- Born
- Died
- Birth nameCharles Thomas Barton Jr.
- Nicknames
- Charlie
- Charles T. Barton
- Height5′ 2″ (1.57 m)
- Charles T. Barton was born in Oakland, CA, on May 25, 1902. His father managed a candy store, and soon moved the family to Los Angeles, where Charles, nicknamed "Charlie", got a job at age 15 acting as an extra in silent movies. He eventually left acting for a job behind the camera as an assistant director, a position for which he won an Academy Award in 1934. That same year he made his first feature as a director, Wagon Wheels (1934), for Paramount. He stayed at Paramount for several years, turning out four to five pictures a year, but a stint as an assistant to autocratic director Cecil B. DeMille on Union Pacific (1939) resulted in his leaving Paramount for Columbia Pictures. He worked steadily at that studio, directing seven to eight pictures a year, mostly "B" musicals and westerns. In 1945 he left Columbia for Universal Pictures, where he gained a reputation as a first-rate comedy director, especially for Universal's top comedy team, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. He directed what many regard as their best picture, the critically and financially successful Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) (on the other hand, he also directed what many consider their worst picture, Dance with Me, Henry (1956)). Unlike many of the team's directors, Barton actually got along quite well with them, especially Costello, to whom he bore a striking resemblance. The team specifically requested him for "A&C Meet Frankenstein", as their last few pictures had failed and Universal was thinking about dumping them. The film was a huge success and revitalized their career.
As the 1950s progressed Barton began to do less feature work and more television work (he was one of the first feature-film directors to work regularly both in television and films when in 1951 he took over as the house director on The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951)), often for Walt Disney. In the 1960s he became one of the regular directors on the hit comedy series Family Affair (1966) and also directed episodes of several other successful series, such as McHale's Navy (1962), Dennis the Menace (1959) and Hazel (1961).
Charles Barton passed away in Burbank, CA, on December 5, 1981.- IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.com
- SpousesJulie Gibson(June 12, 1973 - December 5, 1981) (his death)Marian Ethel Mack (Marion LaMar)(August 26, 1967 - September 16, 1971) (her death)Therese M Miele(April 18, 1962 - March 1966) (divorced)Lois Austin(September 7, 1955 - January 26, 1957) (her death)Roma Beatrice Peterson(May 16, 1925 - February 21, 1945) (divorced)
- Two films he can be seen in are Beau Geste (1926) in which he plays a Foreign Legionnaire, and Wings (1927) where he plays the soldier injured by Clara Bow's ambulance).
- He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). He has also appeared in one film that is in the registry: Wings (1927).
- [on Universal Pictures studio heads Leo Spitz and William Goetz] Mr. Spitz was a nice man, but he wouldn't talk to either Bud [Bud Abbott] or Lou [Lou Costello]. I think he was scared of them. Mr. Goetz was a very fine independent producer. But you had two people in charge of the studio who didn't know anything about comedy at all.
- Buck Privates Come Home (1947) - $13,000
- The Time of Their Lives (1946) - $15,500 (+$5,000 bonus)
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