William W. Norton

William Wallace "Bill" Norton, Jr. (September 24, 1925 – October 1, 2010) was an American screenwriter particularly notable for his collaborations with Burt Reynolds. Later in life, he was convicted of gun running in France when he tried to send arms from the United States to the Irish National Liberation Army in Northern Ireland. After being released from prison, he moved to Nicaragua, where he shot and killed an intruder in his Managua home. He later spent a year living in Cuba but became disillusioned with Communism and was reportedly smuggled from Mexico into the U.S. by his ex-wife.

Early life Norton was born to Andrena "Rena" and William Wallace Norton in Ogden, Utah, where his parents owned a ranch which they lost at the start of the Great Depression. He started writing, using his life experience of growing up poor and serving in the military, and some of his plays were produced by local theater companies.

Because he joined the Communist Party in his youth and in 1958 was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, though he did not name anyone. The van, still inside the container, was then put on a truck and hauled from Rotterdam, through Belgium, to the port of Le Havre, France. Susan May's two children, who were with her, were taken to a children's home. Additionally, the group was forbidden to return to France for five years, and they were fined a total of US$81,700. Susan May was not convicted.

Norton was released after 19 months while his wife served five months before her release on medical grounds. The couple were subject to a U.S. warrant on the gun smuggling charges and were granted asylum in Nicaragua.

Central America and Cuba

After bandits broke into his house in Managua, he was able to find a gun and shot and killed one of the robbers.

He relocated to Cuba in the 1990s, but rapidly became disenchanted with life under Communism. He moved, this time to Mexico, and sought the help of his daughter and his first wife to bring him back into the United States. He met his family members in Tijuana, and they smuggled him back across the U.S. border. He settled in Santa Barbara, California, where he reportedly spent years worrying that the FBI would arrest him until a lawyer convinced him that he had nothing to worry about. He wrote a script, Exiled in America, based on his experiences, which was produced by Paul Leder.

Death Norton died in Santa Barbara of a heart attack, aged 85, on October 1, 2010. He was survived by his second wife, Eleanor, as well as by two daughters and a son, writer-director Bill L. Norton. His first marriage, to the former Betty Conklin, had ended in divorce.

Filmography The Grass Eater (1961) - writer, producer Five Minutes to Love (1963) - writer How to Succeed with Girls (1964) - writer, producer The Farmer's Other Daughter (1965) - writer, producer The Big Valley (1965–69) (TV series) - writer The Scalphunters (1968) - writer Sam Whiskey (1968) - writer The McKenzie Break (1970) - writer Marigold Man (1970) - writer, producer The Hunting Party (1971) - writer I Dismember Mama (1972) - writer The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing (1973) - writer (uncredited) Trader Horn (1973) - writer White Lightning (1973) - writer Big Bad Mama (1974) - writer Brannigan (1975) - writer A Small Town in Texas (1976) - writer Moving Violation (1976) - writer Gator (1976) - writer Day of the Animals (1977) - writer Night of the Juggler (1980) - writer Dirty Tricks (1981) - writer September Gun (1983) (TV movie) - writer The Eleventh Commandment (1986) - writer Big Bad Mama II (1987) - original characters Exiled in America (1992) - based on his play