Biography
As a child actor, New Jersey-born Norman Tokar was active on stage and in radio in the '30s and '40s. He understudied
Ezra Stone in the radio role of Henry Aldrich, taking over the part in June of 1942 -- only to vacate the series a month later when called to active duty with the Signal Corps. After the war, Tokar turned to directing, signing with the Walt Disney talent pool. He helmed several episodes of such Disney TV projects as
The Mickey Mouse Club and
Zorro before being given a feature-film opportunity with
Big Red (1962). This assignment established Tokar as an "outdoors" director, a handy talent for a Disney employee; subsequent Tokar-directed projects included
Savage Sam (1962),
A Tiger Walks (1963) and Follow Me Boys (1966). With the made-for-TV Sammy the Way Out Seal (1962), Tokar displayed his talent for slapstick and family farce, which served him well with such Disney comedies as
The Ugly Dachshund (1967). Tokar directed the last film personally supervised by
Walt Disney,
The Happiest Millionaire (1967). He remaining on the lot long after Disney's death. Most of his output of the '70s was mired in the cut-and-dried comic techniques he'd perfected in the '60s, but Norman Tokar still brought in box-office gold with such Disney Studio efforts as
The Boatniks (1970) and
Candleshoe (1978), his final film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide