Norman Burton

A general purpose performer with slightly more distinction to his face and voice than most of his ilk, American actor Norman Burton quietly entered films in the 1960s. Many of his early films were more artistic than profitable, as witness the experimental Wild Seed (1965). Burton was spotted in brief character parts in a few box-office hits, notably Planet of the Apes (1968) (he was the simian Hunt Leader) and The Towering Inferno (1974) (as Will Giddings). In the James Bond actioner Diamonds are Forever (1970), Burton succeeded Jack Lord, Rik Van Nutter et. al. in the role of Bond's American CIA contact Felix Leiter. On TV's New Adventures of Wonder Woman series of the late 1970s, Burton had the recurring role of Joe Atkinson, the boss of anti-subversive operative Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman). Still answering casting calls into the 1990s, Norman Burton was one of many film veterans appearing in the zany 1994 biopic Ed Wood.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide