27 Facts About Norman Taurog

Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director and screenwriter.

Norman Taurog was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town.

Norman Taurog directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley and Vincent Price.

Norman Taurog was born February 23,1899, in Chicago, Illinois, to Jewish parents Arthur Jack Taurog and Anita Taurog.

Norman Taurog's father's naturalization records claim that Arthur was born in the Russian Empire in 1872 or 1873 and naturalized as a minor, while his mother was from New York.

Norman Taurog became a child performer on the stage at an early age, making his movie debut at the age of 13 in the short film Tangled Relations, produced by Thomas Ince's studios.

In 1919, Norman Taurog returned to the film industry as a director, collaborating with Larry Semon in The Sportsman.

In 1931, Norman Taurog made his breakthrough, directing Skippy, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.

Norman Taurog then had a studio security guard pretend to shoot Cooper's dog behind a prop wall, to make the child actor cry.

The next few years saw Norman Taurog enter the third chapter of his career, as an established director who could work in a number of genres.

In 1938, Norman Taurog brought all his skill and experience to bear with one of the liveliest and most successful adaptations of classic literature; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was an artistic and commercial triumph.

The year brought Boys Town, showing Norman Taurog to be more than capable of sustaining a dramatic narrative and earning him another Academy Award nomination.

Lucky Night starring Myrna Loy and Robert Taylor was a turkey, and while Norman Taurog shot test scenes for 1939's cinematic extravaganza The Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming was chosen to direct.

Norman Taurog was reassigned to work on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a change which he had little to no say in.

However, Norman Taurog went on to earn a Best Director nomination for Boys Town later that year, despite losing out on directing Oz.

Norman Taurog did helm the last of MGM's big pre-war musical showcases, 1940's Broadway Melody, starring Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell.

Norman Taurog expanded his range into biographies, working with Mickey Rooney again, in the well-received Young Tom Edison.

Norman Taurog directed Judy Garland three times in the early 1940s, in Little Nellie Kelly, the 'small-town-girl-gets-big-break' Presenting Lily Mars, and the Gershwin musical Girl Crazy.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had been a double-act since 1946 and had made five films together, three Martin and Lewis top-liners, before Norman Taurog directed Jumping Jacks, regarded by many Martin and Lewis fans as the finest of their films.

Norman Taurog worked well with the duo and he went on to direct them in The Stooge, The Caddy, Living It Up, You're Never Too Young, and their penultimate film together, Pardners.

Norman Taurog worked with Lewis alone twice more, in Don't Give Up the Ship and Visit to a Small Planet.

When well-made, this was an entertaining, light-hearted formula and Norman Taurog, now in his sixties, was an old hand at it.

Norman Taurog later taught at the University of Southern California School of Cinema and remained a board member of the Directors Guild of America.

Norman Taurog owned a camera shop in Canoga Park, California.

Norman Taurog died on April 7,1981, in Palm Desert, California, at the age of 82.

Norman Taurog has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1600 Vine Street for his contribution to the motion picture industry.

Norman Taurog supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.