Norman Fell (born Norman Noah Feld; March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers, and his film roles in Ocean's 11 (1960), The Graduate (1967), and Bullitt (1968). Early in his career, he was billed as Norman Feld.[1]
Norman Fell | |
|---|---|
 Fell in 1970 | |
| Born | Norman Noah Feld March 24, 1924 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 14, 1998 (aged 74) |
| Alma mater | Temple University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1955–1998 |
| Television | Three's Company |
| Spouses | Dolores Pikoos
(m. 1951; div. 1954)Diane Weiss
(m. 1961; div. 1973)Karen Weingard
(m. 1975; div. 1995) |
Early life
Fell was born on March 24, 1924, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Samuel and Edna Feld. His father was an Austrian Jewish immigrant, and his maternal grandparents were Russian Jews.[2] He attended Central High School of Philadelphia.[3] He studied drama at Temple University after serving as a tail gunner on a B-25 Mitchell in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.[4] He later honed his craft at The Actors Studio[5] and the Black Hills Players.[6]
Career
Aside from Fell's best-known television work, he also played minor character roles in several films, including the original Ocean's 11 with the Rat Pack, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, PT 109 with Cliff Robertson as John F. Kennedy, Mike Nichols' The Graduate, Bullitt with Steve McQueen, and Catch-22 (as Sergeant Towser). He appeared alongside Ronald Reagan in Reagan's last film, The Killers with Lee Marvin and Clu Gulager, in which Reagan portrays a villain who slaps Angie Dickinson. In 1992, he starred as a hotel owner in a comedy film titled Hexed.
On TV, Fell portrayed Mike in Joe and Mabel (1955–1956),[7]: 536 Howie Fletcher in The Tom Ewell Show (1960–1961), Meyer Meyer in 87th Precinct (1961–1962),[7]: 302 Charles Wilentz in Dan August (1970–1971),[7] Nathan Davidson in Needles and Pins (1973),[7]: 748 Bernie Solkin in Executive Suite (1976–1977),[7]: 316 Richie's father in Richie Brockelman, Private Eye (1978),[7]: 893 and Ben Cooper in Teachers Only (1982–1983).[7]: 1056
From 1977 to 1979, Fell portrayed the main characters' landlord Stanley Roper on the hit sitcom Three's Company[7]: 1080–1081 (a role with some similarities to hard-edged, suspicious landlord Mr. McCleery in The Graduate, who was on the lookout for reasons to evict Benjamin Braddock, like Mr. Roper did with Jack Tripper). He continued the role as the co-lead with Audra Lindley playing his wife, Helen, on The Ropers,[7]: 910 a spin-off which lasted two seasons, airing from 1979 to 1980.
Fell won a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Actor in a Supporting Role in 1979 for Three's Company.[8] He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his dramatic performance as the boxing trainer of Tom Jordache (Nick Nolte) in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man.[9] His final television appearance was a cameo as Mr. Roper on an episode of the sitcom Ellen in 1997.
