Norman Foster

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 Fosters 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 childrens 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 PanAmerican anthology film Its 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 Motos 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 Citys Holy Cross Cemetery Description above from the Wikipedia article Norman Foster licensed under CCBYSAfull list of contributors on Wikipedia