Noel Black was a director known for numerous television series and made-for-TV movies, and feature films such as Pretty Poison.

Born in Chicago, Black earned a B.A. and and M.F.A. at UCLA. He first gained recognition in 1966, for the short film Skaterdater, for which he received the Palme d'Or for shorts at the Cannes Film Festival and an Oscar nomination for live-action short subject. The film was also shown on television in a 1967 episode of ABC Stage 67.

In 1968 he broke into features with Pretty Poison, a darkly comedic story about a case of mistaken identity that leads to violence, starring Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld. His other features included Cover Me Babe,  Jennifer on My Mind, Mirrors, A Man, a Woman and a Bank and Private School.

The majority of Black's career was devoted to television. His long list of series credits included Quincy, M.E., Kojak, Switch, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, McCloud and Hawaii Five-O. In addition, he directed more than a dozen telefilms, including Prime Suspect, The Other Victim, Quarterback Princess, The Electric Grandmother, Promises to Keep, My Two Loves and A Conspiracy of Love.

Black died July 5, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California. He was 77.