Cliff Norton

Clifford Charles Norton (born Clifford Charles Nathan;[1] March 21, 1918[2] – January 25, 2003) was an American character actor and radio announcer who appeared in various movies and television series over a career spanning four decades.

Cliff Norton
Norton on The Monkees (1967)
Born
Clifford Charles Nathan

(1918-03-21)March 21, 1918
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJanuary 25, 2003(2003-01-25) (aged 84)
Studio City, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • radio announcer
Years active1949–1994

Early years

Born and raised in Chicago,[3] Norton was one of three children born to Benjamin W. Nathan and Sophia Sholdar.[1][4] He attended Sullivan High School, graduating in 1935.[5] [6] His early jobs included selling shoes and working as a floorwalker.[7] His first broadcasting experience came as a disc jockey on Chicago's WAAF-AM.[6] During World War II he was a bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps.[3]

Career

Norton was probably best known as the announcer for Dave Garroway's radio program. He also appeared on an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show (Season 2, Episode 11) as a game warden sent out to nab a woodpecker terrorizing Richie in "A Bird in the Head Hurts" .

On old-time radio, Norton was a member of the cast of Terry and the Pirates.[8] On television, he was a regular on Your Show of Shows,[9]: 1209  Sid Caesar Presents Comedy Preview,[9]: 966-967  Garroway at Large,[9]: 379  Caesar's Hour[9] and The Dave Garroway Show.[9]: 239  He was also a regular panelist and presenter on the 1954 ABC game show What's Going On?.

In 1952 he appeared as himself on the short-lived NBC comedy series The Public Life of Cliff Norton.[9]: 863  He was also star and announcer for the 1960s syndicated program The Funny Manns,[9]: 372  which involved silent film footage used for broad comedic effect.[10]

Norton appeared in a two episodes of The Cara Williams Show in 1964 and 1965 and had a regular role in the 1966–1967 sitcom It's About Time as "Boss", the chief of a prehistoric caveman tribe which has been discovered by two American astronauts who have accidentally traveled back in time.[9]: 516 

He played Captain Kurtz on Hogan's Heroes (Season 2, Episode 23.) He played Police Chief Harris in a 1964 episode of The Munsters ("A Walk on the Mild Side"), dressing in drag to capture a purse snatcher in the local park. Norton also made several appearances on Bewitched between 1968 and 1970, and in the 1967 The Monkees episode "The Picture Frame." He also provided the voice for the lead character, Ed Huddles, in Hanna-Barbera's 1970 animated prime-time series Where's Huddles?

In 1971, he appeared in the final episode of Green Acres as Harry Grant, devout gambler and brother-in-law of Oliver's dizzy blonde former secretary Carol Rush (Elaine Joyce). The episode was a backdoor pilot for a sitcom that CBS later rejected.[11]

One of Norton's film roles was Charlie, the Bailiff in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966) starring Don Knotts. He also appeared in Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Harlow (1965), Munster, Go Home! (1966), The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966), Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970), Harry and Tonto (1974), Funny Lady (1975), and all-star comedy films such as It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976).

He appeared in the spoofing weather spot Your Weather and Mine, airing in the Los Angeles area[3] in 1963. The spot was sponsored by P.I.P.E.

In 1977, he appeared in "Never Con a Killer," the pilot for the ABC crime drama The Feather and Father Gang, and in the episode "Godfathers Five" of the ABC situation comedy The San Pedro Beach Bums. He played small-time thief Morrie Singer in the episode "To Stop A Steele" from the first season of the NBC series Remington Steele, airing in 1983.

Death

On January 25, 2003, Norton died of lung cancer at his home in Studio City, California at age 84.[6] He was survived by three children and four grandchildren.[3]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1958Country Music HolidayMorty Chapman
1963It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldReporterScene deleted
1964Kiss Me, StupidMack Gray
1965HarlowBilly
1965McHale's Navy Joins the Air ForceMaj. Bill Grady
1966The Ghost and Mr. ChickenCharlie, the Bailiff
1966Frankie and JohnnyEddieUncredited
1966The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are ComingCharlie Hinkson
1966Munster, Go Home!Herbert
1970Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody CameHerman Hyde
1970The Phantom TollboothKakofonous A. Dischord / Tollbooth SpeakerVoice
1973The Odd CoupleLloyd
1974Harry and TontoUsed Car Salesman
1975Funny LadyStage Manager
1976Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved HollywoodDog Catcher
1977The Mouse and His ChildCrow #2Voice
1982PandamoniumTimothyVoice

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1967The MonkeesJ. L.S2:E2, "The Picture Frame"

References
  1. "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KQ4-SYGY : 10 February 2023), Clifford Charles Nathan, .
  2. Leszczak, Bob (2014). The Odd Couple on Stage and Screen: A History with Cast and Crew Profiles he Odd Couple on Stage and Screen: A History with Cast and Crew Profiles . Jefferson,NC: McFarland & Company. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7864-7790-6.
  3. Oliver, Myrna (January 31, 2003). "Cliff Norton, 84; Began Acting Career in Radio". Los Angeles Times. p. B11. Retrieved August 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJ7R-QBT : Thu Jul 20 22:03:31 UTC 2023), Entry for Benjamin Nathan and Albert Nathan, 1920.
  5. Webber, Brad (February 17, 1935). "SULLIVAN HIGH SENIORS TO EDIT JOINT YEARBOOK: Dual Staf Directs Work of Publication". Chicago Tribune. p. III-7. ProQuest 181659261. February and June graduating classes of Sullivan High School will combine their yearbooks into one annual publication to be placed on sale the latter part of this semester. [...] The circulation managers are Clifford Nathan (February) and Miss Kathryn Kropf (June).
  6. Webber, Brad (January 28, 2003). "CLIFF NORTON, 84 ; Veteran character actor known for comic touch: [North Sports Final Edition]". Chicago Tribune. p. II-8. ProQuest 419544162. Mr. Norton, 84, died of lung cancer Saturday, Jan. 25, in his Studio City, Calif., home. [..] Born in Chicago, Mr. Norton graduated from Sullivan High School in 1935. By the end of that decade, he was a disc jockey with a morning show on WAAF-AM 1000. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces during World War II and was a bombardier in the India-Burma-China war zone--a role he would claim made him the 'American record-holder for intake of quinine.' After the war, he became a regular on Chicago's radio scene and appeared on 'Captain Midnight,' 'Tom Mix' and 'Terry and the Pirates.' He met Garroway, an NBC staff announcer who would soon employ him as a regular on 'Garroway at Large,' a musical revue and talk show that moved to New York in 1952.
  7. Remenih, Anton (February 26, 1950). "Seeing Funny Side Is Way of Life With Cliff". Chicago Tribune. p. C10. Retrieved August 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company. p. 328. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  9. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  10. King, Rob (2017). Hokum! : The Early Sound Slapstick Short and Depression-Era Mass Culture. Oakland, California: University of California Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780520288119.
  11. Cox, Stephen (1993). The Hooterville handbook : A Viewer's Guide to Green Acres. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 203. ISBN 0-312-08811-6.
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