William W. Norton
Encyclopedia
William Wallace "Bill" Norton, Jr. (September 24, 1925 – October 1, 2010) was an American screenwriter
. Later in life, he was convicted of gun running in France
when he tried to send arms from the United States to the Irish National Liberation Army
in Northern Ireland
. He moved to Nicaragua
after being released from prison, where he shot and killed an intruder in his Managua
home. He later spent a year living in Cuba
but became disillusioned with Communism
and was reportedly smuggled from Mexico
into the U.S. by his ex-wife.
to Andrena "Rena" (née Callahan; March 20, 1902-October 16, 1989-) and William Wallace Norton (February 14, 1900-July 18, 1973-), where his parents owned a ranch which they lost at the start of the Great Depression
. His family moved to Berkeley, California
, and then later to El Monte
. He attended El Monte High School
, where he was class president.
During World War II
, Norton enlisted in the United States Army
and served in Europe. He started writing, using his life experience of growing up poor and serving in the military, and some of his plays were produced by local theater companies. He joined the Communist Party
in his youth and in 1958 was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee
, though he did not name anyone.
He wrote for the television series The Big Valley
, which was broadcast from 1965 to 1968. His big screen breakthrough came with his script for the 1968 film The Scalphunters
, set in the antebellum West, with the movie starring Burt Lancaster
, Ossie Davis
and Shelley Winters
.
Other screenplays that Norton wrote included the Angie Dickinson vehicle Big Bad Mama
, directed by Roger Corman
and the John Wayne
detective film Brannigan
(1975). He wrote the Burt Reynolds
vehicles, Sam Whiskey
, White Lightning
and Gator
. When asked by a nurse the day before he died if she would know any of Norton's films, he replied "I don't think your I.Q. is low enough".
After moving to Ireland in the mid-1980s, Norton was angered by attacks staged against Roman Catholic residents of Northern Ireland
. He flew back to the U.S. and purchased a number of guns to bring back to supply the Irish National Liberation Army
(INLA). Norton also purchased a camping van and had a hidden compartment made. The van was shipped aboard a Panamanian ship, the Maryt, inside an container, from Los Angeles to the port at Rotterdam
. The van, still inside the container, was then put on a truck and hauled from Rotterdam, through Belgium, to the port of Le Havre
, France
. Authorities were watching the van, which had two submachine guns, 12 rifles, 23 revolvers and 2,200 of rounds of ammunition in the hidden compartment. Norton and his wife, Eleanor, were arrested on June 11, 1986, trying to retrieve the vehicle and were both convicted. Also arrested with them were two INLA members, James MacLaughin and Sean Hughes, and also Hughes' girlfriend Susan May. Susan May's two children, who were with her, were taken to a children's home. In August 1987, William Norton, Hughes and MacLaughin were each sentenced to four years in prison, while Eleanor Norton was sentenced to three years with two of those suspended. Additionally the group was forbidden to return to France for five year and they were fined a total of USD$
81,700. Susan May was not convicted. Norton was released after 19 months while his wife served five months before her release on medical grounds. The couple were subject to a U.S. warrant on the gun smuggling charges and were granted asylum in Nicaragua
.
After bandits broke into his house in Managua
, he was able to find a gun and shot and killed one of the robbers.
He relocated to Cuba in the 1990s, but rapidly became disenchanted with life under Communism. He moved again, this time to Mexico, and sought the help of his daughter and his first wife to bring him back into the United States. He met his family members in Tijuana
and they smuggled him back across the U.S. border. He settled in Santa Barbara, California
, where he reportedly spent years worrying that the FBI would arrest him until a lawyer convinced him that he had nothing to worry about. He wrote a script, Exiled in America, based on his experiences, which was produced by Paul Leder.
, aged 85, on October 1, 2010. He was survived by his second wife, Eleanor, as well as by two daughters and a son, writer/director Bill L. Norton
. His first marriage, to the former Betty Conklin, had ended in divorce.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. Later in life, he was convicted of gun running in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
when he tried to send arms from the United States to the Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. He moved to Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
after being released from prison, where he shot and killed an intruder in his Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
home. He later spent a year living in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
but became disillusioned with Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and was reportedly smuggled from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
into the U.S. by his ex-wife.
Life
Norton was born in Ogden, UtahOgden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
to Andrena "Rena" (née Callahan; March 20, 1902-October 16, 1989-) and William Wallace Norton (February 14, 1900-July 18, 1973-), where his parents owned a ranch which they lost at the start of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. His family moved to Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, and then later to El Monte
El Monte, California
El Monte is a residential, industrial, and commercial city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte," and historically is known as "The End of the Santa Fe Trail." As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 113,475,...
