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    Norman Abbott

    1922-07-11 (102 years old) in New York City, New York, USA

    Norman Abbott (July 11, 1922 – July 9, 2016) was an American vaudevillian, actor, producer and television director. Abbott was born in New York City, where his uncle, comedian Bud Abbott, and his mother raised him. His early experience in entertainment was as a vaudeville performer, including summers working the 'borscht circuit" in resorts in the Catskill Mountains of New York. In the early 1940s, he and Pat Costello (brother of Lou Costello) worked as stand-ins for the better-known act during filming of Who Done It? (1942).[3] During World War II, Abbott served as a member of the original United States Navy SEALs team. After the war, Abbott became a dialog director on the Abbott and Costello films and was mentored by the team's director, Charles T. Barton. Abbott later directed episodes of The Jack Benny Program, Leave It to Beaver, Get Smart, The Munsters, Welcome Back, Kotter, Dennis the Menace, and Sanford and Son. Abbott's obituary in The Hollywood Reporter described him as "the brainchild behind the Broadway sensation Sugar Babies, the comeback vehicle for Mickey Rooney in the late 1970s". He conceived the idea of a Broadway musical based on burlesque after inheriting his uncle's "treasure trove of burlesque material, including written gags, props, music and posters".[4] Despite his having originated the concept, Abbott was fired as director of the show after two weeks of rehearsing.

    Movies

    actor
    Empire of the Censors
    35 %|May 28, 1995
    TV Movie, Documentary
    poster
    Anything Goes
    60 %|Feb 28, 1954
    Romance, Comedy, Music, TV Movie
    poster
    Walking My Baby Back Home
    90 %|Dec 6, 1953
    Comedy, Music
    poster
    Keep 'Em Slugging
    55 %|Mar 1, 1943
    Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance, War
    poster
    Who Done It?
    69 %|Oct 30, 1942
    Comedy, Mystery
    poster
    The Affairs of Martha
    58 %|Jun 21, 1942
    Romance, Comedy
    poster
    Grand Central Murder
    59 %|May 1, 1942
    Mystery, Crime, Comedy
    poster
    Rio Rita
    58 %|Mar 11, 1942
    Comedy, Music

    Series

    poster
    The Colgate Comedy Hour
    70 %|Sep 10, 1950
    Comedy