# Norma Donaldson

Norma C. Donaldson (August 18, 1928 – November 22, 1994) was an American actress and singer. Perhaps she is best known for her roles as Miss Adelaide in the 1976 revival of Guys and Dolls; Lillie Belle Barber on the CBS television soap opera The Young and the Restless, in which she played from 1990 until she died in 1994.

## Biography
### Early life

Donaldson was born Norma C. Donaldson in the Harlem section of New York City. Her parents were Laura, a housekeeper, and Fredrick Donaldson (b. 1906; d. 1955). The first of two children, Donaldson attended Boys and Girls High School (known at the time as Girls' High School), studying there until her junior year.

### Career

In 1949, Donaldson, then aged 21, launched her career as a nightclub singer, booking gigs throughout New York City. During her nightclub stint, Donaldson began touring with Harry Belafonte and later Lena Horne. Donaldson started her acting career in the late–1960s, first appearing in an episode of Callback! which aired on March 8, 1969, in which Barry Manilow was the music director of this show. In the 1970s, Donaldson began appearing in some Blaxploitation films. Most notably of the genre, Donaldson portrayed Gloria Roberts in 1972's Across 110th Street and Honey in 1973's Willie Dynamite.
In 1975, Donaldson began her acting career on Broadway and was most famous for portraying the loveless chorus line dancer Miss Adelaide, opposite Robert Guillaume, in an all-black revival of Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls which premiered in 1976. Donaldson co-starred alongside Guillaume again in Purlie and No Place to be Somebody. Before her lengthy recurring role on "The Young and the Restless," she had played Dr. Paulina Ravelle on General Hospital regularly from 1987 to 1989, who strove to prevent her daughter, Simone, from marrying the white Dr. Tom Hardy.

## Personal life and death

Donaldson never married or had children. Donaldson died of cancer at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on November 22, 1994, at 66 years old. She was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956 | The Baby and the Battleship | Dr. Bryce | Uncredited |
| 1972 | Across 110th Street | Gloria Roberts | |
| 1973 | Willie Dynamite | Honey | |
| 1980 | 9 to 5 | Betty | |
| 1983 | Staying Alive | Fatima | |
| 1988 | The Unholy | Abby | |
| 1990 | House Party | Mildred | |
| 1991 | The Five Heartbeats | Mrs. Sawyer | |
| 1993 | Poetic Justice | Aunt May | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Good Times | Mrs. Baker | Episode: "Michael's Big Fall" |
| 1975 | The Jeffersons | Dale Parker | Episode: "George and the Manager" |
| 1977 | All in the Family | Ms. Watson | Episode: "Archie Gets the Business" |
| 1978 | What's Happening!! | Mrs. Miller | Episode: "No Clothes Make the Man" |
| 1978 | Watch Your Mouth | Mrs. Littlejohn | Episode: "Handsomest Boy" |
| 1979 | Archie Bunker's Place | Ms. Watson | Episodes: "Archie's New Partner: Parts 1 & 2", "The Cook" |
| 1980 | Willow B: Women in Prison | Mrs. McCallister | TV film |
| 1981 | Inmates: A Love Story | Lila | TV film |
| 1982 | CHiPs | Mrs. Schoonover | Episode: "Overload" |
| 1982 | Farrell for the People | Mrs. Grey | TV film |
| 1983 | Intimate Agony | Dr. Bryce | TV film |
| 1987 | General Hospital | Dr. Pauline Ravelle | TV series |
| 1989 | Thirtysomething | Bernice | Episode: "No Promises" |
| 1989 | Matlock | Shirley Taylor | Episode: "The Good Boy" |
| 1990–1994 | The Young and the Restless | Lillie Belle Barber | Recurring role, (final appearance) |

## Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956 | The Happiest Girl in the World | Martha | Broadway |
| 1956 | The Baby and the Battleship | Dr. Bryce | Broadway (uncredited) |
| 1976 | Guys and Dolls | Miss Adelaide | Broadway |