Biography for
Norman Z. McLeod More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

20 September 1898, Grayling, Michigan, USA

Date of Death

27 January 1964, Hollywood, California, USA (stroke)

Birth Name

Norman Zenos McLeod

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Norman Z. McLeod was one of Hollywood's leading early comedy directors. Born in Grayling, Michigan, he came from a family that had no connections to show business (his father was a clergyman). He was educated at the University of Washington and spent two years as a fighter pilot in the US Army in France during World War I. He actually started out in the film business as an animator, but learned the comedy trade at the Christie Film Co., which specialized in comedy shorts. His first successful full-length film was Taking a Chance (1928) for Fox. He was one of Paramount's top directors when he shot two early Marx Brothers films, Monkey Business (1931) and Horse Feathers (1932), both considered among the team's best. Other memorable work from McLeod includes It's a Gift (1934) with W.C. Fields, Topper (1937) with Cary Grant and the Danny Kaye comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947).

IMDb Mini Biography By: MarxBrosFan

Spouse

Evelyn Ward

(? - ?)

Trivia

Was a fighter pilot with the US Army in France during World War I.

Directed 2 actors to Oscar nominations: Roland Young (Best Supporting Actor, Topper (1937)) and Billie Burke (Best Supporting Actress, Merrily We Live (1938)).