Leslie Norman (director)

Leslie A. Norman (23 February 1911 – 18 February 1993) was a British film director and producer.^[1]

Norman was born and died in London. He worked at Teddington Studios in his teens, working his way up from a 'boy Friday' position to assistant editor; his earliest credits were as a film editor. His career spanned nearly fifty years, from 1930 until 1978. In that time he had many different roles in the industry, ending his career directing episodes of filmed television series. He directed three cinema films in the 1950s, The Night My Number Came Up (1955), the sci-fi horror film X the Unknown (1956) and the Second World War drama Dunkirk (1958), while his production credits include another WWII drama in the form of The Cruel Sea (1953).^[2] Amongst the films he directed in the early 1960s was the war drama The Long and the Short and The Tall (1960). His son, Barry, is a prominent UK film critic and broadcaster, whilst his daughter, Valerie, is a script editor and director.

In the 1960s, he worked as director on several notable British TV series including Gideon's Way (7 episodes), The Baron (3 episodes), The Saint (21 episodes), The Avengers (2 episodes), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (3 episodes), Department S (3 episodes), The Persuaders! (6 episodes).^[2]