Cast & creator
Norman Foster
Best known for Batman, Cannon, The South Bank Show
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 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 has also acted in London, England. He started working in crowd scenes in films before moving to bigger parts. His film acting credits include Prosperity (1932), Pilgrimage (1933), Rafter Romance (1933) with Ginger Rogers 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. 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. The film starred Joseph Cotten, Karl Swenson, Dick Foran, and Pat Conway. 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. 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). 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 remained married until his death in 1976 from cancer in Santa Monica at the age of 75. They had two children, Robert and Gretchen. He is buried in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery. Description above from the Wikipedia article Norman Foster, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also known as: John Hoeffer
119
film credits
19
television credits
51
1929–2018 · acting roles
6.6
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (138)
Showing 138 of 138 credits
Batman
Director
1966
Cannon
1971
The South Bank Show
1978
Zorro
Director
1957Zorro
Writer
1957
Bat Masterson
Director
1958
Adventures in Paradise
Director
1959
Tombstone Territory
Director
1957
The Green Hornet
Director
1966
Cavalcade of America
Director
1952
The Wonderful World of Disney
Director
1954The Wonderful World of Disney
Writer
1954
The Loner
Director
1965
Letter to Loretta
Director
1953
The Monroes
Director
1966
Custer
Director
1967
The New Loretta Young Show
Director
1962
Davy Crockett
Director
1954
The Wonderful World of Disney
Director
1961
The Other Side of the Wind
Billy Boyle
2018
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
Director
1955
The Green Hornet
Director
1974
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
Director
1956Davy Crockett and the River Pirates
Writer
1956
Woman on the Run
Director
1950Woman on the Run
Screenplay
1950
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates
Director
1962Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates
Associate Producer
1962Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates
Teleplay
1962
Sky Full of Moon
Writer
1952Sky Full of Moon
Director
1952
Double Solitaire
Ernest Potter
1974
Professional Sweetheart
Jim
1933
The Sign of Zorro
Director
1958The Sign of Zorro
Screenplay
1958
Thank You, Mr. Moto
Screenplay
1937Thank You, Mr. Moto
Director
1937
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands
Director
1948
Think Fast, Mr. Moto
Director
1937Think Fast, Mr. Moto
Writer
1937
Rachel and the Stranger
Director
1948
Journey into Fear
Director
1943
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
Self (archive footage)
2018
Up Pops the Devil
Steve Merrick
1931
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island
Director
1939
Confessions of a Co-Ed
Hal Evans
1931
Play It as It Lays
Abortionist
1972
Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Director
1939Mr. Moto's Last Warning
Screenplay
1939
Mysterious Mr. Moto
Hoodlum in Tavern
1938Mysterious Mr. Moto
Screenplay
1938Mysterious Mr. Moto
Director
1938
Men Call It Love
Jack
1931
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
Director
1939Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
Screenplay
1939
Everybody's Old Man
Ronald Franklin
1936
It's All True
Director
1993
Tell It to the Judge
Director
1949
Father Is a Bachelor
Director
1950
Charlie Chan in Panama
Director
1940
Charlie Chan in Reno
Director
1939
20,000 Men a Year
Assistant Director
1939
Sunday Night at the Trocadero
Norman Foster
1937
Super Speed
Randy Rogers
1935
Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter
Director
1954
Orient Express
Carlton Myatt
1934
Escape from Devil's Island
Andre Dion
1935
It Pays to Advertise
Rodney Martin
1931
Ladies Crave Excitement
Don Phelan
1935
State Fair
Wayne Frake
1933
The Legend of Custer
Director
1968
The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca
Director
1958
Davy Crockett at the Alamo
Director
1955
The Hour of Truth
Director
1945The Hour of Truth
Screenplay
1945It's All True
Director
1943
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood
Maurice Cohen
1932
Pilgrimage
Jim 'Jimmy' Jessop (Hannah's son)
1933
Skyscraper Souls
Tom Shepherd
1932
Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
Director
1938Mr. Moto Takes a Chance
Original Story
1938
Behind the Green Lights
Detective Lt. Dave Britten
1935
Alias the Doctor
Stephan Brenner
1932
Young Man of Manhattan
Toby McLean
1930
Davy Crockett Goes to Congress
Director
1955
Sombrero
Director
1953Sombrero
Screenplay
1953
Crazy Horse and Custer: The Untold Story
Director
1990
Fatal Lady
Phillip Roberts
1936
Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race
Director
1955Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race
Writer
1955
Girl of the Rio
Johnny Powell
1932
Gentlemen of the Press
Ted Hanley
1929
El ahijado de la muerte
Director
1946
The Leavenworth Case
Detective Bob Grice
1936
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
Director
1966Brighty of the Grand Canyon
Writer
1966
Under Eighteen
Alf
1932
The Bewitched House
Story
1949
El canto de la sirena
Writer
1948El canto de la sirena
Director
1948Woman in the Rain
Assistant Director for HighShine
1976
Rafter Romance
Jack
1933
Indian Paint
Director
1965Indian Paint
Screenplay
1965
Viva Cisco Kid
Director
1940
The Disneyland Story
Self
1954
The Bishop Misbehaves
Donald Meadows
1935
The Green Hornet
Director
2005
No Limit
Douglas Thayer
1931
Walking Down Broadway
Director
1938
Strange Justice
Wally Baker
1932
High Tension
Eddie Mitchell
1936
Prosperity
John Warren
1932
Fair Warning
Director
1937Fair Warning
Screenplay
1937
Walls of Gold
Barnes Ritchie
1933
Ride, Kelly, Ride
Director
1941
Scotland Yard
Director
1941
Elinor Norton
Bill Foster
1934The Fire-Trap
Bill Farnsworth
1935
Strictly Dynamite
Fleming
1934
La fuga
Director
1944La fuga
Adaptation
1944
Navajo
Director
1952Navajo
Writer
1952
Steady Company
Jim
1932
Play Girl
Wallace 'Wally' Dennis
1932
The Hoosier Schoolmaster
Ralph Hartsook
1935
Santa
Director
1943Reckless Living
Doggie
1931Behind the Evidence
Tony Sheridan
1935
Suicide Squad
Larry Barker
1935
Week-End Marriage
Ken Hayes
1932
The Deathhead Virgin
Director
1974
I Cover Chinatown
Eddie Barton
1936I Cover Chinatown
Director
1936