Christine Norman
{{Short description|American stage actress and playwright (born 1886/7)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Christine Norman
| image =Christine Norman and Jennie Lamont in The Unchastened Woman.png
| imagesize =
| caption =Christine Norman (left) and Jennie Lamont in The Unchastened Woman (1915)
| birth_name = Anna Christine Norman
| birth_date = 1886/1887
| birth_place = Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date = March 6, 1930
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| othername = Mrs. Enos Booth
| occupation = Actress, playwright
| yearsactive = 1909-1930
| spouse = Enos S. Booth (1919 - 1930, her death)
| children =
| parents =
}}
Anna Christine Norman (1886/87-1930) was an American stage actress and playwright.
Early years
Career
Norman 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).{{cite web |title=Christine Norman |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/christine-norman-54633 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |accessdate=23 October 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023182921/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/christine-norman-54633 |archivedate=23 October 2018}}
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
Norman married Enos Booth in 1919. In 1928, she tried unsuccessfully to divorce him.
She was considered a great Broadway beauty and had her portrait painted by Neysa McMein.[https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1930-03-06/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1930&index=1&rows=20&words=Christine+Norman&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1930&proxtext=christine+norman&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1 "STAGE BEAUTY DIES IN 20-STORY PLUNGE"]. Associated Press/Evening Star, p. 1, March 6, 1930.
Death and legacy
On March 6, 1930, Norman committed suicide by jumping from the 20th floor of her hotel.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3849922/christine_news_death/ Brooklyn Daily Eagle]"20-Story Leap Fatal To Christine Norman"; March 6, 1930 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.Kapoor, Priya; Jaishanker, Nandita (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=R-Eo0JpgmrwC&dq=christine+norman+suicide+1930&pg=PA40 VIPs: Very Important Pets]. Roli Books Private Limited, p. 40. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved October 11, 2018 (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 ..."{{cite news |title=Will of Actress Is Upheld |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24778955/christine_norman/ |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |agency=Associated Press |date=October 23, 1930 |location=Missouri, St. Louis |page=17|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 23, 2018}} {{Open access}} The amount left for perpetual care of her dog's grave was reported as $500 in other articles.){{cite news |title=From Capper's Weekly |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24779142/christine_norman/ |work=The Galena Journal |date=July 4, 1930 |location=Kansas, Galena |page=2|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 23, 2018}} {{Open access}}{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Jack |title=The Grim Conclusion of a Mother-Daughter Epic of Hate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24779528/christine_norman/ |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=August 12, 1934 |location=Missouri, St. Louis |page=50|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 23, 2018}} {{Open access}} 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".
See also
- List of suicides
- Clara Bloodgood
- Leona Helmsley (who also left huge money to her dog)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/christine-norman-54633 Christine Norman at IBDb.com]
- [https://collections.mcny.org/CS.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&VBID=24UAYW5OG731C&SMLS=1&RW=1042&RH=649 Stage portraits] (City Museum of New York)
- [https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=christine+norman Cluster photos](New York Public Library,Billy Rose collection)
- [https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/mccalls-magazine-december-1923-1882858888 Christine Norman] on the front cover of McCall's magazine December 1923(archived)
- [https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/agp-568-vintage-photo-stage-actress-1816724096 1916 portrait](archived)
- [https://vaudeville.library.arizona.edu/wp-content/uploads/azu_ms421_b65_f3_pg129.jpg portrait circa 1910](Univ. of Arizona)
- [https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tiBFDBu-eC8/TKYYuDtis4I/AAAAAAAACLQ/MgBww2LkAj0/s1600/06ChristineNorman.jpg studio portrait](Stage Whispers)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Christine}}
Category:Suicides by jumping in New York City