Personal life
On May 21, 1950, Fell married Dolores Pikoos in Philadelphia.[10] They divorced in 1954 and Fell married and divorced two subsequent times. He had two daughters, Tracy and Mara, with his second wife and adopted a son with his third wife, Karen Weingard.[4]
Illness and death
On November 26, 1998 (Thanksgiving Day), Fell was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) after becoming too weak to get out of bed at his Marina del Rey home.[4] He died at the Motion Picture and Television's retirement home in Woodland Hills, California on December 14, 1998, at the age of 74.[11]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | The Violators | Ray | |
| 1959 | Pork Chop Hill | Sergeant Coleman | |
| 1960 | Inherit the Wind | WGN Radio Technician | |
| The Rat Race | Telephone Repairman | ||
| Ocean's 11 | Peter Rheimer | ||
| 1963 | PT 109 | Machinist Edmund Drewitch | |
| It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World | Detective at Grogan's Crash Site | ||
| 1964 | The Killers | Mickey Farmer | |
| Quick, Before it Melts | George Snell | ||
| The Young Warriors | Sergeant Wadley | ||
| 1967 | Fitzwilly | Oberblatz | |
| The Graduate | Mr. McCleery | ||
| 1968 | Sergeant Ryker | Sergeant Max Winkler | Archive footage |
| The Secret War of Harry Frigg | Captain Stanley | ||
| The Young Runaways | Mr. Donford | ||
| Bullitt | Captain Baker | ||
| 1969 | If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium | Harve Blakely | |
| 1970 | Catch-22 | First Sergeant Towser | |
| The Boatniks | Max | ||
| 1973 | The Stone Killer | Lieutenant Les Daniels | |
| Charley Varrick | Mr. Garfinkle | ||
| 1974 | Airport 1975 | Bill | |
| 1975 | Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold | Stanley Nagel | |
| 1976 | Guardian of the Wilderness | Doctor | |
| 1978 | Rabbit Test | Segoynia's Father | |
| The End | Dr. Samuel Krugman | ||
| 1981 | Crunch | ||
| On the Right Track | The Mayor | ||
| Heartbreak High | Jack McGuire | ||
| Paternity | Larry | ||
| 1985 | Transylvania 6-5000 | Mac Turner | |
| 1987 | Stripped to Kill | Ray | |
| 1989 | C.H.U.D. II: Bud the C.H.U.D. | Tyler | |
| 1990 | You're Driving Me Crazy | Doctor 'F' | |
| 1991 | With Friends Like These... | Narrator | Direct-to-video |
| The Boneyard | Shepard | ||
| For the Boys | Sam Schiff | ||
| 1992 | The Naked Truth | The Dentist | |
| 1993 | Hexed | Herschel Levine | |
| 1996 | The Destiny of Marty Fine | Daryl | |
| Beach House | The Landlord |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Elgin Hour | Morton | Season 1 Episode 5: "Hearts and Hollywood" |
| Westinghouse Studio One | (2) Foreman & Juror #1 | (1) Season 6 Episode 18: "A Criminal Design" (2) Season 7 Episode 1: "Twelve Angry Men" | |
| The Philco Television Playhouse | Season 6 Episode 17: "Miss Look-Alike" | ||
| Goodyear Television Playhouse | Season 3 Episode 11: "The Huntress" | ||
| 1955 | Westinghouse Studio One | (2) Jake | (1) Season 7 Episode 17: "Grandma Rolled Her Own" (2) Season 7 Episode 28: "Dominique" |
| 1956 | The Alcoa Hour | Marvie | Season 1 Episode 13: "Finkle's Comet" |
| Joe and Mabel | (1) Mike (2) (3) (4) Harry | (1) Season 1 Episode 1*: "Joe's Bankbook" (aired June 26) (2) Season 1 Episode: "The Line-Up" (aired July 10) (3) Season 1 Episode 11*: "Mabel's Voice" (aired September 4) (4) Episode: "Mabel's Legacy" (aired September 18) * Episodes were first produced in 1955 but were thrown out, with CBS starting completely over in 1956. See show homepage for details. | |
| Star Tonight | Sharp | Season 2 Episode 39: "Faith and Patience" | |
