‘Emergency!’s Michael Norell, Dad Husband, Passes Away — He Lived in Assisted Living Facility before Death

• Michael Alden Norell, also known as Captin Stanley from “Emergency!” passed at 85
• He survived his wife of 32 years and his son and daughter
• But the actor had a loving caretaker and friends that were guttered by his death

Michael Alden Norell was a man of many talents, but he was famously known for his role in the show “Emergency!” where he played Captain Stanley.

Norell passed on May 12, 2023, at 85, but even decades after the show’s ending, he was still known and referred to as Captain Stanley.

However, acting was not Norell’s first career. He was born in Wallace on October 4, 1937, and was first married to the late Liz Ingleson in 1965. After their union ended, he tied the knot with Cynthia Ann Cherbak in 1991.

The actor spent much of his life in the military and moved his family around. He fought in the Korean War and moved his family to Tokyo, Japan.

When he eventually moved back to the United States, he started acting in school plays at Falls Church High School until he decided to go to college and majored in Journalism at Washington and Lee University.

However, after graduating, Norell returned to the military to follow in his father’s footsteps. He spent five more years and retired as a captain.

After the end of his military career, Norell started to tap into his acting side. In no time, he moved to Hollywood and landed his breakthrough role on “Emergency!”

While on “Emergency!” the actor also wrote four episodes. He revealed that it all started when the executive producer Bob Cinade would call him into the writer’s room and ask him to pitch his ideas.

Norell remembered spending up to two hours sharing ideas on different rescue scenes and medical emergencies until Cinade found one he loved.

His writing on “Emergency!” started his new career as a screenwriter. When the show ended, he entirely changed roles and went on to write for shows like “Love Boa” t, “Nash Bridges,” and “NYPD Blue.”

The 85-year-old survived his wife of 32 years, his son and daughter, Chelsea Cherbak Norell, and his son, James Cherbak Norell.

Norell had a lot of faithful friends and caretakers during his life that shared updates about his health, but the actor also gave fans of”Emergency!” a bit of information about his life.

Norell remained a big part of the “Emergency1” series, so much so that the show’s Facebook page announced when the actor went into a coma in 2016.

According to the post, the screenwriter had undergone surgery leading him into a coma when he was 79. The thoughtful post also asked fans to keep Norell in their prayers.

However, in 2020 Los Angeles County Fire Museum revealed an update from Norell’s caretaker, Linda assuring fans that Captain Stanley was doing well.

Linda wassthe best caregiver and treated the former actor “like a king.” Norell lived in an associated living facility, but fans were urged not to contact the “Emergency!” star and to give him his privacy as he gets through his health issues.

In 2020, Norell spoke to students and fellow firefighters about his time on “Emergency!” He revealed that the show felt so real that the actors started to feel like real firefighters.

Although his acting felt real, Norell was asked if he had ever found himself in a situation where he had to rescue someone using some of the skills he learned on set, “not once,” he said.

The actor said he would have loved the opportunity to help people. His audience also assured Norell that “Emergency!” was one the most believable shows than some of today.

As the screenwriter talked to the students, he was in a wheelchair with gray hair and a beard and spoke very softly, but what he did not lose was his sense of humor. He had people laughing throughout the conversation.

Although Norell had fought a long battle with his health issues, one of his friends, Rick Lenz, was distraught by his passing and shared an emotional tribute to him.

Lenz was in disbelief at his friend’s death. He wrote, I” can’t wrap my mind around it—I mean just the fact of his not being here anymore.” However, the two had a close friendship that started in 1967, and Lenz said they spoke to each other regularly until Norell’s last day.

Lenz and Norell were actors and screenwriters and worked on multiple projects together. Their friendship was so solid that Lenz confessed, “Except for my wife and kids, I’ve never been closer to anyone”.

To him, the actor allowed him to be himself and was a friend that wore many hats. “Michael was one of those rare friends you get who you can be absolutely yourself with—smart, stupid, needy, advice taker, advice giver, you name it,” he expressed.

But one thing he loved about his friend was not taking himself too seriously, even though Lenz sometimes wished he could have realized his impact on people.

However, Norell remained humble, and as Lenz wrote his tribute to him, he knew the actor would have probably thought he was silly, and that is something he will always miss about him.

The two men loved and appreciated each other, but Lenz said they never expressed that to one another; he reiterated,

“We never said embarrassing stuff like “I love you” to each other. That’s more like me, not him. Although during the last days, I finally did say things like “I love you, buddy.” And he would mumble back, “I love you too.”

Norell left a lasting impact on his close circle and fans that watched him from his time on “Emergency!” and enjoyed his writing on multiple shows.