Rozane’s August 27th phone interview with Michael Norell

On August 27, 1997 I had the the great honor of talking to Michael Norell. I found him to be as warm and wonderful as the Captain he played on the show.

He was born in Wallace, Idaho on October 4th. When asked what year he said, "Just sometime before Emergency! so I am obviously over twenty-five, and quite possibly over forty." His father was career Army and so he grew up all over. He graduated from high school in Falls Church, Virginia and went to college at Washington & Lee in Lexington, Virginia. He spent five years in the Army where he obtained the rank of Captain and then went on to become a newspaper reporter.

As a stage actor he did 60-70 plays all over including "Cactus Flower" and "40 Karats" in New York. When one of his best friends moved to Los Angeles he encouraged Michael to come there also. When his agent died, he left New York for Los Angeles and within 6 months got the job of Captain Hank Stanley on Emergency!

During the course of the show he wrote 4 episodes: "Details", "The Indirect Method", "Grateful" and "Onward & Upward". He especially enjoyed the 4th to 6th seasons when his part got better. The episodes where he paranoid about having arthritis [Hypochondri-Cap] and where he was worried about the Chief's visit [Insanity Epidemic] are among his favorites.

The writer was always in him. He has written many short stories and novels (none which were published) and when Emergency! ended he went on to write many scripts for The Love Boat and 45 movies and pilots. His latest work being The Doomsday Rock on The Family Channel. Also, watch for his name to show up on the 1st season of Nash Bridges as one of their writers.

Mr. Norell currently resides in California with his wife and two children.

Talking with him was truly a magic moment in my life. I will never forget it.

Thank you Michael Norell !!

copyright 1997 by Rozane 

This page is not associated with Universal, MCA or its affiliates. Some items are on loan to emergencyfans.com from various sources. These sources retain their copyright. Original works submitted by fans (such as filksongs & fan fiction) are property of their authors and cannot be duplicated without the author's permission. Any information not previous copyrighted is © 1997– by Emergencyfansdotcom and cannot be reproduced without express written permission • Search by site • Privacy Policy