Arsène Lupin Returns
as Hotel Manager (uncredited)
(1938)
Thanks for the Memory
as Bert Monroe
(1938)
Meet the Girls
as Fletcher
(1938)
Everybody's Doing It
as Harry The Drunk
(1938)
The Awful Tooth
as Dr. Schultz
(1937)
Marked Woman
as Drunk
(1937)
My Dear Miss Aldrich
as First Drunk at Red Apple Inn (uncredited)
(1937)
Meet the Missus
as Mr. Norton
(1937)
Time Out for Romance
as Crapshooter
(1937)
The Women Men Marry
as Wilhelm Peebles (uncredited)
(1936)
The Preview Murder Mystery
as Comedy Director (Uncredited)
(1936)
Who's Looney Now
as Herbert Brown
(1936)
Forgotten Faces
as Drunk
(1936)
(1935)
The Gilded Lily
as Photographer (uncredited)
(1935)
Going Highbrow
as Sinclair
(1935)
Dr. Socrates
as Drunk in Park
(1935)
Broadway Gondolier
as Man on Ship with Pipe
(1935)
One More Spring
as Drunk
(1935)
Page Miss Glory
as Reporter (uncredited)
(1935)
Don't Bet on Blondes
as J. Mortimer 'Mousy' Slade
(1935)
Ship Cafe
as Mr. Randall (uncredited)
(1935)
Sweet Music
as Drunk (uncredited)
(1935)
His Night Out
as Dr. Singer
(1935)
Calling All Cars
as Duke Costello
(1935)
Stolen Harmony
as Phillips (uncredited)
(1935)
Foolish Hearts
as Jimmy
(1934)
Finishing School
as Drunk (uncredited)
(1934)
Woman Haters
as Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
(1934)
Cockeyed Cavaliers
as King's Physician
(1934)
(1934)
(1934)
(1934)
Fixing a Stew
as Pete