Norm Chandler Fox

Norm Chandler Fox, was removed from life support on Thursday, July 15, 2010.

He is survived by longtime Significant Other and best friend, Loreen Arbus; his older brothers, Philip Fox (Carole) and Stanley Fox, and a multitude of lifelong friends and acquaintances all over the world. Besides his immediate family, Norm leaves his brother-in-law, Richard Stone of Purchase, NY, Avery Stone (Allyson Stone) of Hong Kong; Griff Stone of La Jolla, CA, Mitchell Fox (Ruth Fox) of Seattle, WA; Adam Fox of Mill Valley, CA; and niece Dana Fox of Ashland, OR. He is preceded in death by his father, Samuel Fox; his mother, Mary Elaine Fox; and his twin sister, Jeri Laine Stone.

Norm, a very private person who refused to be labeled and did not want to be pitied, told no one and quietly suffered greatly from many aspects of Parkinson's Disease for over fifteen years. Even when his increasingly compromised condition became more difficult to hide, he lived to the fullest of his ability. A week following an urgent operation to save his eyesight, he tripped and fell in his home, was rushed into neurosurgery, but never regained consciousness.

Norm, a psychology major at Harvard, interned for one summer at a state hospital for the mentally insane, but realized he could not make this field a career because he couldn't confine compassion to a schedule. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Harvard in 1960, he earned Masters Degrees at both Columbia University and The London School of Economics.

He developed his passion for traveling during his term breaks in London with extended trips throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. He later moved to New York City pursuing a career in the advertising agency world, working on major accounts including Proctor and Gamble, Gillette and ARCO, which relocated him to Southern California. The following year, he was hired to write advertising copy for Universal Television and became an associate producer and writer for television, with extensive credits on primetime series and daytime soap operas. He was head writer for the Quiz Kids Challenge, won a Writer's Guild Award for Cagney & Lacey, a Humanitas Award writing nomination for Fame, and helped produce the NBC TV movies Brave New World and Tail Gunner Joe.

Norm began writing about travel and food for Los Angeles Magazine where he became a contributing editor. He subsequently wrote for The Hollywood Reporter, Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Pleasures of Japan, Bel Air and Westways and was Travel & Dining Editor of Performing Arts Magazine. He became a syndicated travel columnist for the Copley News Service with two weekly columns in 400 newspapers nationwide reaching 6 million readers.

In 1984, his book, The Trivia Challenge, published by Simon and Schuster, was cited as a top performing title of that year. He also co-authored, with Bob Chandler, Violent Sundays, published by Simon and Schuster. Norm co-authored, with Steve and Pat Zifferblatt, The Better Life Institute Family Health Plan. Norm also hosted Travel Talk on KTMS-AM in Santa Barbara and concurrently had a weekly feature,

Traveling, on KCRW-FM in Los Angeles. He was hired in 1994 to host a two week travel talk show on KMPC-AM in Los Angeles. In early 1995, he was promoted to host Traveling with Norm Fox, a two-hour weekly call-in show on sister station KABC-TalkRadio. When Norm left KABC in 1998, he was the only person hosting two consecutive two-hour shows on food and travel. His weekly travel show was a pioneer in satellite radio on Command Audio.

Norm donated his time volunteering for the Braille Institute of America and served on the board of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Israel Cancer Research Fund.

He had an encyclopedic knowledge of art, music, opera, world history and cultures, literature, film and television, gastronomy, enology, languages, and so much more. He memorized every line of his favorite film, Truffaut's Jules and Jim, which he saw over a hundred times. A self-taught painter, he had several art gallery shows.

Norm cared deeply for animals, especially for his beloved dogs. The yearly canine birthday party always had a clever alliterative theme and was much anticipated by both four-legged and two-legged friends with about twenty-five of each attending after the first decade.

He always rejoiced in and supported Loreen's business successes as a television network executive, producer/writer, and author. He was extremely proud of her prominence the world-over as a professional Argentine tango dancer and choreographer for theatre, television, and film, as well as in her extensive commitments to and work with nonprofit boards and organizations.

A graveside service was held Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 10 AM in Los Angeles followed by a Memorial Service at another location. If you wish to make a donation in Norm's honor, he would have profoundly appreciated your help to rescue and adopt animals, and support medical research to improve the lives of animals and people. Memorial Gifts can be made to Kady's Fund in Pasadena, CA, The Rescue Train in Studio City, CA, or the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation located in Lakewood, CO.

Harvard Magazine- November/December 2010