BIOGRAPHY

Spencer was born in Stockwell, London, England, on 13 August 1914. His parents were Charles Prosser Spencer (1878–1949) and Dorothy Estelle Privett (1890–1960). He was raised in Billericay and later in Leigh-on-Sea, both located in Essex. After leaving school at 14, he pursued his talent for art and secured a job painting film posters. At 19, while painting murals at a dance studio, he overheard some dancers talking about their work as film extras. Inspired by their stories, he followed suit and appeared as an extra in films such as Splinters in the Air, filmed at Pinewood Studios, and Knight Without Armour (1937). His role in the latter took him to Denham Studios, where he worked as a clapper-loader and stand-in for actors like George Formby. In 1942, he met David Lean there.

Spencer received a significant break as the third assistant director on David Lean’s directorial debut, the war film In Which We Serve (1942), which starred co-director Noël Coward and John Mills. Spencer also had a small role as an officer in the film. In 1944, Spencer, Lean, Coward, and filmmaker Ronald Neame co-founded Cineguild Productions. Spencer continued his collaboration with Lean, serving as the production manager on Madeleine (1950), which featured Lean’s newlywed wife, Ann Todd. He also worked as an associate producer on The Sound Barrier (1952). Between these roles, he produced the Dirk Bogarde thriller Blackmailed (1951).

Spencer worked again with director David Lean on the Moroccan shoot for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), though his contributions went uncredited. During the production, he held meetings with King Hassan II and was responsible for coordinating the logistics of the film’s battle scenes, which involved organizing 800 camels and riders, along with 600 men to play the foot soldiers.

In 1963, Spencer joined 20th Century Fox as assistant chief of British and European production, where he oversaw production schedules for films like Zorba the Greek (1964) and Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). He later produced the road movie thriller Vanishing Point (1971), a project he took great pride in, having guided it from the initial script to its completion. In 1987, Spencer co-produced Cry Freedom, a film that dramatized the friendship between journalist Donald Woods (played by Kevin Kline) and the murdered activist Steve Biko (played by Denzel Washington) during apartheid in South Africa.

Spencer married Barbara Violet Edith Sheppard (born 18 February 1912), at Marylebone Town Hall in Middlesex on 25 June 1943, when he was 28 and she was 31. Together, they had two daughters: Susan Lesley “Sue” McIntyre (born 1944) and Sally Jane (born 10 July 1948), an actress. Spencer later had five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. After 54 years of marriage, he was widowed in August 1998.

RECOGNITION

His age was verified by Andrew Holmes and Elliott Mellor, and validated by the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO) on 4 September 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

* Norman Leslie Spencer – FindAGrave

* “Norman Spencer, David Lean Collaborator and ‘Vanishing Point’ Producer, Dies at 110” – The Hollywood Reporter, 5 September 2024

* “Norman Spencer obituary” – The Guardian, 18 September 2024

GALLERY