Norman Fell (March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998), born Norman Noah Feld, was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Threes Company and its spin-off, The Ropers. Fell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a Jewish family, and went to Central High School of Philadelphia. In college he studied drama at Temple University after serving as a tail gunner in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was credited with two kills over Japanese fighters while serving as a gunner on B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft in the Fifth Air Force (Pacific Theater) during WWII. Later, Fell honed his craft at The Actors Studio. He struggled to win small parts in New York stage and TV productions, including 1954s Twelve Angry Men. His first regular series role was in the short-lived 1956 comedy Joe & Mabel. Although Fell is best known for his television work, he also played minor character roles in several motion pictures, including the original Oceans 11, Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, PT 109, The Graduate, Bullitt, and Catch-22 as Sergeant Towser. He appeared alongside Ronald Reagan in Reagans last film, The Killers. From 1961-1962 he portrayed Meyer Meyer in the TV series Ed McBains 87th Precinct. From 1977-1979 he portrayed the main characters hardnosed landlord Stanley Roper on the hit TV comedy Threes Company. He continued to play the character as the co-lead with Audra Lindley as his wife Helen on The Ropers, a spin-off which lasted a year in a less favorable time slot. He received his Golden Globe Award in 1979, for Best TV Actor in a Supporting Role, for Threes Company. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award, not for Threes Company, but rather for his dramatic performance in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, in which he played the boxing trainer to Tom Jordache (Nick Nolte). His final television appearance was in a cameo as Mr. Roper on an episode of the sitcom Ellen in 1997. He has been married and divorced three times. Fell died at the Motion Picture and Television Funds retirement home in Woodland Hills, a Los Angeles suburb, said Stan Schneider, his longtime business manager. Family members were at his side. Fell was diagnosed several weeks earlier with cancer. I cant believe it, its so fast, Schneider said. Until he got ill maybe three weeks ago, he came into this office once a week.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 12:34:00 +0000
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