Norma Varden(1898-1989)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
The daughter of a retired sea captain and his much-younger wife,
actress Norma Varden was born and raised in turn-of-the-century London.
A piano prodigy, she studied in Paris and appeared in concert in
England during her teenage years. Acting, however, became her career of
choice, studying at the Guildhall School of Music. She took her very
first stage bow in a production of Peter Pan. In the adult role of Mrs.
Darling, she was actually younger than the actors playing her children.
In years to come, Norma would play a number of mature, lady-like roles
that were much older than she was.
She performed Shakespeare in repertory and was at first cast in dramatic plays such as The Wandering Jew (1920-her West End debut) and Hamlet (1925) as the Player Queen. In various acting companies, she eventually found a flair for comedy and became the resident character comedienne for the famous Aldwych Theatre farce-ers from 1929 to 1933 à la Marx Bros. foilMargaret Dumont.Finding success there in the comedies A Night Like This and Turkey Time, she later recreated both roles on British film a couple of years later. She went on to prove herself a minor but avid scene-stealer in such movies asEvergreen (1934),The Iron Duke (1934), Stormy Weather (1935)andEast Meets West (1936),quickly finding an amusing niche as a haughty society maven. She played both benevolent and supercilious with equal ease -- her height (5'7-1/2 "), elongated oval face, vacant manner, plummy voice and slightly drowsy eyes adding immensely to the look and amusement of her characters.
In the early 1940s, the veteran actress visited California, accompanied by her ailing, widowed mother, for a take on the warmer climate and decided to permanently settle. Again, she found herself in demand as a now silvery-haired duchess, queen or Lady something, albeit in less meaty, sometimes even unbilled parts. Although she could dress down when called upon as a bar maid, nurse and landlady, she usually was asked to provide the requisite atmosphere for glossy, opulent settings. Her more noticeable roles came as lecherousRobert Benchley's wealthy, put-upon wife inThe Major and the Minor (1942);the vile Lady Abbott inForever Amber (1947);the giddy socialite nearly strangled byRobert Walkerin Hitchcock's classicStrangers on a Train (1951);the impressively bejeweled wife ofCharles Coburn,whomMarilyn Monroefawns over in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953);and the Von Trapp housekeeper Frau Schmidt inThe Sound of Music (1965).
Norma became a steadfast radio and TV comedy foil during the 40s, 50s and 60s, often at the mercy of aLucille BallorJack Benny.Her longest radio part was asBasil Rathbone's housekeeper on his Sherlock Holmes radio series. On TV, she appeared in such shows asMister Ed (1961),The Beverly Hillbillies (1962),Bewitched (1964)and Batman (1966)She had recurring roles as Betty Hutton's aunt onThe Betty Hutton Show (1959)and asShirley Booth's neighbor onHazel (1961).Never married, Norma's mother passed away in 1969, and the actress retired shortly after. She died of heart failure in 1989, a day before her 91st birthday.
She performed Shakespeare in repertory and was at first cast in dramatic plays such as The Wandering Jew (1920-her West End debut) and Hamlet (1925) as the Player Queen. In various acting companies, she eventually found a flair for comedy and became the resident character comedienne for the famous Aldwych Theatre farce-ers from 1929 to 1933 à la Marx Bros. foilMargaret Dumont.Finding success there in the comedies A Night Like This and Turkey Time, she later recreated both roles on British film a couple of years later. She went on to prove herself a minor but avid scene-stealer in such movies asEvergreen (1934),The Iron Duke (1934), Stormy Weather (1935)andEast Meets West (1936),quickly finding an amusing niche as a haughty society maven. She played both benevolent and supercilious with equal ease -- her height (5'7-1/2 "), elongated oval face, vacant manner, plummy voice and slightly drowsy eyes adding immensely to the look and amusement of her characters.
In the early 1940s, the veteran actress visited California, accompanied by her ailing, widowed mother, for a take on the warmer climate and decided to permanently settle. Again, she found herself in demand as a now silvery-haired duchess, queen or Lady something, albeit in less meaty, sometimes even unbilled parts. Although she could dress down when called upon as a bar maid, nurse and landlady, she usually was asked to provide the requisite atmosphere for glossy, opulent settings. Her more noticeable roles came as lecherousRobert Benchley's wealthy, put-upon wife inThe Major and the Minor (1942);the vile Lady Abbott inForever Amber (1947);the giddy socialite nearly strangled byRobert Walkerin Hitchcock's classicStrangers on a Train (1951);the impressively bejeweled wife ofCharles Coburn,whomMarilyn Monroefawns over in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953);and the Von Trapp housekeeper Frau Schmidt inThe Sound of Music (1965).
Norma became a steadfast radio and TV comedy foil during the 40s, 50s and 60s, often at the mercy of aLucille BallorJack Benny.Her longest radio part was asBasil Rathbone's housekeeper on his Sherlock Holmes radio series. On TV, she appeared in such shows asMister Ed (1961),The Beverly Hillbillies (1962),Bewitched (1964)and Batman (1966)She had recurring roles as Betty Hutton's aunt onThe Betty Hutton Show (1959)and asShirley Booth's neighbor onHazel (1961).Never married, Norma's mother passed away in 1969, and the actress retired shortly after. She died of heart failure in 1989, a day before her 91st birthday.
