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Norman Buckley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Norman Buckley
Born (1955-11-25) November 25, 1955 (age 68)
Limestone, Maine, U.S.
Occupation(s)Film, television director, editor
Years active1977–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2008; died 2014)​
RelativesBetty Buckley (older sister)

Norman L. Buckley (born November 25, 1955) is an American television director best known for his work on The O.C., Chuck, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and The Fosters.

Early life

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Buckley was born on Loring Air Force Base in Limestone, Maine, to parents Betty Bob (née Diltz), a dancer and journalist, and Ernest Buckley, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and later a college professor and dean of engineering. Buckley grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, studied history at the University of Texas at Arlington before moving to California where he would later graduate from the University of Southern California.[1] In spite of initial disapproval from his father, who wanted him to become a civil engineer like himself and Buckley's two brothers, Norman Buckley attended the film school at the University of Southern California.[2] He intended to become a writer, but was encouraged to take up a craft, in addition to writing, and he soon discovered he had a natural aptitude for film editing.[3]

Career

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Buckley is most known for his directing work on the television series Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl. In late 2011 he directed his first movie for Lifetime, The Pregnancy Project. He began his career as an assistant editor on the 1983 film Tender Mercies, which featured his sister, actress Betty Buckley, who helped him land the job after hearing that the film's editor was seeking a local assistant while on location in Waxahachie, Texas. The editor was pleased with Buckley's work and took him to New York City to begin his career.[3] Since then, he has worked on many films, television series and made-for-TV movies as an editor. He landed a job —as both an editor and director on The O.C. due to his connections with Stephanie Savage and McG, after working with them on the television series Fastlane.[3][4] Following The O.C.'s conclusion, Buckley followed Schwartz to direct and edit his next projects, Gossip Girl and Chuck.[5]

He was associate producer on the film Happy, Texas. He has directed episodes on various television series: The O.C., Gossip Girl, Chuck, Greek, Melrose Place, 90210, Privileged, The Middleman, Make It or Break It, Pretty Little Liars, The Client List, The Carrie Diaries, Rizzoli & Isles, Switched at Birth, Hart of Dixie, and the Josh Schwartz webseries Rockville, CA. His episode of The O.C. titled "The Metamorphosis" was chosen by Entertainment Weekly magazine as one of the five best episodes of the series. His episode of Gossip Girl titled "The Handmaiden's Tale" was chosen by Newsweek magazine as one of the ten best television episodes of 2007.

His only acting credit is a minor role in Solomon & Sheba, a part he only landed because was editing another project in Morocco, and the producers shooting Solomon & Sheba did not want to fly in other English-speaking actors to play minor parts. He agreed to do it only as a lark.[3]

Buckley has been nominated twice for an American Cinema Editors award: in 2003, for Joe and Max, for Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television;[6] and in 2008, for the pilot for Chuck, for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television.[7] He won the latter award at the ACE banquet on February 17, 2008.

He has been an assistant visiting professor in the film school at the University of California, Los Angeles.[8]

Personal life

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Buckley has a sister, Tony Award-winning actress Betty Buckley, and two brothers, Patrick and Michael. His brother Michael died in 2020. His brothers became engineers, a profession his father thought more worthy than any job in the film industry, although Buckley has stated: "Fortunately, my father expressed his pride in my accomplishments before he died."[3]

Buckley is openly gay.[9] He has been widowed twice. He lived with Broadway dancer Timothy Scott from 1983 until Scott's death in 1988.[10] In 2004, Buckley met artist Davyd Whaley and they moved in together. They married as soon as they were able, during a brief window of legal opportunity in the state of California, and remained married up to Whaley's death on October 15, 2014.[9][11]

References

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  1. ^ Summers, Angie (June 26, 2007). "Fort Worth native relocates from 'The O.C.' to 'Chuck'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 2007-12-23.[dead link]
  2. ^ Holmes, Kim (April 22, 2004). "Schwartz struts his stuff on 'O.C.'". Daily Trojan. Archived from the original on November 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Editing 'The OC'". TheOCshow.com. January 21, 2005. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  4. ^ "The OC in HD: More Beautiful Than Ever". Avid.com. Archived from the original on 2007-11-03. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  5. ^ Silberg, John (November 18, 2007). "Spy Secrets". VFX Pro. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  6. ^ McNary, Dave (January 24, 2003). "Editors sharpen focus with ACE nom list". Variety. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  7. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (January 12, 2008). "Editors unveil their Eddie noms". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  8. ^ "UCLA General Catalog 2007–2008: Film, Television, and Digital Media" (Press release). University of California, Los Angeles. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
  9. ^ a b Lowry, Mark (August 23, 2013). "Applause 2013: The Texas diva". Dallas Voice. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "Obituaries : Timothy Scott, 32; Danced in Hit 'Cats'". Los Angeles Times. March 1, 1988. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "Remembering the Life of Los Angeles Artist Davyd Whaley" (Press release). Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. October 22, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
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