Norman Tokar
Encyclopedia
Norman Tokar was a prolific director
(and occasionally writer and producer) of serial television and feature films, who directed many of the early episodes of Leave it to Beaver
, and found his greatest success directing over a dozen films for Walt Disney
Productions, spanning the 1950s to the 1970s.
in the early 1940s, Tokar moved into television direction on such sitcoms as The Bob Cummings Show
and The Donna Reed Show
, and the drama Naked City
.
In the early 1960s, Tokar’s success working with the juvenile actors on 93 episodes of the TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver
encouraged Walt Disney to hire him to direct family features for his studio, which frequently used children in key roles. His first feature film assignment was the Western Big Red
(1962), followed by the Old Yeller
sequel Savage Sam
(1963) and Those Calloways
(1965). After directing the 1966 Fred MacMurray
picture Follow Me, Boys!
, and the Dean Jones
/Suzanne Pleshette
slapstick comedy The Ugly Dachsund that same year, Tokar's next directorial assignment (Walt Disney's last before his death) was the 1967 roadshow musical The Happiest Millionaire
. With a Sherman Brothers
score and a cast including Fred MacMurray, Greer Garson
, Tommy Steele
, Lesley Ann Warren
, and John Davidson
, the studio hoped the film would do as well with critics and audiences as Mary Poppins
had three years earlier. When it failed to do so, the studio cut the nearly three-hour film down to 144 minutes and again to 118 minutes for general release; the cut footage went unseen until it was restored in the 1990s.
Tokar followed Millionaire with more examples of the high-concept comedies that became the mainstay of the studio in the 1960s and 1970s: The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
(1968), The Boatniks
(1970), and Snowball Express
(1972).
After directing his only non-Disney feature in 1974, Where the Red Fern Grows
, Tokar made his most commercially successful film; the 1975 comedy western The Apple Dumpling Gang
. With his final film before his death, 1978's The Cat From Outer Space
, Tokar obtained a co-producer credit.
Between his Disney films, Tokar continued to direct TV, working on The Doris Day Show
and M*A*S*H.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
(and occasionally writer and producer) of serial television and feature films, who directed many of the early episodes of Leave it to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
, and found his greatest success directing over a dozen films for Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
Productions, spanning the 1950s to the 1970s.
Career
After a career as an actor on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in the early 1940s, Tokar moved into television direction on such sitcoms as The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...
and The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
, and the drama Naked City
Naked City (TV series)
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format....
.
In the early 1960s, Tokar’s success working with the juvenile actors on 93 episodes of the TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
encouraged Walt Disney to hire him to direct family features for his studio, which frequently used children in key roles. His first feature film assignment was the Western Big Red
Big Red (film)
Big Red is a 1962 American family-oriented adventure film from Disney Studios. Based on a 1945 novel by American author Jim Kjelgaard and adapted to the screen by American screenwriter Louis Pelletier, the film starred Walter Pidgeon....
(1962), followed by the Old Yeller
Old Yeller (1957 film)
Old Yeller is a 1957 Walt Disney Productions film starring Tommy Kirk, Dorothy McGuire and Beverly Washburn, and directed by Robert Stevenson. It is about a boy and a stray dog in post-Civil War Texas. The story is based upon the 1956 Newbery Honor-winning book Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Gipson...
sequel Savage Sam
Savage Sam
Savage Sam is the 1963 film sequel to Old Yeller written by Fred Gipson. It was inspired by the story of former Apache captive Herman Lehmann, whom Gipson had seen give an exhibition when he was a child....
(1963) and Those Calloways
Those Calloways
Those Calloways is a 1965 American film adaption of a book by Paul Annixter. Annixter and his wife Jane were writers of books for young readers. The film was produced by Disney and directed by Norman Tokar...
(1965). After directing the 1966 Fred MacMurray
Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin "Fred" MacMurray was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and a successful television series during a career that spanned nearly a half-century, from 1930 to the 1970s....
picture Follow Me, Boys!
Follow Me, Boys!
Follow Me, Boys! is a 1966 family film released through Walt Disney Pictures, based on the book God and My Country by MacKinlay Kantor. It was the last production released before Walt Disney died of lung cancer...
, and the Dean Jones
Dean Jones
Dean Jones is the name of:*Dean Jones , an Australian cricketer*Dean Jones , an American actor*Dean Jones , the singer of Extreme Noise TerrorSee also:*Jones...
/Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette
Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress, on stage, screen and television.After beginning her career in theatre, she began appearing in films in the early 1960s, such as Rome Adventure and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds...
slapstick comedy The Ugly Dachsund that same year, Tokar's next directorial assignment (Walt Disney's last before his death) was the 1967 roadshow musical The Happiest Millionaire
The Happiest Millionaire
The Happiest Millionaire is a 1967 musical film starring Fred MacMurray and based upon the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Costume Design by Bill Thomas. The musical song score is by Robert and Richard Sherman...
. With a Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
score and a cast including Fred MacMurray, Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
, Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele
Tommy Steele OBE , is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star.-Singer:...
, Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Emmy Awards and five times for Golden Globe, winning one....
, and John Davidson
John Davidson (entertainer)
John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an American singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991....
, the studio hoped the film would do as well with critics and audiences as Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
had three years earlier. When it failed to do so, the studio cut the nearly three-hour film down to 144 minutes and again to 118 minutes for general release; the cut footage went unseen until it was restored in the 1990s.
Tokar followed Millionaire with more examples of the high-concept comedies that became the mainstay of the studio in the 1960s and 1970s: The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit is a 1968 film directed by Norman Tokar....
(1968), The Boatniks
The Boatniks
The Boatniks is a 1970 American comedy film starring Robert Morse, Stefanie Powers, Don Ameche and Phil Silvers. It was made by Walt Disney Productions, released by Buena Vista Distribution and directed by Norman Tokar....
(1970), and Snowball Express
Snowball Express
Snowball Express is a 1972 screwball comedy film made by Walt Disney Productions about a man who leaves his desk job to run a hotel left to him by his uncle.-Plot:...
(1972).
After directing his only non-Disney feature in 1974, Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows is a children's novel written by Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys and trains two Redbone Coonhound hunting dogs. This book is a popular choice for early middle school reading classes, with a reading level appropriate to grades 4 and up.-Plot summary:Before leaving work one...
, Tokar made his most commercially successful film; the 1975 comedy western The Apple Dumpling Gang
The Apple Dumpling Gang (film)
The Apple Dumpling Gang is a 1975 Disney film about slick gambler Russel Donavan who is duped into taking care of a group of orphan children who eventually strike gold during the California Gold Rush....
. With his final film before his death, 1978's The Cat From Outer Space
The Cat from Outer Space
The Cat from Outer Space is a 1978 Disney film, starring Ronnie Schell, Ken Berry, Sandy Duncan, Harry Morgan, Roddy McDowall and McLean Stevenson.-Plot:...
, Tokar obtained a co-producer credit.
Between his Disney films, Tokar continued to direct TV, working on The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
and M*A*S*H.