Norman Panama Biography (c. 1920-2003)

Born August 13, 1920 (some sources say 1909 and 1913), in Chicago, IL; son ofHerman H. and Tessie (Nevins) Panama; married Marcia Engel (divorced, 1970);married Gloria Dobson (divorced, 1981); children: Steven, Kathleen. Career: Producer, director, and writer. Frequent collaborator with writer Melvin Frank; radio writer for Bob Hope and Milton Berle, beginning in 1938. Military service: Armed Forces Radio, writer, 1942-45. Member: Dramatists Guild, Writers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America. Awards, Honors: Shared Academy Award nominations (with Melvin Frank), best writing for an original screenplay, 1945, for The Road to Utopia, best writing for story and screenplay, 1954, for Knock on Wood, and best writing for story and screenplay written directly for the screen, 1960, for TheFacts of Life; Writers Guild Award nominations, 1953, for Above and Beyond, 1954, for Knock on Wood, and 1960, for Facts of Life..

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: producer, director, writer
Birth Details: August 13, c. 1920; Chicago, Illinois, United States
Death Details: January 13, 2003; Los Angeles, California

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Producer
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Selznick, 1948
Callaway Went Thataway (also known as The Star Said No), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1954
Knock on Wood, Paramount, 1954
The Court Jester, Paramount, 1956
Li'l Abner, Paramount, 1959
The Trap (also known as The Baited Trap), Paramount, 1959
The Jayhawkers, Paramount, 1959
The Facts of Life, United Artists, 1960
Not with My Wife, You Don't!, Warner Bros., 1966
Film Director
The Reformer and the Redhead, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1950
Strictly Dishonorable, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
Callaway Went Thataway (also known as The Star Said No), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
Above and Beyond, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952
Knock on Wood, Paramount, 1954
The Court Jester, Paramount, 1956
That Certain Feeling, Paramount, 1956
The Trap (also known as The Baited Trap), Paramount, 1959
The Road to Hong Kong, United Artists, 1962
Not with My Wife, You Don't!, Warner Bros., 1966
The Maltese Bippy (also known as The Incredible Werewolf Murders and The Strange Case of.!#*), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1969
How to Commit Marriage, Cinerama, 1969
I Will, I Will.for Now, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1976
Television Director
Movies
Coffee, Tea, or Me?, CBS, 1973
Barnaby and Me, 1977

Television Appearances
Specials
Remembering Bing, PBS, 1987
WRITINGS
Screenplays
Star Spangled Rhythm, Paramount, 1942
Happy Go Lucky, Paramount, 1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars, Warner Bros., 1943
And the Angels Sing, Paramount, 1944
The Road to Utopia, Paramount, 1945
Duffy's Tavern, Paramount, 1945
Our Hearts Were Growing Up, Paramount, 1946
Monsieur Beaucaire, Paramount, 1946
It Had to Be You, Columbia, 1947
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Selznick, 1948
The Return of October (also known as A Date with Destiny),Columbia, 1948
The Reformer and the Redhead, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1950
Strictly Dishonorable, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
Callaway Went Thataway (also known as The Star Said No), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1951
Above and Beyond, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1952
Knock on Wood, Paramount, 1954
White Christmas, Paramount, 1954
The Court Jester, Paramount, 1956
That Certain Feeling, Paramount, 1956
Li'l Abner, Paramount, 1959
The Trap (also known as The Baited Trap), Paramount, 1959
The Facts of Life, United Artists, 1960
The Road to Hong Kong, United Artists, 1962
I Will, I Will.for Now, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1976
Stage Plays
Keep off the Grass (sketch), 1940
A Free Hand (sketch), 1954
Li'l Abner (based on the characters of cartoonist Al Capp), 1956;produced at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1981
(With Jerome Chodorov) A Taste for Murder, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 1982
Television Scripts
Coffee, Tea, or Me? (movie), CBS, 1973
Get Christie Love! (series), ABC, 1974
Other
(With Larry Gelbart) Not with My Wife You Don't! (novel; based onthe screenplay), [New York City], 1967
(With Albert E. Lewin) I Will, I Will.for Now (novel; based on thescreenplay), [New York City], 1975
(With Lewin) The Glass Bed (novel), [New York City], 1980

Further Reference

Adaptations:

Screenplays based on stories by Panama include My Favorite Blonde,released in 1942, A Southern Yankee (also known as My Hero), released in 1948, Strange Bedfellows, released in 1964, and Not withMy Wife, You Don't!, released by Warner Bros. in 1966.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Contemporary Authors, Volume 104, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1982.*

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