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Norm Prescott

Norm Prescott
Born
Norman Zachary Pransky

(1927-01-31)January 31, 1927
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJuly 2, 2005(2005-07-02) (aged 78)
Encino, California, U.S.
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1947–1982

Norman Zachary Prescott (born Pransky; January 31, 1927 – July 2, 2005) was co-founder and executive producer at Filmation Associates, an animation studio he created with veteran animator Lou Scheimer.


Life and career

Born to a Polish Jewish family in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston,[1] his birth name was Norman Zachary Pransky.[2] His father Edward was a tailor and a shirt-maker.[3] A graduate of Boston Latin School and Boston University,[4] he began his career as a disc jockey. His first radio job, c. 1947, was at WHEB in Portsmouth NH.[5] In 1948 he joined WHDH, and in October 1950, he became program director at station WORL.[6] He briefly worked in New York at WNEW, before relocating to WBZ radio in late 1955; in 1956, he became one of the "Live Five" after WBZ dropped its syndicated NBC programming and went on the air with live disc jockeys.[7] In the summer of 1959, he left radio and went to work for Joseph E. Levine's Embassy Pictures Corporation, serving as vice president of music, merchandising and post-production.[8] He, Scheimer, and Hal Sutherland formed Filmation in 1963.[9]

Productions

Main article: Filmation

Other professional work

Prescott also produced and directed the 1973 animated film Treasure Island and produced and wrote 1974's Journey Back to Oz which featured Liza Minnelli as the voice of Dorothy. (Ms. Minnelli is the daughter of Judy Garland, who portrayed that same character in MGM's 1939 live action film.)

Filmation produced the popular Star Trek animated series in 1973. Prescott also was producer for The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty, Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, The Space Sentinels, The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle (he also voiced Theodore H. Bear in the show's Quacula episodes), Sport Billy, The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, and Blackstar.

Death

Prescott died of natural causes in Los Angeles on July 2, 2005, at the age of 78.[10] Professionally, he was survived by Scheimer and his colleagues at Filmation. He was also survived by his wife, Elaine, to whom he had been married for fifty-three years, and sons Jeffrey and Michael.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Was Idol of Teenagers", Boston Globe, February 9, 1960, p. 7
  2. ^ William Buchanan, "Radio Memories", Boston Globe, June 26, 1975, pp. A4-5
  3. ^ Tom Long. "Norm Prescott, Boston DJ, Cartoon Show Producer." Boston Globe, July 8, 2005, p. C12.
  4. ^ Betty Shaw. "Norman Who? Prescott!" Boston Herald-American, November 28, 1976, p. R10
  5. ^ "Was Idol of Teenagers." Boston Globe, February 9, 1960, p. 7
  6. ^ "WORL Back on Air Beginning Tomorrow." Boston Globe, October 7, 1950, p.3
  7. ^ Display Ad, Announcing New Format. Boston Globe, July 15, 1956, p. A22
  8. ^ "Fates and Fortunes." Broadcasting, July 27, 1959, p. 86.
  9. ^ "Norman Prescott profile". Variety. July 6, 2005. Archived from the original on January 20, 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  10. ^ "Norm Prescott, 78; Producer Co-Founded Filmation Studios". The Los Angeles Times. July 7, 2005. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  11. ^ Tom Long. "Norm Prescott, Boston DJ, Cartoon Show Producer." Boston Globe, July 8, 2005, p. C12.
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