‘GENERATION GAP’
PRODUCTION BIOS
BILL NORTON (Director) – California-born director, writer and producer Bill Norton (also credited sometimes as W.L. Norton) directed The Hallmark Channel’s Original Movie “Generation Gap.” He began his directing career with the feature film “Cisco Pike,” starring Gene Hackman, Kris Kristofferson, Karen Black and Harry Dean Stanton. Norton's 1972 TV movie “Gargoyles,” starring Cornell Wilde and Bernie Casey, is considered by film fans to be a superb horror movie -- atmospheric, well paced, and exceptionally convincing (helped by Stan Winston's monster make-up).
Norton also directed other feature films such as “More American Graffiti,” but his more recent career has been focused on directing popular episodic television series including “The Unit,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” “Medium,” “Las Vegas,” “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” “Roswell,” “The Fugitive” and “Profiler,” among many others.
He has also directed many made for television movies, such as “A Crime of Passion,” “Bad to the Bone,” “Gone in the Night,” “False Arrest,” “Stolen Innocence” and “Deadly Whispers,” to name just a few.
Additionally, Norton served as Co-Executive Producer and directed many episodes of the acclaimed CBS series “Tour of Duty” (1987 – 1990).
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LARRY LEVINSON (Executive Producer) – A prolific producer of television movies and miniseries through his Larry Levinson Productions (LLP), which includes a full production facility in Simi, California, Larry Levinson served as executive producer on The Hallmark Channel’s Original Movie “Generation Gap.” Levinson has a long and successful affiliation with RHI Entertainment, covering a number of years and an array of projects and a variety of genres. He most recently served as executive producer on two other RHI miniseries, “Pandemic” and “Final Approach.”
Levinson’s executive producer credits in connection with RHI include “The Last Cowboy,” “Straight From the Heart,” “Love Comes Softly,” “Audrey’s Rain,” “The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay,” “Hard Ground,” the “Mystery Woman” movies, “A Time to Remember,” “Just Desserts,” “A Place Called Home,” “The Long Shot (Believe in Courage),” “Life on Liberty Street,” “King Solomon’s Mines,” “La Femme Musketeer,” “The Trail to Hope Rose,” “The Hollywood Mom’s Mystery,” “Murder Without Conviction,” “Wedding Daze,” “Frankenstein,” “Love’s Enduring Promise,” “Out of the Woods” and “Thicker Than Water,” as well as the “Jane Doe” and “McBride” mystery movie franchises.
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Levinson also executive produced the popular miniseries Larry McMurtry’s “Streets of Laredo” and McMurtry’s “Dead Man’s Walk,” as well as the television movie “Johnson County War.” He also executive produced Mark Twain's “Roughing It,” “Everything That Rises” with Dennis Quaid, “Rough Riders” with Tom Berenger and a series of “Hard Time” telefilms starring Burt Reynolds. Additional credits include serving as supervising producer on the Kenny Rogers’ telefilms “MacShayne: The Final Roll of the Dice” and “MacShayne: Winner Takes All.”
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KYLE CLARK (Producer) – Kyle Clark serves as producer on The Hallmark Channel’s Original Movie “Generation Gap,” with his partner, Stephen Niver. Clark has a long history with RHI Entertainment, producing 16 television movies, for them, as well as the “Final Approach” and “Pandemic” miniseries (along with a producing partner, James Wilberger). These include six already broadcast movies in the “Jane Doe” franchise that star Lea Thompson, as well as the upcoming “Jane Doe: How to Fire Your Boss.” Other producing credits for the Clark/Wilberger team include the original “Murder 101” movie and another in the same franchise, “Murder 101: College Can Be Murder,” starring Dick Van Dyke, as well as “Where There’s A Will,” “Though None Go With Me,” “Falling In Love With the Girl Next Door,” “Ordinary Miracles,” “Annie’s Point,” “A Boyfriend for Christmas” and “The Trail to Rose Hope.” As he did on “Final Approach,” Clark served as unit production manager on most of his producing projects for RHI.
Clark’s other producing credits in collaboration with RHI include the television movies “A Place Called Home,” “Audrey’s Rain,” “The Last Cowboy,” “Santa Jr.,” “Gentle Ben” and “Gentle Ben 2: Danger on the Mountain,” among others.
Serving as a producer and unit production manager, Clark’s credits include veteran filmmaker Roger Corman’s television series ”Black Scorpion.” He was also line producer on the series “Ritual.”
Prior to his producing days, Clark worked as a location manager on such films as “White Wolves III: Cry of the White Wolf,” “The Chaos Factor,” “Club Vampire” and “Alien Avengers II.” For the feature “Running Woman,” he served as location manager and appeared on camera as an actor.
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STEPHEN NIVER (Producer) – Steve Niver serves as producer on The Hallmark Channel’s Original Movie “Generation Gap,” with his partner, Kyle Clark. Niver is a producer and writer who hails from Warren, Pennsylvania. Following his arrival in Los Angeles in 1998, Niver worked as an assistant director on more than 20 films.
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During this time, he established himself as a sought-after “script doctor” and screenwriter, penning several scripts for Lifetime, including the hit thrillers “While the Children Sleep,” starring Gail O’Grady and “Personal Indiscretions,” starring Janine Turner.
Since then, Niver has moved onto producing, with films for the Hallmark Channel, including the miniseries “Shark Swarm” with Daryl Hannah and John Schneider and the highly-rated “All I Want for Christmas” with Gail O’Grady. He has also produced films for Spike TV, including “Depth Charge” starring Eric Roberts and “Sharpshooter” with Mario Van Peebles.
Currently, Niver is producing “Love Takes Wing,” the latest installment in the highly-successful “Love Comes Softly” series, with his producing partner, Kyle Clark.
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SEAN KING (Writer) – “Generation Gap” screenwriter Sean King is a native of Portville, New York. Growing up the middle child of six brothers and sisters, there was always a healthy mix of comedy and drama in his life. After graduating from Dakota State University in 1998 with a B.S. in Education, he taught middle school Math and English in Woodland Hills, California. Although he loved teaching, he concentrated his efforts toward working full time as an actor and writer.
Ever since seeing the “Shawshank Redemption” and witnessing how a great script and story can move an audience, King knew he wanted to be a writer. In 2003, his short film "Sibling Rivalry," which he wrote and directed, won Best Comedy Short at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival. Thereafter, he produced and co-starred in Matteo Ribaudo’s award winning film "In The Name of My Father," which screened at the 2006 Cannes film festival’s Short Film Corner.
King teamed up with Raymond Starmann to write “Generation Gap,” their first script. Their second screenplay, “91st and Broadway,” has Miranda Freiberg attached to produce. She is currently producing “Youth in Revolt” with David Permut and Dimension Films. King is represented by Acme Talent and Literary Agency in Los Angeles.
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RAYMOND STARMANN (Writer) – “Generation Gap” screenwriter Raymond W. Starmann is a native of Lake Forest, Illinois. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.A. in History.
Starmann met his writing partner, Sean King, while teaching middle school in Woodland Hills, California. “Generation Gap” is their first script written together. Their second screenplay, “91st and Broadway,” has Miranda Freiberg attached to produce. She is currently producing “Youth in Revolt” with David Permut and Dimension Films. Starmann is represented by Acme Talent and Literary Agency in Los Angeles. (more)
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Starmann also served as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer in Germany and in Operation Desert Storm.
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