Anna Christine Norman[1] (1886/87-1930) was an American stage actress and playwright.
Christine Norman | |
|---|---|
 Christine Norman (left) and Jennie Lamont in The Unchastened Woman (1915) | |
| Born | Anna Christine Norman 1886/1887 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 6, 1930 New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Mrs. Enos Booth |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, playwright |
| Years active | 1909-1930 |
| Spouse | Enos S. Booth (1919 - 1930, her death) |
Early years
editNorman was the daughter of Andrew G. Norman and his wife Minnie. She studied acting in New York, winning a medal for her work, and then studied music in Paris.[2]
Career
editNorman costarred with Constance Collier in Israel on Broadway in 1909. She appeared with Laurette Taylor in the huge Broadway hit Peg o' My Heart in 1912. In 1915 she scored another success costarring with Emily Stevens and Louis Bennison in The Unchastened Woman. Her other Broadway plays included Great Music (1924), The Nest (1922), The Crowded Hour (1918), Branded (1917), Upstairs and Down (1916), Our Children (1915), The Aviator (1910), Israel (1909), and An International Marriage (1909).[3]
In the 1920s she wrote several plays to no distinction such as The Balcony Walkers in 1925 of which she had trouble finding a producer.
Personal life
editNorman married Enos Booth in 1919. In 1928, she tried unsuccessfully to divorce him.[2]
She was considered a great Broadway beauty and had her portrait painted by Neysa McMein.[4]
Death and legacy
editOn March 6, 1930, Norman committed suicide by jumping from the 20th floor of her hotel.[2][5] After her death, a publicized battle over her will between her mother, her husband and various lawyers was mounted in which eventually a substantial amount of money $150,000 was left to her dog.[6] (A contemporary Associated Press news story said, "The will divided an estate of $170,000 among 11 friends, ignoring the mother, Mrs. Minnie Mary Jamison, and the husband, Enos Booth ..."[1] The amount left for perpetual care of her dog's grave was reported as $500 in other articles.)[7][2] Bequests included $40,000 to John Hayden and $50,000 to Clare Cassell, described respectively in a newspaper article as "an ardent admirer" and "a close friend and international tennis star of the day".[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Will of Actress Is Upheld". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri, St. Louis. Associated Press. October 23, 1930. p. 17. Retrieved October 23, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Alexander, Jack (August 12, 1934). "The Grim Conclusion of a Mother-Daughter Epic of Hate". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Missouri, St. Louis. p. 50. Retrieved October 23, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Christine Norman". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ "STAGE BEAUTY DIES IN 20-STORY PLUNGE". Associated Press/Evening Star, p. 1, March 6, 1930.
- ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle"20-Story Leap Fatal To Christine Norman"; March 6, 1930
- ^ Kapoor, Priya; Jaishanker, Nandita (2005). VIPs: Very Important Pets. Roli Books Private Limited, p. 40. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved October 11, 2018
- ^ "From Capper's Weekly". The Galena Journal. Kansas, Galena. July 4, 1930. p. 2. Retrieved October 23, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
edit- Christine Norman at IBDb.com
- Stage portraits (City Museum of New York)
- Cluster photos(New York Public Library,Billy Rose collection)
- Christine Norman on the front cover of McCall's magazine December 1923(archived)
- 1916 portrait(archived)
- portrait circa 1910(Univ. of Arizona)
- studio portrait(Stage Whispers)