| Playwrights '56 | Nick Zervas | Season 1 Episode 19: "Nick and Letty" | |
| The United States Steel Hour | Detective | Season 4 Episode 7: "Hunted" | |
| 1957 | Westinghouse Studio One | Season 9 Episode 40: "Love Me to Pieces" | |
| 1959 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Wint Selby | TV movie: "Ah, Wilderness!" |
| 1960 | Johnny Staccato | Bill Lentz | Season 1 Episode 17: "The Man in the Pit" |
| Perry Mason | Caspar Pedley | Season 3 Episode 17: "The Case of the Mythical Monkeys" | |
| The Untouchables | Reiner | Season 2 Episode 1: "The Rusty Heller Story" | |
| The Tom Ewell Show | Howie Fletcher | (1) Season 1 Episode 4: "Tom Takes Over" (2) Season 1 Episode 6: "The Second Phone" (3) Season 1 Episode 7: "The Handwriting on the Wall" (4) Season 1 Episode 8: "The Spelling Bee" (5) Season 1 Episode 11: "Salesmanship Lesson" | |
| 1961 | The Law and Mr. Jones | Fred Cook | Season 1 Episode 18: "Lethal Weapons" |
| The Tab Hunter Show | Emory Farnsworth | Season 1 Episode 23: "Me and My Shadow" | |
| Peter Gunn | Danny Carmichael | Season 3 Episode 20: "A Kill and a Half" | |
| The Aquanauts | Oliver Pappas | Season 1 Episode 25: "The Rainbow Adventure" | |
| The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | Cole | Season 2 Episode 31: "Be It Ever So Humble" | |
| Checkmate | Shep Stryker | Season 1 Episode 34: "Hot Wind in a Cold Town" | |
| Cain's Hundred | Frank Driscoll | Season 1 Episode 13: "Final Judgment: "Alexander Marish" | |
| 1961–1962 | 87th Precinct | Detective Meyer Meyer | Regular cast (30 episodes) |
| 1962 | Sam Benedict | Alex McConnell | Season 1 Episode 15: "Where There's a Will" |
| 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Lionel | Season 1 Episode 22: "Five Moments Out of Time" |
| The Lloyd Bridges Show | (1) Piggy (2) Mel Baxter | (1) Season 1 Episode 25: "Gym in January" (2) Season 1 Episode 26: "Sheridan Square" | |
| The Dick Powell Show | Dr. Joseph Greer | Season 2 Episode 28: "The Last of the Big Spenders" | |
| The Lieutenant | Jerry Belman | Season 1 Episode 2: "Cool of the Evening" | |
| Kraft Suspense Theatre | Sergeant Max Winkler | (1) Season 1 Episode 1: "The Case Against Paul Ryker: Part 1" (2) Season 1 Episode 2: "The Case Against Paul Ryker: Part 2" | |
| East Side/West Side | Eddie Best | Season 1 Episode 9: "Not Bad for Openers" | |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Al Norman | Season 2 Episode 9: "The Dividing Wall" | |
| 1964 | The Defenders | George Capp | Season 3 Episode 23: "Moment of Truth" |
| The Hanged Man | Gaylord Grebb | TV movie | |
| 1964–1965 | Ben Casey | (1) Arnold Halbert (2) Manny Berger | (1) Season 3 Episode 18: "I'll Get on My Ice Floe and Wave Goodbye" (1964) (2) Season 4 Episode 15: "Where Does the Boomerang Go?" (1965) |
| 1964–1966 | Twelve O'Clock High | (1) Lieutenant Canello (2) Major Praeger | (1) Season 1 Episode 14: "An Act of War" (1964) (2) Season 3 Episode 7: "The All-American" (1966) |
| 1965 | Mr. Novak | Barney Sanders | Season 2 Episode 29: "And Then I Wrote..." |
| The Trials of O'Brien | Mickey the Miser | Season 1 Episode 9: "How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?" | |
| Dr. Kildare | (1) Dr. Keith Myers (2) (3) (4) (5) Arnold Vitnack | (1) Season 4 Episode 31: "A Reverence for Life" (2) Season 5 Episode 20: "Fathers and Daughters" (3) Season 5 Episode 21: "A Gift of Love" (4) Season 5 Episode 22: "The Tent Dwellers" (5) Season 5 Episode 23: "Going Home" | |
| The Fugitive | (1) Lieutenant Germak (2) Lieutenant Green | (1) Season 2 Episode 25: "May God Have Mercy" (2) Season 3 Episode 12: "Stranger in the Mirror" | |
