Norman Burton

Norman Burton (December 5, 1923 – November 29, 2003) was an American actor. He was occasionally credited as Normann Burton.
Early life
Born in New York City, Burton was a student of the Actors Studio. After early work on stage, he broke into films with a minor role in Fright (1956).
Career
His career in film and television was long and relatively successful, but he never achieved major recognition. He played the Hunt Leader, a gorilla, in the science fiction film Planet of the Apes, notable as being the first ape to be seen by both Taylor and the audience, and also appeared as a (human) army officer in the second sequel Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). In film, he is perhaps best known for his performance as Felix Leiter in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He played Will Giddings, an ill-fated engineer, in the action film The Towering Inferno (1974), and his later films included The Gumball Rally (1976), Crimes of Passion (1984) and Deep Space (1988). He played Dennis Christopher's mean and ill-fated boss in the slasher Fade To Black (1980).
On television, he is best known for his performance as Inter-Agency Defense Command's supervisor Joe Atkinson during the second season of the DC Comics-based fantasy adventure drama series The New Adventures of Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter. He also played Burt Dennis in the situation comedy The Ted Knight Show in the spring of 1978, and appeared as General George Marshall in the 1988 television miniseries War and Remembrance. Throughout his life, Burton was a devotee of the method school of acting, and taught method acting in Lakeside, California.
He also known for playing the part of Dr. Green (Natalie’s father) in the television series The Facts of Life.
Death
Burton was just six days short of his 80th birthday when he died as a result of an auto accident while returning from Ajijic, Mexico near the California-Arizona state line.
Selected filmography
1957 Fright as Reporter Thompkins
1960 Pretty Boy Floyd as Bill Courtney
1962 Hand of Death as Chief Homicide Investigator
1962 Womanhunt as Unknown
1965 Gunsmoke as Ed
1967 Wild Seed as Policeman
1967 Valley of the Dolls as Neely O'Hara's Director (uncredited)
1968 Planet of the Apes as Hunt Leader
1970 R. P. M. as Coach McCurdy
1971 Jud as Uncle Hornkel
1971 Simon, King of the Witches as Willard Rackum
1971 Escape from the Planet of the Apes as Army Officer
1971 Diamonds Are Forever as Felix Leiter
1972 Fuzz as Police Commissioner Nelson
1973 Save the Tiger as Fred Mirrell
1973 Hit! as Director
1974 The Terminal Man as Captain Anders
1974 The Towering Inferno as Will Giddings
1975 The Reincarnation of Peter Proud as Dr. Frederick Spear
1976 The Gumball Rally as Lieutenant Roscoe
1976 Scorchy as Chief Frank O'Brien
1977 Murder in Peyton Place as Jay Kamens
1980 Fade to Black as Marty Berger
1981 Amy as Caruthers
1983 Mausoleum as Dr. Simon Andrews
1984 Crimes of Passion as Lou Bateman
1985 Pray for Death as Lieutenant Anderson
1986 Bad Guys as Captain Watkins
1988 Bloodsport as CID Agent Helmer
1988 Deep Space General Randolph
1992 Live Wire as Senator Victor
1993 American Ninja V as U.S. Ambassador On Caracas Halden (final film role)
References
External links
Norman Burton at FelixLeiter.com
1923 births
American male stage actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Male actors from New York City
Road incident deaths in Mexico
2003 deaths
20th-century American male actors