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IMDbPro

Norman Taurog(1899-1981)

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Additional Crew
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Norman Taurog
A successful child actor (on stage from 1907) and rather less successful romantic lead, baby-faced Norman Taurog found being behind the camera a more rewarding experience. Before becoming a director, he paid his dues as a prop man and editor. By 1919, he was put in charge of two-reel comedies, starring the comic Larry Semon. These films were made on the East Coast and it was not until 1926, that Taurog moved to Hollywood. His directing career really took off with the coming of sound, and he soon acquired a reputation as a specialist in light comedy. He also developed a singular penchant for working with children, often giving them chocolate rewards for good acting. They, in turn, called him 'Uncle Norman'. Taurog became the youngest-ever director to win an Oscar. This was for the film Skippy (1931), which featured child actor Jackie Cooper, his real-life nephew.

Taurog was under contract at Paramount from 1930 to 1936. The pick-of-the-bunch among his films - and a solid box office hit - was Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934), starring the noted stage actress Pauline Lord, comedienne Zasu Pitts and the irrepressible, idiosyncratic W.C. Fields. On loan to David O. Selznick, he also did justice to Mark Twain by creating just the right atmosphere for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), eliciting a strong performance from Jackie Moran in the role of Huck Finn. Initial footage had been in black & white, but Taurog discarded this and re-shot the film in Technicolor, which worked particularly well with art director Lyle R. Wheeler.

After a stint with Fox (1936-37), Taurog then had his best (and longest) spell with MGM (1938-51). His A-grade assignments for the studio included the iconic Boys Town (1938), the exuberant Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940) and the thoroughly entertaining Judy Garland musical Presenting Lily Mars (1943), based on a best-selling novel by Booth Tarkington. In 1952, he returned to Paramount, where he was utilised on the strength of his proven ability to make films economically and on time. Taurog made the most out of the feather-light scripts he was handed for a string of comedies with Dean Martin and/or Jerry Lewis. He was also a favorite of Elvis Presley, directing in total nine of his films.

As the law of diminishing returns applied, Taurog retired in 1968. He later taught at the University of California School of Cinema and remained a board member of the Director's Guild. He became blind towards the end of his life, but for his last years served as director of the Braille Institute in Los Angeles.
BornFebruary 23, 1899
DiedApril 7, 1981(82)
BornFebruary 23, 1899
DiedApril 7, 1981(82)
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  • Won 1 Oscar

Photos8

"Living It Up," Jerry Lewis, Director Norman Taurog, Johnny Taurog, & Dean Martin behind the Scenes. 1959 Paramount
Elvis Presley, Loyal Griggs, Juliet Prowse, Norman Taurog, and James Grant in G.I. Blues (1960)
Elvis Presley, Norman Taurog, and James Grant in G.I. Blues (1960)
Daniele Amfitheatrof, Bob Considine, Samuel Marx, Norman Taurog, and Frank Wead in The Beginning or the End (1947)
Norman Taurog
Elvis Presley, Norman Taurog (director), and Hal B. Wallis (producer) on location for "Girls! Girls! Girls!" Paramount, 1962.
Elvis Presley and Juliet Prowse filming "G.I. Blues," Paramount, 1960.

Known for

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
7.1
  • Director
  • 1938
Jackie Cooper in Skippy (1931)
Skippy
6.3
  • Director
  • 1931
Cary Grant, Betsy Drake, and George Winslow in Room for One More (1952)
Room for One More
7.1
  • Director
  • 1952
Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney in Boys Town (1938)
Boys Town
7.2
  • Director
  • 1938

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

  • Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)
    Live a Little, Love a Little
  • Speedway (1968)
    Speedway
  • Elvis Presley in Double Trouble (1967)
    Double Trouble
  • Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Victoria Carroll, Nancy Czar, Dodie Marshall, Diane McBain, and Deborah Walley in Spinout (1966)
    Spinout
  • Frankie Avalon, Vincent Price, Susan Hart, and Dwayne Hickman in Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
    Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
  • Sergeant Dead Head (1965)
    Sergeant Dead Head
  • Tickle Me (1965)
    Tickle Me
  • Palm Springs Weekend (1963)
    Palm Springs Weekend
  • It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)
    It Happened at the World's Fair
  • Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
    Girls! Girls! Girls!
  • Elvis Presley, Pamela Austin, Joan Blackman, Jenny Maxwell, Darlene Tompkins, and Nancy Walters in Blue Hawaii (1961)
    Blue Hawaii
  • All Hands on Deck (1961)
    All Hands on Deck
  • Elvis Presley in G.I. Blues (1960)
    G.I. Blues
  • Visit to a Small Planet (1960)
    Visit to a Small Planet
  • Jerry Lewis, Dina Merrill, and Diana Spencer in Don't Give Up the Ship (1959)
    Don't Give Up the Ship

Writer

  • Stop! Look and Laugh
  • At It Again
  • Listen Children (1928)
    Listen Children
  • Between Jobs
  • A Home-Made Man (1928)
    A Home-Made Man
  • Blazing Away
  • Always a Gentleman
  • Papa's Boy (1927)
    Papa's Boy
  • New Wrinkles
  • At Ease
  • His Better Half
  • Goose Flesh
  • Breezing Along (1927)
    Breezing Along
  • Drama Deluxe
  • Howdy Duke

Additional Crew

  • Lucille Ball in Ziegfeld Follies (1945)
    Ziegfeld Follies
    • (uncredited)
  • Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main in Rationing (1944)
    Rationing
    • (uncredited)
  • Robert Taylor and Mary Howard in Billy the Kid (1941)
    Billy the Kid
    • (uncredited)
  • Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
    The Wizard of Oz
    • (uncredited)

Personal details

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    • February 23, 1899
    • Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • April 7, 1981
    • Rancho Mirage, California, USA(undisclosed)
    • September 16, 1944 - April 7, 1981 (his death)
    • Jackie Cooper(Niece or Nephew)
  • Stage: Appeared (as "Allan") in "A Good Little Devil" on Broadway (only Broadway role).
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    At 32 years and 260 days, he was the youngest person to win a Best Director Oscar until Damien Chazelle won in 2017. Taurog held the record for 86 years.

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