Maidie Norman
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 16, 1912
- Died
- May 2, 1998 (aged 85)
- Birthplace
- Villa Rica, Georgia, USA
Biography
Maidie Norman was born Maidie Ruth Gamble on October 16, 1912, in Villa Rica, Georgia, to Louis and Lila Gamble. She received a B.A. from Bennett College in 1934 and a master's degree from Columbia University three years later. She also attended the Actors Lab in Hollywood from 1946 to 1949. Norman first appeared on film in The Peanut Man in 1947. Throughout the fifties-not a good time for film roles for black women-she appeared in a number of films, such as Bright Road with Dorothy Dandridge and Sidney Poitier and Torch Song, both in 1953; About Mrs. Leslie and Susan Slept Here in 1954; and 1956's Written on the Wind. These were often servant roles, with a special fifties blandness. Still, Norman was skillful and professional in her execution of them. In 1962, she got a chance to chew up the scenery with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? In 1968-69, Norman was an artist-in-residence at Stanford University and, throughout the seventies, she was lecturer, director, and acting teacher at UCLA. At the same time, Norman was highly visible on television, appearing in Mannix, Adam 12, Streets of San Francisco, Kung Fu, The Jeffersons, and others. She was also part of the cast of Roots: The Next Generation in 1979. Norman was a founding member of the American Negro Theater West; in 1977, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame; and an award in her name is presented each year for outstanding research by an undergraduate in Black Theater at UCLA. She died on May 6, 1998.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Delphine and Carole
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami
Movie · as Edna
Secrets of a Mother and Daughter
Movie · as Neddy
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Movie · as Nurse Agnes
Hotel
TV · as Carrie Garland · 1 ep
Cagney & Lacey
TV · as Elevator Operator · 1 ep
Matt Houston
TV · 1 ep
Thornwell
Movie · as Ruth Thornwell
Be Pretty and Shut Up!
Movie · as Self
Simon & Simon
TV · 1 ep
Roots: The Next Generations
TV · as Sister Scrap Scott · 1 ep
Movie Movie
Movie · as Gussie ("Baxter's Beauties of 1933")
Airport '77
Movie · as Dorothy
The Incredible Hulk
TV · as Mrs. Dennison · 1 ep
A Star Is Born
Movie · as Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
The Jeffersons
TV · 1 ep
Baretta
TV · 1 ep
Sty of the Blind Pig
Movie · as Weedy Warren
Good Times
TV · 1 ep
Rhoda
TV · 1 ep
Little House on the Prairie
TV · as Mrs. Henry · 1 ep
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
TV · as Librarian · 1 ep
Harry O
TV · 1 ep
Police Woman
TV · 2 eps
The Lie
Movie · as Janine
Maurie
Movie · as Mrs. Stokes
A Dream for Christmas
Movie · as Jennie Daley
Sixteen
Movie · as Aunt Ada
Another Part of the Forest
Movie · as Coralee
Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole
Movie · as Nurse Ferguson
Kung Fu
TV · as Omar's Mother · 1 ep
The Streets of San Francisco
TV · 1 ep
Cannon
TV · 1 ep
Funny Face
TV · 1 ep
Adam-12
TV · as Ethel May, Mary Handlin · 1 ep
Mannix
TV · 2 eps
Ironside
TV · 2 eps
Judd, for the Defense
TV · 1 ep
CBS Playhouse
TV · as Mrs. Pierce · 1 ep
The F.B.I.
TV · as Caregiver · 1 ep
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
TV · as Mama Lou · 1 ep
4 for Texas
Movie · as Burden's Maid
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Movie · as Elvira Stitt
Ben Casey
TV · 1 ep
Dr. Kildare
TV · as Mrs. Johnson · 1 ep
No Greater Love
Movie · as Queto's Mother
The Twilight Zone
TV · as Maid (uncredited) · 1 ep
Written on the Wind
Movie · as Bertha
The Opposite Sex
Movie · as Violet (uncredited)
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle
Movie · as Suma
Mad at the World
Movie · as Miss Lovett
Man with the Gun
Movie · as Sarah (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
TV · as Eloise · 1 ep
Matinee Theater
TV · 1 ep
Executive Suite
Movie · as Housekeeper (uncredited)
Susan Slept Here
Movie · as Georgette
About Mrs. Leslie
Movie · as Camilla
Bright Road
Movie · as Mrs. Hamilton - Tanya's Mother
Forever Female
Movie · as Emma (uncredited)
Torch Song
Movie · as Anne
Letter to Loretta
TV · as Flora, Josi · 2 eps
Cavalcade of America
TV · as Aunt Nellie · 1 ep
Four Star Playhouse
TV · as Coralee · 1 ep
The Well
Movie · as Martha Crawford
Dragnet
TV · 1 ep
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV · as Lurie · 1 ep
Lux Video Theatre
TV · as Flora, Maid · 1 ep
Manhandled
Movie · as Christine, Bennet's Maid (uncredited)
The Peanut Man
Movie · as Lucretia