. He attended El Monte High School
El Monte High School
El Monte High School, located in El Monte, California, is a high school of the El Monte Union High School District. It is one of the oldest high schools in the San Gabriel Valley. Founded in 1901, it began operation in a single, upstairs classroom in the old Lexington Avenue Grammar School, with an...
, where he was class president.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Norton enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and served in Europe. He started writing, using his life experience of growing up poor and serving in the military, and some of his plays were produced by local theater companies. He joined the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in his youth and in 1958 was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
, though he did not name anyone.
He wrote for the television series The Big Valley
The Big Valley
The Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
, which was broadcast from 1965 to 1968. His big screen breakthrough came with his script for the 1968 film The Scalphunters
The Scalphunters
The Scalphunters is a 1968 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster, Ossie Davis and Telly Savalas. The film was directed by Sydney Pollack, with the score written by Elmer Bernstein...
, set in the antebellum West, with the movie starring Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
and Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
.
Other screenplays that Norton wrote included the Angie Dickinson vehicle Big Bad Mama
Big Bad Mama
Big Bad Mama is a 1974 American film produced by Roger Corman, starring Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, and Tom Skerritt. It was followed by a sequel, Big Bad Mama II, in 1987.- Plot :...
, directed by Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
and the John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
detective film Brannigan
Brannigan (film)
Brannigan is a British action film set principally in London, directed by Douglas Hickox, and starring John Wayne and Richard Attenborough...
(1975). He wrote the Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
vehicles, Sam Whiskey
Sam Whiskey
Sam Whiskey is a 1969 comedy-western film directed by Arnold Laven and starring Burt Reynolds a decade before he zoomed to superstar status in the late 1970s. Angie Dickinson, Clint Walker and Ossie Davis co-star....
, White Lightning
White Lightning (1973 film)
White Lightning is a 1973 American action film from United Artists starring Burt Reynolds as Gator McKlusky. The film, directed by Joseph Sargent and written by William W. Norton, also starred Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty, Bo Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong, and Diane Ladd...
and Gator
Gator (film)
Gator is a 1976 action film starring and directed by Burt Reynolds. It is a sequel to White Lightning. Reynolds honored his favorite professor from college, Watson B...
. When asked by a nurse the day before he died if she would know any of Norton's films, he replied "I don't think your I.Q. is low enough".
After moving to Ireland in the mid-1980s, Norton was angered by attacks staged against Roman Catholic residents of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. He flew back to the U.S. and purchased a number of guns to bring back to supply the Irish National Liberation Army
Irish National Liberation Army
The Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
(INLA). Norton also purchased a camping van and had a hidden compartment made. The van was shipped aboard a Panamanian ship, the Maryt, inside an container, from Los Angeles to the port at Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. The van, still inside the container, was then put on a truck and hauled from Rotterdam, through Belgium, to the port of Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Authorities were watching the van, which had two submachine guns, 12 rifles, 23 revolvers and 2,200 of rounds of ammunition in the hidden compartment. Norton and his wife, Eleanor, were arrested on June 11, 1986, trying to retrieve the vehicle and were both convicted. Also arrested with them were two INLA members, James MacLaughin and Sean Hughes, and also Hughes' girlfriend Susan May. Susan May's two children, who were with her, were taken to a children's home. In August 1987, William Norton, Hughes and MacLaughin were each sentenced to four years in prison, while Eleanor Norton was sentenced to three years with two of those suspended. Additionally the group was forbidden to return to France for five year and they were fined a total of USD$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
81,700. Susan May was not convicted. Norton was released after 19 months while his wife served five months before her release on medical grounds. The couple were subject to a U.S. warrant on the gun smuggling charges and were granted asylum in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.
After bandits broke into his house in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, he was able to find a gun and shot and killed one of the robbers.
He relocated to Cuba in the 1990s, but rapidly became disenchanted with life under Communism. He moved again, this time to Mexico, and sought the help of his daughter and his first wife to bring him back into the United States. He met his family members in Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
and they smuggled him back across the U.S. border. He settled in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, where he reportedly spent years worrying that the FBI would arrest him until a lawyer convinced him that he had nothing to worry about. He wrote a script, Exiled in America, based on his experiences, which was produced by Paul Leder.
Death
Norton died in Santa Barbara of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, aged 85, on October 1, 2010. He was survived by his second wife, Eleanor, as well as by two daughters and a son, writer/director Bill L. Norton
Bill L. Norton
Bill L. Norton is a film director, writer and producer. He also has directed many television series, among them Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, John Doe, Hack, Las Vegas, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Lincoln Heights and Roswell.He is the son of screenwriter William W...
. His first marriage, to the former Betty Conklin, had ended in divorce.