Norman Panama
Norman Panama was a prominent American screenwriter and producer, best known for his longstanding collaboration with Melvin Frank. Born on April 21, 1914, in Chicago, Panama studied at the University of Chicago, where he and Frank began their creative partnership writing for various media, including radio, television, and film. Their career spanned from the early 1940s to the mid-1960s, where they wrote around thirty screenplays, often characterized by their comedic style tailored to the strengths of specific performers. They created notable works for stars like Danny Kaye and Bob Hope, with films such as "Knock on Wood" and "White Christmas" highlighting their contributions.
In 1948, they established themselves as an independent producing team, allowing them greater control over their projects, which included the successful "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House." Beyond comedy, they ventured into serious themes with works like "Above and Beyond," which depicted the events surrounding the bombing of Hiroshima. After their professional association ended in 1966, Panama continued to write screenplays and direct, with later works including "Not With My Wife You Don't!" and "I Will, I Will... For Now." Panama's influence in the film industry persisted until his passing on January 13, 2003, due to complications from Parkinson's disease.
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Norman Panama
Screenplay Writer
- Born: April 21, 1914
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
- Died: January 13, 2003
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Biography
For virtually the whole of Norman Panama’s career as a screenwriter he worked in collaboration with Melvin Frank. They were born within a year of each other, Panama on April 21, 1914, and Frank on August 13, 1913. Both grew up in Chicago and studied at the University of Chicago. It was there that they began their association as coauthors of plays for radio, television and cinema. They were gag writers together for comedians such as Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, and others, often in connection with skits for the Armed Forces Radio during World War II. Between the years 1942 and 1962, they were responsible for some thirty produced screenplays, and they continued their association as producers to 1966, after which they each chose a different direction and amicably dissolved their professional association.
Perhaps because of their origin as gag writers, they went on to write screenplays that are highly comic and tailor-made for the talents of specific performers. For example, three of their scripts were written for and performed by Danny Kaye: Knock on Wood (1954), White Christmas (1954), and The Court Jester (1956), probably Kaye’s best-known screen performances. For Bob Hope, they wrote such screenplays as Monsieur Beaucaire (1946), The Road to Utopia (1946), That Certain Feeling (1956), The Facts of Life (1960, costarring Lucille Ball), and The Road to Hong Kong (1962). The Road to Hong Kong was not only the last of the Bob Hope-Bing Crosby “Road” movies, but also the last collaboration between Panama and Frank. They had talented actors at their disposal. The characters the writers created were often ones who were themselves driven to perform, such as Danny Kaye’s court jester in the film of the same name or his ventriloquist unable to control his dummy in Knock on Wood.
Panama and Frank also occupied an enviable position in the film industry. In 1948, they established themselves as an independent producing team, permitting them to control the productions of their plays not only as producers but sometimes also as directors. The first product of this arrangement was the very successful Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy. Another production was the only serious drama that they wrote together, Above and Beyond (1956), in which Robert Taylor portrayed the pilot of to the Enola Gay that bombed Hiroshima. That same year the two collaborated on the book for the Broadway musical, Li’l Abner, based on Al Capp’s comic strip. In 1959, the screen version appeared.
Throughout his career, Panama directed many of his own screenplays but also those of others. Together, Panama and Frank had several screenplays nominated for Academy Awards and for Writers Guild awards, including Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Knock on Wood, Above and Beyond, Li’l Abner, and The Facts of Life. Panama continued to write screenplays after the dissolution of his partnership with Frank, who also continued writing. Among Panama’s later works are Not With My Wife You Don’t! (1966, written with Larry Gelbart and Peter Barnes) and I Will, I Will. . . For Now (1976, written with Robert E. Lewin and directed by Panama.) On January 13, 2003, Panama died of complications from Parkinson’s disease.