From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Norman Panama April 21 1914 January 13 2003 was an American screenwriter and film director born in Chicago Illinois He collaborated with a former school friend Melvin Frank to form a writing partnership which endured for three decades He also wrote gags for comedians such as Bob Hopes radio program and for Groucho Marx The most famous films Panama directed were Lil Abner 1959 the Danny Kaye film The Court Jester 1956 and Bob Hopes How to Commit Marriage 1969 He wrote Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House 1948 Road to Utopia 1946 and The Court Jester among other movies He won an Edgar Award for A Talent for Murder 1981 a play he cowrote with Jerome Chodorov Panama continued to write and direct through the 1980s He died in 2003 in Los Angeles California from complications due to Parkinsons disease Description above from the Wikipedia article Norman Panama licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia