# Maidie Norman

Maidie Ruth Norman (October 16, 1912 – May 2, 1998) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actress as well as an instructor in African-American literature and theater.

## Early life

Norman was born Maidie Ruth Gamble on a plantation in Villa Rica, Georgia, to Louis and Lila Graham Gamble. She was raised in Lima, Ohio, and began studying drama and performing in Shakespeare plays as a child. She graduated from Central High School in Lima in 1930, and attended Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1934. She then got her master's degree in drama at Columbia University in 1937.
She married real-estate broker McHenry Norman on December 22, 1937. She later used her husband's surname as her professional name.

## Career
### Acting

Norman began her career in radio with appearances on The Jack Benny Program and Amos 'n' Andy. In 1946, she began studying at the Actors' Laboratory Theatre in Hollywood. She made her stage debut in 1949 as Honey in Deep Are the Roots at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles.
In 1947, Norman made her film debut in The Peanut Man. She initially found it difficult to find positive roles in films for African-American women and felt limited in playing maids and domestics. While she did appear in such roles, Norman refused to portray these characters in a subservient or stereotypical manner that was considered the norm. She later said "In the beginning, I made a pledge that I would play no role that deprived black women of their dignity."
Norman appeared in her only leading role in 1951, playing Martha Crawford in The Well. She later appeared in supporting roles in Torch Song (1953), Bright Road (1953), Susan Slept Here (1954), The Opposite Sex (1956), and Written on the Wind (1956). One of her more memorable roles was as the ill-fated housekeeper Elvira Stitt in Robert Aldrich's 1962 horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. In a 1995 interview, Norman recalled that the character was originally written as a "doltish, yessum character". She rewrote the dialogue, which she called "old slavery-time talk", in an effort to dignify the character.
During the 1960s and for the remainder of her career, Norman appeared mainly in television roles because she believed more opportunities existed for African-American performers in the medium. Her TV credits include appearances in The Loretta Young Show, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey, and Dr. Kildare. In 1961, she appeared in the Los Angeles production of A Raisin in the Sun.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Norman guest-starred on episodes of Good Times, The Jeffersons, Little House on the Prairie, and The Streets of San Francisco. Her last film role was in Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami (1988), and the same year, she made her television appearances in the American sitcom Amen, the TV movie Side by Side, and an episode of Simon & Simon.

### Teaching

At the height of her career during the 1950s, Norman toured colleges lecturing on African-American literature and theater. From 1955 to 1956, she taught at the University of Texas at Tyler. Norman was also an artist-in-residence at Stanford University from 1968 to 1969. In 1970, she created and taught a course in African-American theater history at UCLA. It was the first course devoted to the subject of African-American studies in the college's history. Norman taught at UCLA until 1977. In her honor, UCLA established the Maidie Norman Research Award for the best student essay on African-American film or theater.

## Personal life

On December 22, 1937, she married real estate broker McHenry Norman, whom she met while attending Bennett College. They had one son, McHenry Norman III. They were married until McHenry's death. In 1977, Norman married Weldon D. Canada, to whom she remained married until her death.

## Death

Norman died of lung cancer on May 2, 1998, at her son's home in San Jose, California, aged 85. Her funeral was held at the Alum Rock United Methodist Church in San Jose on May 12. She was cremated per The Neptune Society and her ashes scattered at sea.

## Honors

Norman was invited to serve as an official delegate of the Methodist Church for a conference on human relations held February 11–13, 1958 at the First Methodist Church of Glendale and sponsored by the Southern California-Arizona Conference Board of Christian Social Relations and the General Board of Social and Economic Relations.
In 1977, she was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
In 1985, California Educational Theatre Association gave her a professional artist award.
In 1992, Norman was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bennett College, her alma mater.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1947 | The Burning Cross | Kitty West | |
| 1947 | The Peanut Man | | |
| 1949 | Manhandled | Christine (Bennet's maid) | Uncredited |
| 1951 | The Well | Martha Crawford | |
| 1952 | Lydia Bailey | Minor role | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Bright Road | Mrs. Hamilton (Tanya's mother) | |
| 1953 | Torch Song | Anne | |
| 1953 | Forever Female | Emma (Beatrice's maid) | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Money from Home | Mattie (Phyllis' maid) | Uncredited |
| 1954 | Executive Suite | Housekeeper | Uncredited |
| 1954 | About Mrs. Leslie | Camilla | |
| 1954 | Susan Slept Here | Georgette (Mark's maid) | |
| 1955 | Tarzan's Hidden Jungle | Suma | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Mad at the World | Miss Lovett | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Man with the Gun | Sarah (Nelly's maid) | Uncredited |
| 1956 | The Opposite Sex | Violet (clerk at Sydney's) | Uncredited |
| 1956 | Written on the Wind | Bertha | |
| 1960 | No Greater Love | | |
| 1962 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Elvira Stitt | |
| 1963 | 4 for Texas | Burden's maid | |
| 1966 | A Fine Madness | Waitress | Uncredited |
| 1972 | The Final Comedown | Nurse Ferguson | Alternative title: Blast! |
| 1973 | Maurie | Mrs. Stokes | |
| 1973 | Sixteen | Aunt Ada | Alternative title: The Young Prey |
| 1976 | A Star Is Born | Justice of the Peace | Uncredited |
| 1977 | Airport '77 | Dorothy | |
| 1978 | Movie Movie | Gussie | |
| 1982 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch | Nurse Agnes | |

## Television credits

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1950 | Fireside Theatre | | Season 3 Episode 9: "The Amber Gods" |
| 1954 | Fireside Theatre | | Season 7 Episode 4: "Afraid to Live" |
| 1955 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Lurie | Episode: "The Courtship of George Washington and Martha Custiss" |
| 1955 | Lux Video Theatre | Flora | Season 5 Episode 34: "No Sad Songs for Me" |
| 1955 | Lux Video Theatre | Maid | Season 5 Episode 44: "Forever Female" |
| 1955 | Cavalcade of America | Aunt Nellie | Season 4 Episode 3: "Towards Tomorrow" |
| 1956 | Matinee Theater | Rose | Season 1 Episode 111: "From the Desk of Margaret Tyding" |
| 1956 | Four Star Playhouse | Coralee | Season 4 Episode 26: "Autumn Carousel" |
| 1956 | Climax! | Maggie | Season 2 Episode 27: "The Lou Gehrig Story" |
| 1956 | Celebrity Playhouse | Elsie | Season 1 Episode 35: "I'll Make the Arrest" |
| 1956 | Dragnet | | Season 6 Episode 2: "The Big Missus" |
| 1957 | Letter to Loretta | Flora | Season 4 Episode 33: "Royal Partners, Part 1" |
| 1957 | Letter to Loretta | Flora | Season 4 Episode 34: "Royal Partners, Part 2" |
| 1959 | Letter to Loretta | Josi | Season 7 Episode 4: "Mask of Evidence" |
| 1960 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Eloise | Season 6 Episode 1: "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat" |
| 1960 | Michael Shayne | Maid | Season 1 Episode 9: "Blood on Biscayne Bay" |
| 1962 | Perry Mason | Maid | Season 5 Episode 21: "The Case of the Mystified Miner" |
| 1963 | Wide Country | Vera | Season 1 Episode 18: "Speckle Bird" |
| 1963 | Ben Casey | Bartender | Season 3 Episode 4: "Allie" |
| 1963 | The Joey Bishop Show | Nurse Mildred | Season 3 Episode 12: "Ellie Gives Joey First Aid" |
| 1963 | Breaking Point | Guard Apples | Season 1 Episode 15: "Don't Cry, Baby, Don't Cry" |
| 1964 | The Twilight Zone | Maid | Season 5 Episode 25: "The Masks" (uncredited) |
| 1964 | Hazel | Lady | Season 3 Episode 30: "Campaign Manager" |
| 1965 | Dr. Kildare | Mrs. Johnson | Season 4 Episode 20: "A Marriage of Convenience" |
| 1965 | Death Valley Days | Martha | Season 14 Episode 7: "No Place for a Lady" |
| 1965 | The Long, Hot Summer | Miss James | Season 1 Episode 6: "Home Is a Nameless Place" |
| 1965 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Mama Lou | Season 2 Episode 15: "The Very Important Zombie Affair" |
| 1967 | CBS Playhouse | Mrs. Pierce | Season 1 Episode 1: "The Final War of Olly Winter" |
| 1967 | Ironside | Natalie Masterson | Season 1 Episode 8: "Let My Brother Go" |
| 1967 | Dragnet | Mrs. Holmes | Season 2 Episode 11: "The Big Dog" |
| 1968 | Dragnet | Elsa Erickson | Season 2 Episode 28: "The Big Problem" |
| 1968 | Insight | Alice Pearl | Season 1 Episode 200: "The Sandalmaker" |
| 1968 | Daktari | Mwanda | Season 4 Episode 6: "Adam and Jenny" |
| 1968 | Judd, for the Defense | Charlene Muller | Season 2 Episode 8: "The Gates of Cerberus" |
| 1969 | The Outcasts | Esther | Season 1 Episode 24: "Give Me Tomorrow" |
| 1970 | Ironside | Shaw's Mother | Season 3 Episode 16: "Eden Is the Place We Leave" |
| 1970 | Storefront Lawyers aka Men at Law | Mrs. Kingman | Season 1 Episode 7: "Easy to Be Hard" |
| 1970 | Barefoot in the Park | Lady | Season 1 Episode 6: "The Marriage Proposal" |
| 1970 | The F.B.I. | Caregiver | Season 6 Episode 7: "The Innocents" |
| 1970 | Another Part of the Forest | Coralee | Television film |
| 1970 | Mannix | Aunt Frances | Season 4 Episode 8: "The World Between" |
| 1971 | Mannix | Helen Frank | Season 5 Episode 8: "The Glass Trap" |
| 1971 | Mannix | Mrs. Frost | Season 5 Episode 9: "A Choice of Evils" |
| 1971 | Room 222 | Mrs. Beemer | Season 3 Episode 10: "Dixon's Raiders" |
| 1971 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Cleaning Woman | Season 3 Episode 14: "Of Magic Shadow Shapes" |
| 1972 | Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole | Nurse Ferguson | Television film |
| 1972 | Adam-12 | Mary Handlin | Season 4 Episode 18: "The Adoption" |
| 1973 | Adam-12 | Ethel May | Season 6 Episode 9: "Capture" |
| 1973 | Griff | Fat Mama Jean | Season 1 Episode 10: "Hammerlock" |
| 1973 | A Dream for Christmas | Jennie Daley | Television film |
| 1973 | Love Story | Mother | Season 1 Episode 11: "A Glow of Dying Embers" |
| 1974 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Willie | Season 5 Episode 17: "Each Day a Miracle" |
| 1974 | Cannon | Mama Sally | Season 3 Episode 23: "Triangle of Terror" |
| 1974 | The Sty of the Blind Pig | Weedy Warren | Television film |
| 1974 | The Streets of San Francisco | Mrs. Anderson | Season 3 Episode 7: "Jacob's Boy" |
| 1974 | Rhoda | Nurse Charlotte | Season 1 Episode 12: "I'm a Little Late, Folks" |
| 1975 | Kolchak: The Night Stalker | Librarian | Season 1 Episode 12: "Mr. R.I.N.G." |
| 1975 | Lucas Tanner | Ellen Russell | Season 1 Episode 14: "Those Who Cannot, Teach" |
| 1975 | Kung Fu | Omar's Mother | Season 3 Episode 18: "Barbary House" |
| 1975 | Good Times | Edna | Season 2 Episode 22: "The Enlistment" |
| 1975 | Harry O | Clara Wooster | Season 2 Episode 4: "Shades" |
| 1975 | The Jeffersons | Rachel | Season 2 Episode 5: "Mother Jefferson's Fall" |
| 1975 | Police Woman | Nurse | Season 2 Episode 13: "The Hit" |
| 1976 | Police Woman | Celia Jackson | Season 3 Episode 1: "The Trick Book" |
| 1976 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Mrs. Clements | Season 7 Episode 19: "The Highest Mountain" |
| 1976 | Police Story | Mrs. Wilkins | Season 3 Episode 17: "50 Cents-First Half Hour, $1.75 All Day" |
| 1976 | Bronk | Stella | Season 1 Episode 23: "Death with Honor" |
| 1976 | Baretta | Mrs. Rich | Season 3 Episode 11: "Can't Win for Losin'" |
| 1977 | Police Woman | Mrs. Pole | Season 4 Episode 5: "Screams" |
| 1977 | Little House on the Prairie | Mrs. Henry | Season 3 Episode 18: "The Wisdom of Solomon" |
| 1979 | The Incredible Hulk | Mrs. Dennison | Season 2 Episode 13: "Like a Brother" |
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Sister Scrap Scott | Miniseries |
| 1979 | Barnaby Jones | Rose | Season 8 Episode 6: "Girl on the Road" |
| 1981 | Thornwell | Ruth Thornwell | Television film |
| 1981 | Enos | | Season 1 Episode 13: "Once and Fur All" |
| 1982 | Bare Essence | | Television film |
| 1982 | Cagney & Lacey | Elevator Operator | Season 2 Episode 6: "Internal Affairs" |
| 1983 | Bare Essence | | Season 1 Episode 4: "Hour Four" |
| 1983 | Secrets of a Mother and Daughter | Neddy | Television film |
| 1983 | Hotel | Carrie Garland | Season 1 Episode 7: "Confrontations" |
| 1984 | His Mistress | Law School Registrar | Television film |
| 1985 | Matt Houston | Ethel | Season 3 Episode 21: "Death Watch" |
| 1988 | Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs. Salim Ajami | Edna | Television film |
| 1988 | Amen | Mrs. Murray | Season 2 Episode 13: "Man on a Ledge" |
| 1988 | Side by Side | Eunice | Television film |
| 1988 | Simon & Simon | Bessie Copeland | Season 7 Episode 13: "Little Boy Dead" |