| 1965–1969 | The F.B.I. | (1) Ted Cullinan (2) Ken Haney (3) Victor Green | (1) Season 1 Episode 11: "All the Streets Are Silent" (1965) (2) Season 3 Episode 27: "The Mercenary" (1968) (3) Season 4 Episode 22: "The Catalyst" (1969) |
| 1966 | The Wild Wild West | Jeremiah Ratch | Season 1 Episode 20: "The Night of the Whirring Death" |
| The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Mark Slate | Season 2 Episode 23: "The Moonglow Affair" | |
| A Man Called Shenandoah | Captain Arnold Dudley | Season 1 Episode 24: "Muted Fifes, Muffled Drums" | |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Eddie Carr | Season 4 Episode 7: "Dear Deductible" | |
| Bewitched | Dr. Freud | Season 3 Episode 10: "I'd Rather Twitch Than Fight" | |
| 1967 | The Invaders | Neal Taft | Season 1 Episode 11: "The Betrayed" |
| Ghostbreakers | Lieutenant P.J. Hartunain | TV movie | |
| I Spy | Karin | Season 3 Episode 4: "The Medarra Block" | |
| Mannix | Daniel Brewer | Season 1 Episode 10: "Coffin for a Clown" | |
| 1967–1969 | Ironside | (1) Captain Lauren (2) Lieutenant Haines | (1) Season 1 Episode 6: "An Inside Job" (1967) (2) Season 3 Episode 7: "Seeing Is Believing" (1969) |
| 1968 | That Girl | Bernie Perperni | Season 2 Episode 19: "Sixty-Five on the Aisle" |
| Judd, for the Defense | Harry Green | Season 2 Episode 5: "The Sound of the Plastic Axe" | |
| 1969 | The Name of the Game | Winston Polk | Season 2 Episode 2: "A Hard Case of the Blues" |
| Three's a Crowd | Norman, the Elevator Operator | TV movie | |
| 1969–1972 | Love, American Style | (1) Jack 'J.K.' Lewis (2) Ralph Albertson | (1) Season 1 Episode 9 (Segment: "Love and the Good Deal") (1969) (2) Season 4 Episode 8 (Segment: "Love and the Clinic") (1972) |
| 1970 | Double Jeopardy | Sergeant Charles Wilentz | TV movie |
| 1970–1971 | Dan August | Sergeant Charles Wilentz | 26 episodes |
| 1971 | The Partridge Family | Mr. Bruner | Season 2 Episode 4: "The Undergraduate" |
| 1972 | O'Hara, U.S. Treasury | Leo Walsh | Season 1 Episode 22: "Operation – Smokescreen" |
| The Heist | Pat Dillon | TV movie | |
| McCloud | Lieutenant Ed Feldman | Season 3 Episode 3: "The Park Avenue Rustlers" | |
| 1973 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | George Manning | Season 4 Episode 20: "Catch a Ring That Isn't There" |
| Going Places | Mr. Shaw | TV movie | |
| Needles and Pins | Nathan Davidson | Regular cast (14 episodes) | |
| Griff | Season 1 Episode 10: "Hammerlock" | ||
| 1974 | Medical Center | Frank | Season 5 Episode 22: "The World's Balloon" |
| Thursday's Game | Melvin Leonard | TV movie | |
| 1974–1977 | Police Story | (1) Sergeant Dell (2) Lieutenant Alfred Thornwood | (1) Season 2 Episode 8: "Wolf" (1974) (2) Season 4 Episode 19: "One of Our Cops is Crazy" |
| 1975 | Death Stalk | Frank Cody | TV movie |
| McMillan & Wife | Allan Kovacs | Season 4 Episode 6: "Love, Honor and Swindle" | |
| Lucas Tanner | Abe Lydecker | Season 1 Episode 19: "The Noise of a Quiet Weekend" | |
| Rhoda | Dr. Henry Gerber | (1) Season 1 Episode 21: "Chest Pains" (2) Season 2 Episode 3: "Ida's Doctor" | |
| Cannon | Police Lieutenant | Season 5 Episode 15: "The Games Children Play" | |
| Starsky & Hutch | Sammy Grovner | Season 1 Episode 15: "Shootout" | |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man | Smitty | Mini-Series (1) Season 1 Episode 3: Part III: Chapter 5" (2) Season 1 Episode 4: "Part IV: Chapter 6" (3) Season 1 Episode 5: "Part V: Chapter 7" (4) Season 1 Episode 9: "Part VIII: Chapters 11 and 12" Emmy Award (nominated) |
| Ellery Queen | Errol Keyes | Season 1 Episode 19: "The Adventure of the Tyrant of Tin Pan Alley" | |
