Cast
Jack Norton
Acting
Cast
Jack Norton
Known for
Acting
Born
1889-09-01
From
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died
1958-10-15
Also known as Mortimer John Naughton
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jack Norton (September 2, 1882 – October 15, 1958) was an American stage and film character actor who appeared in 184 films between 1934 and 1948, often playing drunks, although in real life he was a teetotaler. Career Jack Norton was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 2, 1882. In his early career he had a vaudeville comedy act with his wife Lillian Healy. Norton made his Broadway debut in 1925 in that year's edition of Earl Carroll's Vanities, and also appeared in Florida Girl, which was produced and staged by Carroll. Norton's first film work was for a musical short, School for Romance, in 1934, in which a young Betty Grable appeared, but his scenes were deleted. His work survived to reach the screen in his next assignment, The Super Snooper, a comedy short, and in his third film, his first full-length movie, Finishing School, which featured Frances Dee, Billie Burke, Ginger Rogers and Bruce Cabot, Norton played a drunk, setting the pattern for many of his future performances. Although he also played stone sober characters as well, he was best known for his inebriated characterizations, and he improved his work by following genuine drunks around, picking up behavioral tips. Norton worked continuously and consistently, sometimes appearing in as many as 20 films in one year, although many of his performances went uncredited. One of the few times he was credited as part of the main cast was in 1945 for the film A Guy, a Gal and a Pal In the 1940s, Norton was part of Preston Sturges' unofficial "stock company" of character actors, appearing in five films written and directed by Sturges. He is perhaps best known to modern audiences as A. Pismo Clam, the drunken film director whom W.C. Fields is hired to replace in The Bank Dick (1940). In 1947, Norton retired from films due to illness, his last appearance being in Alias a Gentlemen, which was released in 1948, although he did make some live television appearances in the early 1950s. Jack Norton's final appearance would have been in the 1956 episode of The Honeymooners entitled "Unconventional Behavior", but age and infirmity had so overwhelmed him that he was literally written out of the show as it was being filmed, though Jackie Gleason saw to it that Norton was paid fully for the performance he was ready, willing, but unable to give. Norton died on October 15, 1958 in Saranac Lake, New York at the age of 76. He is buried in Sacred Hearts Cemetery in Southampton, New York on Long Island.
Jezebel
as Drunk (uncredited)
Finishing School
as Drunk (uncredited)
The Spoilers
as Mr. Skinner
Ship Cafe
as Mr. Randall (uncredited)
The Roaring Twenties
as Drunk at Henderson Club (uncredited)
Broadway Gondolier
as Man on Ship with Pipe
Stolen Harmony
as Phillips (uncredited)
Crazy House
as Drunk
Time Out for Romance
as Crapshooter
Forgotten Faces
as Drunk
Variety Girl
as Busboy at Brown Derby
Going My Way
as Mr. Lilly (uncredited)
Once Upon a Time
as Man In Barber Chair (uncredited)
The Story of Dr. Wassell
as 'Janssen' Passenger (uncredited)
The Palm Beach Story
as Second Member Ale and Quail Club
Marked Woman
as Drunk
The Ghost Breakers
as Drunk (uncredited)
Man Alive
as William T. Lafferty
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt
as Charlie Fenton - the Party Drunk (uncredited)
Going Highbrow
as Sinclair
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
as Country Club Man Ordering Champagne (uncredited)
Hail the Conquering Hero
as Second Bandleader (uncredited)
My Favorite Spy
as Orchid Room Drunk
The Big Parade of Comedy
as Actor in 'The Girl from Missouri' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dr. Socrates
as Drunk in Park
The Gilded Lily
as Photographer (uncredited)
Flame of Barbary Coast
as Byline Conners, Reporter San Francisco Star
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Customer in Bette Davis Number (uncredited)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
Pacific Blackout
as Drunk
Louisiana Purchase
as Jester
Don't Bet on Blondes
as J. Mortimer 'Mousy' Slade
City of Chance
as Mr. Murphy
Nocturne
as Charlie (uncredited)
The Kansan
as Saloon Drunk
Sweet Music
as Drunk (uncredited)
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
as James R. Smoke
Captain Tugboat Annie
as Shiftless
Strange Confession
as Jack
Dr. Renault's Secret
as Mr. Austin
Thanks for the Memory
as Bert Monroe
It Ain't Hay
as Drunk (uncredited)
Everybody's Doing It
as Harry The Drunk
The Naughty Nineties
as Drunk at the Gilded Cage (uncredited)
Opened by Mistake
as Al, the Bartender
The Bank Dick
as A. Pismo Clam
Fashion Model
as Herbert
Arsène Lupin Returns
as Hotel Manager (uncredited)
The Big Noise
as Drunk on Train
Rhythm and Weep
as Mr. Walsh
His Night Out
as Dr. Singer
The Fleet's In
as Kellogg
Prairie Chickens
as Henry Lewis-Clark III
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
as Parker
Calling All Cars
as Duke Costello
The Falcon Strikes Back
as Second Hobo (uncredited)
Moonlight in Havana
as George
Shadows Over Chinatown
as Cosgrove
The Way of All Flesh
as Barber
Two O'Clock Courage
as Drunk at Blue Room Bar (uncredited)
The Preview Murder Mystery
as Comedy Director (Uncredited)
Page Miss Glory
as Reporter (uncredited)
Meet the Missus
as Mr. Norton
One More Spring
as Drunk
Hold That Kiss
as Mallory
So's Your Uncle
as Drunk
Hired Husband
as Mr. Drinkwater
News Is Made at Night
as Drunk
Hold That Blonde!
as Drunk (uncredited)
Linda, Be Good
as Jim Benson
Brooklyn Orchid
as Jonathan McFeeder
Make Your Own Bed
as Drunk
Taxi, Mister
as Reginald Van Nostrum - the Drunk
I Was a Burlesque Queen
as Jim Benson
Dr. Broadway
as Drunk (uncredited)
Love Is a Headache
as Bartender (uncredited)
The Farmer's Daughter
as Shimmy Conway
Woman Haters
as Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
A Night at Earl Carroll's
as Alonzo Smith
The Villain Still Pursued Her
as Drunk
The Super Snooper
Grand Jury Secrets
as Doyle
My Dear Miss Aldrich
as First Drunk at Red Apple Inn (uncredited)
Cockeyed Cavaliers
as King's Physician
Who's Looney Now
as Herbert Brown
Society Smugglers
as Prentis
The Scarlet Clue
as Willie Rand
The Women Men Marry
as Wilhelm Peebles (uncredited)
No Hands on the Clock
as Bartender at The Nugget Room
Let's Make Music
as Drunk
Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
as Hotel Desk Clerk
Malice in the Palace
as Emir of Schmoe (uncredited)
Ride on Vaquero
A Guy, a Gal and a Pal
as Norton
Fixing a Stew
as Pete
Down the Ribber
Foolish Hearts
as Jimmy
The Awful Tooth
as Dr. Schultz
Counsel on De Fence
Meet the Girls
as Fletcher