Norman Foster (director)
Norman Foster was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He directed many Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto films as well as projects for Orson Welles and Walt Disney. As an actor he was a leading man in early talkies and also appeared in Welles’ final film The Other Side of the Wind.
Life and career
Norman Foster was born Norman Foster Hoeffer on December 13, 1903, in Richmond, Indiana. He became a cub reporter on a local newspaper in Indiana before going to New York in the hopes of getting a better newspaper job but there were no vacancies.He tried a number of theatrical agencies before getting stage work including The Barker in which he appeared opposite Claudette Colbert. He later appeared on Broadway in the George S. Kaufman/Ring Lardner play June Moon in 1929. He began working in crowd scenes in films before moving to bigger parts.
Foster wrote several plays. He gave up acting in the late 1930s to pursue directing, although he occasionally appeared in movies and television programs. Foster directed a number of Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto mysteries, including Charlie Chan in Panama, Charlie Chan at Treasure Island, Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, Charlie Chan in Reno, Mr. Moto's Last Warning, Mysterious Mr. Moto, Mr. Moto Takes a Chance, Thank You, Mr. Moto, and Think Fast, Mr. Moto. He co-wrote and directed the "My Friend Bonito" segment of Orson Welles's unfinished Pan-American anthology film It's All True. Initially engaged as a second-unit director who would film background material, Foster came to do much more and the quality of his work would have been recognized with a co-director credit on the film. A co-production of RKO Pictures and the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, the non-commercial project was later terminated by RKO.
As Welles prepared to go to Brazil to film the Rio Carnival for It's All True, he temporarily suspended "Bonito" so Foster could return to Hollywood to direct Journey into Fear. Welles played a small on-screen role in the Mercury Production, and denied that he took over direction of the film himself.
Some of Foster's other directorial efforts include Kiss the Blood off My Hands, Rachel and the Stranger, Woman on the Run and The Sign of Zorro. He directed the Davy Crockett segments of the Walt Disney anthology television series Disneyland that were edited into the feature films Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates. Foster's second verse of his lyrics to Disney's Zorro theme song which was "He is polite, but the wicked take flight, when they catch the sight of Zorro. He's friend of the weak, and the poor, and the meek, this very unique Senor Zorro." never aired on the television series. This version of the Zorro Theme including these verses was performed by The Chordettes. These verses later appeared in the Disney Sing-Along Songs version of the Zorro Theme in its 1987 direct-to-video episode, "Heigh-Ho".
Personal life
In 1928, Foster secretly married Claudette Colbert in London. Concerned about the reaction of Colbert's mother to their union, they continued to keep their marriage a secret from her, even to the point of living apart. Nevertheless, in 1935 they divorced, and Foster in October that same year married actress Sally Blane, an older sister of actress Loretta Young. They had their first child, Gretchen, who was born in June 1936. They also had a son, Robert.Death
In 1976, at age 72, Foster died from cancer in Santa Monica. Both he and his wife Sally Blane are interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.Theatre credits
Film and television credits
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1929 | Gentlemen of the Press | Ted Hanley | |
| 1929 | Love at First Sight | Richard Norton | |
| 1930 | Young Man of Manhattan | Toby McLean | |
| 1931 | No Limit | Douglas Thayer | |
| 1931 | It Pays to Advertise | Rodney Martin | |
| 1931 | Men Call It Love | Jack Mills | |
| 1931 | Up Pops the Devil | Steve Merrick | |
| 1931 | Confessions of a Co-Ed | Hal | |
| 1931 | Reckless Living | Doggie | |
| 1931 | Under Eighteen | Alf | |
| 1932 | Girl of the Rio | Johnny Powell | |
| 1932 | Play Girl | Wallie Dennis | |
| 1932 | Steady Company | Jim | |
| 1932 | Alias the Doctor | Stephan Brenner | |
| 1932 | ' | Melville Cohen | |
| 1932 | Week-End Marriage | Ken Hays | |
| 1932 | Skyscraper Souls | Tom | |
| 1932 | Strange Justice | Wally Baker | |
| 1932 | Prosperity | John Warren | |
| 1933 | State Fair | Wayne Frake | |
| 1933 | Professional Sweetheart | Jim Davey | |
| 1933 | Pilgrimage | Jim Jessop | |
| 1933 | Rafter Romance | Jack Bacon | |
| 1933 | Walls of Gold | Barnes Ritchie | |
| 1934 | Orient Express | Carlton Myatt | |
| 1934 | Strictly Dynamite | Nick Montgomery | |
| 1934 | Elinor Norton | Bill Carroll | |
| 1935 | Behind the Evidence | Tony Sheridan | |
| 1935 | Behind the Green Lights | Dave Britten | |
| 1935 | ' | Ralph Hartsook | |
| 1935 | Ladies Crave Excitement | Dan Phelan | |
| 1935 | Superspeed | Randy Rogers | |
| 1935 | ' | Donald Meadows | |
| 1935 | Escape from Devil's Island | Andre Dion | |
| 1935 | The Fire Trap | Bill Farnsworth | |
| 1935 | Suicide Squad | Larry Parker | |
| 1936 | ' | Bob Gryce | |
| 1936 | Everybody's Old Man | Ronald Franklin | |
| 1936 | Fatal Lady | Philip Roberts | |
| 1936 | High Tension | Eddie Mitchell | |
| 1936 | I Cover Chinatown | Eddie Barton | |
| 1938 | Mysterious Mr. Moto | Hoodlum in tavern | Uncredited |
| 2018 | Billy Boyle | Final role. Filmed in 1974, not released until 2018. |
Director
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1936 | I Cover Chinatown | |
| 1937 | Fair Warning | Also screenwriter |
| 1937 | Think Fast, Mr. Moto | Also screenwriter |
| 1937 | Thank You, Mr. Moto | Also screenwriter |
| 1938 | Walking Down Broadway | |
| 1938 | Mr. Moto Takes a Chance | Also screenwriter |
| 1938 | Mysterious Mr. Moto | Also screenwriter |
| 1939 | Mr. Moto's Last Warning | Also screenwriter |
| 1939 | Charlie Chan in Reno | |
| 1939 | Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation | Also screenwriter |
| 1939 | Charlie Chan at Treasure Island | |
| 1939 | 20,000 Men a Year | Second unit director, uncredited |
| 1940 | High School | |
| 1940 | Northwest Passage | Second unit director, uncredited |
| 1940 | Charlie Chan in Panama | |
| 1940 | Viva Cisco Kid | |
| 1940 | Maryland | Second unit director, uncredited |
| 1941 | Ride, Kelly, Ride | |
| 1941 | Scotland Yard | |
| 1941 | It's All True | Segment "My Friend Bonito" Also screenwriter; unfinished film |
| 1943 | Journey into Fear | |
| 1943 | Santa | |
| 1944 | ' | |
| 1945 | ' | |
| 1946 | ||
| 1948 | Rachel and the Stranger | |
| 1948 | Kiss the Blood Off My Hands | |
| 1949 | Tell It to the Judge | |
| 1950 | Father Is a Bachelor | |
| 1950 | Woman on the Run | Also screenwriter |
| 1952 | Navajo | Also screenwriter |
| 1952 | Sky Full of Moon | Also screenwriter |
| 1953 | Sombrero | Also screenwriter |
| 1965 | Indian Paint | Also screenwriter |
| 1966 | Brighty of the Grand Canyon | Also screenwriter |