| Risko | Max | TV movie; Unsold TV Pilot | |
| The Bionic Woman | Milt Bigelow | Season 2 Episode 2: "In This Corner, Jaime Sommers" | |
| The Streets of San Francisco | Juror | (1) Season 5 Episode 1: "The Thrill Killers: Part 1" (2) Season 5 Episode 2: "The Thrill Killers: Part 2" | |
| Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours | Mr. Brockelman | TV movie | |
| Switch | Marty | Season 2 Episode 7: "Gaffing the Skim" | |
| Executive Suite | Bernie | Season 1 Episode 10: "Re: The Sounds of Silence" | |
| 1976–1981 | Three's Company | Stanley Roper | 56 episodes Golden Globe Award (won) |
| 1977 | The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams | Mitch Morgan | Season 1 Episode 7: "The Redemption of Ben" |
| Charlie's Angels | Sammy | Season 2 Episode 1: "Angels in Paradise" | |
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Mr. McCoy, Julie's Father | Season 2 Episode 3: "Julie's Dilemma/Who's Who/Rocky" |
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Bernie Raymond | Mini-Series Season 1 Episode 7: "Part VII (1960-1967)" |
| 1979–1980 | The Ropers | Stanley Roper | 28 episodes |
| 1980 | Getting There | Jim | TV movie |
| This Year's Blonde | Pat Toledo | TV movie | |
| For the Love of It | Hall | TV movie | |
| 1982 | Matt Houston | Herman | Season 1 Episode 9: "Joey's Here" |
| 1982-1983 | Teachers Only | Ben Cooper | 21 episodes |
| 1983 | Uncommon Valor | Garvin | TV movie |
| 1984 | The Jesse Owens Story | Marty Forkins | TV movie |
| 1985 | Simon & Simon | Leo Nyquist | Season 5 Episode 11: "Facets" |
| 1985–1986 | Crazy Like a Fox | (2) Inspector Peyton | (1) Season 2 Episode 7: "Some Day My Prints Will Come" (1985) (2) Season 2 Episode 22: "A Fox at the Races" (1986) |
| 1985–1988 | Murder, She Wrote | (1) Vince Shackman (2) Lieutenant Rupp | (1) Season 2 Episode 8: "Dead Heat" (1985) (2) Season 4 Episode 19: "Just Another Fish Story" (1988) |
| 1986 | Webster | Charlie | Season 3 Episode 21: "Almost Home" |
| The Twilight Zone | Eddie O'Hara | Season 2 Episode 6: "The Convict's Piano" | |
| 1987 | Magnum, P.I. | David Albertson | Season 7 Episode 15: "Solo Flight" |
| Matlock | Dr. Norman Radburn | Season 1 Episode 24: "The Doctors" | |
| Out of This World | Dr. Hauser | Season 1 Episode 3: "The Nightmare" | |
| Sledge Hammer! | Doctor | Season 2 Episode 13: "They Call Me Mr. Trunk" | |
| 1988-1989 | The Boys | Dave | (1) Season 1 Episode 1: "Gene's Problem" (1988) (2) Season 1 Episode 2: "Some Don't Like It Hot" (1989) (3) Season 1 Episode 5: "Friar's Club" (1989) (4) Season 1 Episode 8: "Labor Day" (1989) |
| 1989 | Hooperman | Pete Cosgrove, Ventriloquist | Season 2 Episode 16: "Dog Day Afternoon, Morning and Night" |
| The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | (1) Fred Van Winkle (2) Ted Bull | (1) Season 1 Episode 25: "Fred Van Winkle" (2) Season 1 Episode 44: "Texas Tea" | |
| 1990 | Good Grief | Slezar | Season 1 Episode 7: "The Good, the Bad and the Mariachis" |
| 1993 | Flying Blind | Employer #2 | Season 1 Episode 14: "Panic in Neil's Park" |
| 1994 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | The Landlord | Season 5 Episode 2: "What's Will Got to Do With It?" |
| 1995 | Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare | Grandpa Joe Dooley | TV movie |
| 1997 | The Naked Truth | Himself | Season 3 Episode 3: "Bully for Dave" |
| Ellen | Mr. Roper | Season 5 Episode 3: "Roommates" | |
| 1998 | Life With Louie | Vic | Season 3 Episode 11: "Blinded by Love" (voice) |
References
External links
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