Norman Burton (December 5, 1923 – November 29, 2003) was an American actor. He was occasionally credited as Normann Burton. Early life Born in New York City, Burton was a student of the Actors Studio. After early work on stage, he broke into films with a minor role in Fright (1956). Career His career in film and television was long and relatively successful, but he never achieved major recognition. He played the Hunt Leader, a gorilla, in the science fiction film Planet of the Apes, notable as being the first ape to be seen by both Taylor and the audience, and also appeared as a (human) army officer in the second sequel Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). In film, he is perhaps best known for his performance as Felix Leiter in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He played Will Giddings, an ill-fated engineer, in the action film The Towering Inferno (1974), and his later films included The Gumball Rally (1976), Crimes of Passion (1984) and Deep Space (1988). He played Dennis Christopher's mean and ill-fated boss in the slasher Fade To Black (1980). On television, he is best known for his performance as Inter-Agency Defense Command's supervisor Joe Atkinson during the second season of the DC Comics-based fantasy adventure drama series The New Adventures of Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter. He also played Burt Dennis in the situation comedy The Ted Knight Show in the spring of 1978, and appeared as General George Marshall in the 1988 television miniseries War and Remembrance. Throughout his life, Burton was a devotee of the method school of acting, and taught method acting in Lakeside, California. He also known for playing the part of Dr. Green (Natalie’s father) in the television series The Facts of Life. Death Burton was just six days short of his 80th birthday when he died as a result of an auto accident while returning from Ajijic, Mexico near the California-Arizona state line. Selected filmography 1957 Fright as Reporter Thompkins 1960 Pretty Boy Floyd as Bill Courtney 1962 Hand of Death as Chief Homicide Investigator 1962 Womanhunt as Unknown 1965 Gunsmoke as Ed 1967 Wild Seed as Policeman 1967 Valley of the Dolls as Neely O'Hara's Director (uncredited) 1968 Planet of the Apes as Hunt Leader 1970 R. P. M. as Coach McCurdy 1971 Jud as Uncle Hornkel 1971 Simon, King of the Witches