Bio
Norman Fell (born Norman Feld March 24, 1924 – December 14, 1998) was a Golden Globe award-winning American film and television actor most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the popular sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.
He studied acting in New York City and moved to Hollywood in 1958 where he appeared in four television series and more than 20 made-for-TV movies.
Fell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied drama at Temple University after serving as a tail gunner in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
Though he mostly acted on television, he also had small character roles in several motion pictures including Ocean's Eleven (1960), It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), The Graduate (1967), in which he also played a landlord, Bullitt (1968), and Catch-22 (1970). He appeared alongside Ronald Reagan in Reagan's last film, The Killers (1964).
He received his Golden Globe Award in 1979, for Best TV Actor in a Supporting Role, for Three's Company. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award, but not for Three's Company, but rather for his dramatic performance in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, in which he played Nick Nolte's character's boxing trainer.
His final television appearance was in a cameo as Mr. Roper on an episode of the sitcom Ellen in 1997.
Norman Fell died of cancer at the age of 74 in Los Angeles, California, and was interred there at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery.