Norman Jolley

Biography

Actor and prominent television writer, educated at the University of Wisconsin with an engineering background that he used to advantage in writing his "Space Patrol" scripts. Beginning as a film and television actor, his writing talents came to the forefront while portraying 'Agent X' on "Space Patrol". The producer asked Jolley to contribute scripts, and his 'Agent X' character was retired by being forced into "permanent suspended animation" on the series. As the chief writer, Jolley created many of the "Space Patrol" concepts, including weaponry and such substances as 'endurium' and 'raydurium', and he always insisted that the storylines must never violate actual fact. After "Space Patrol" ended, he formed Bartlett-Jolley Productions in 1956 with ex-actor Dick Bartlett (who directed the scripts Jolley would write, with both men producing), which went on to produce eight pictures for Universal-International by 1958.