Producer of ‘Man From U.N.C.L.E.’
Norman Felton, 99, who developed and produced the successful 1960s TV series “Dr. Kildare” and “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” died of natural causes June 25 in Santa Barbara, his family said.
Felton was born April 29, 1913, in London and came to the United States with his family as a teenager. He studied theater arts at the University of Iowa, earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1939 and a master’s in 1940.
After directing community theater productions in the Midwest, he worked as a radio producer in Chicago, then moved to New York to write, direct and produce at a time when live television shows dominated the airwaves.
In the late 1940s and early ‘50s, he was a producer on “Studio One,” “Robert Montgomery Presents” and other dramatic anthology programs. After a stint as director of programs for CBS, he moved to MGM to develop shows under his company banner Arena Productions.
Besides the hospital drama “Dr. Kildare” and the spy spoof “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” he helped bring to television “The Lieutenant,” “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” and “Strange Report.”
He won Emmy Awards for producing “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” in 1966 and for producing the TV movie “Babe” in 1976.
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