Leslie Norman (director)

For other people with the same name, see Leslie Norman.
Leslie Norman
Born Leslie Armande Norman
(1911-02-25)25 February 1911
Fulham, London, England
Died 18 February 1993(1993-02-18) (aged 81)
Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England
Nationality British
Occupation Director, producer, editor
Years active 1930 – 1978

Military career

Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Years of service 1942-1945
Rank Major
Service number 238604
Unit Royal Army Ordnance Corps

Leslie Armande Norman (25 February 1911 – 18 February 1993) was a British film director, producer and editor.[1][2][3]

Norman was born on 25 February 1991 in Fulham, London, the second youngest of eleven children.[4][5] Leaving school at 14, Norman worked in the film industry from the age of 16, working his way up from sweeper of the cutting-room floors at Ealing Studios to become an editor at 19.[3]

His career spanned nearly fifty years, from 1930 until 1978. In that time he had many different roles in the industry, ending his career directing episodes of filmed television series. He directed three cinema films in the 1950s, The Night My Number Came Up (1955), the sci-fi horror film X the Unknown (1956) and the Second World War drama Dunkirk (1958), while his production credits include another World War II drama in the form of The Cruel Sea (1953).[6] Amongst the films he directed in the early 1960s was the war drama The Long and the Short and The Tall (1960). His son, Barry, is a prominent UK film critic and broadcaster, whilst his daughter, Valerie, is a script editor and director.

In the 1960s, he worked as director on several notable British TV series including Gideon's Way (7 episodes), The Baron (3 episodes), The Saint (21 episodes), The Avengers (2 episodes), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (3 episodes), Department S (3 episodes), The Persuaders! (6 episodes).[6]

Norman was forced into retirement after a laryngectomy for cancer in 1978. He died in Knebworth, Hertfordshire on 18 February 1993 at the age of 81 after suffering a seizure whilst driving near his home.[3][2]

Selected filmography

Editor

Producer

Director

References

  1. ↑ Brian McFarlane, An Autobiography of British Cinema, Metheun 1997 p439-441
  2. 1 2 Oxford, Esther (21 February 1993). "'Cruel Sea' producer dies". The Independent. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Vallance, Tom (27 February 1993). "Obituary: Leslie Norman". The Independent. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Norman, Barry (2002). And why not? (As I never did say). London: Simon & Schuster. p. 26. ISBN 0743230965.
  6. 1 2 "Leslie Norman". IMDb.
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