Norman Foster (director)

For other people named Norman Foster, see Norman Foster (disambiguation).

Norman Foster
Born	John Hoeffer December 13, 1903(1903-12-13) Richmond, Indiana, U.S.
Died	July 7, 1976(1976-07-07) (aged 72) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter
Years active	1929-1976
Spouse	Claudette Colbert (1928-1935; divorced) Sally Blane (1937-1976; his death); 2 children

Norman Foster (December 13, 1903 – July 7, 1976) was an American film director and actor.

Born John Hoeffer in Richmond, Indiana, Foster originally 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 and later appeared on Broadway in the George S. Kaufman/Ring Lardner play June Moon in 1929. He also acted in London.

He began working in crowd scenes in films before moving to bigger parts. His film acting credits include Prosperity (1932), Pilgrimage (1933), Rafter Romance (1933) and State Fair (1933). He has written several plays. He gave up acting in the late 1930s to pursue directing, although he occasionally appeared in movies and television programs.

Some of Foster's directorial efforts include The Sign of Zorro (1958), and the stylish films noir Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948), Woman on the Run (1950) and Journey into Fear (1943). Foster directed Rachel and the Stranger and the Davy Crockett segments of Disneyland that were edited into feature films Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates where he did not accept any interference from Walt Disney.^{[citation needed]}

In 1967, he directed Brighty of the Grand Canyon, based on a children's novel by Marguerite Henry about a burro in the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. It was rumored that Orson Welles took over direction of Journey Into Fear, which Welles later denied. Foster was the director of the "My Friend Bonito" segment of Orson Welles' Pan-American anthology film It's All True until RKO aborted the project.^{[citation needed]}

Foster directed a number of Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto mysteries, including Charlie Chan in Panama (1940), Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939), Charlie Chan in Reno (1939), Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939), Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938), Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938), Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937), and Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937).

Personal life

Foster was married to Claudette Colbert from 1928 until their divorce in 1935. In 1937, he wed actress Sally Blane, an older sister of Loretta Young. The couple had two children, Robert and Gretchen, and remained married until his death.

He died in 1976 from cancer in Santa Monica, aged 72. He and Blane are interred in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery.

External links

Biography portal

• Norman Foster at the Internet Movie Database
• Norman Foster at the Internet Broadway Database
• Norman Foster at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Foster, Norman
Alternative names	Hoeffer, John
Short description	director, screenwriter, actor
Date of birth	1903-12-13
Place of birth	Richmond, Indiana, U.S.
Date of death	1976-7-7
Place of death	Santa Monica, California, U.S.