Norma Jean Nilsson
{{short description|American actress (born 1938)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Norma Jean Nilsson
| image = Norma Jean Nilsson 1946.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Nilsson in 1946
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|1|1}}
| birth_place = Hollywood, California
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1941–1959
| alma_mater =
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| children =
| known_for =
}}
Norma Jean Nilsson (born January 1, 1938) is a former child actress in old-time radio and films.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-2834-2}}. P. 203.
Early years
Nilsson is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur V. Nilsson. Her father was a professor of anatomy at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. She has an older brother, Arthur Jr.{{cite journal|title=The Little Girl Next Door|journal=Radio Mirror|date=February 1947|volume=27|issue=3|pages=46–47, 90–92|url=https://archive.org/stream/radiom00mac#page/n143/mode/2up|accessdate=1 August 2016}} She began performing when she was 3 years old and was active during World War II, entertaining troops at Army camps across the United States.
Nilsson attended Victory Garden School and Bancroft Junior High School.{{cite journal|title=These Girls Know Father Best|journal=Radio-TV Mirror|date=December 1951|volume=37|issue=1|pages=56–57, 70|url=https://archive.org/stream/radiote00macf#page/56/mode/1up|accessdate=1 August 2016}} Newspaper columnist Louella Parsons wrote in 1946 that Nilsson had an IQ of 162.{{cite news|last1=Parsons|first1=Louella|title=Hollywood|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6070147/middletown_times_herald/|work=Middletown Times Herald|agency=International News Service|date=November 16, 1946|location=New York, Middletown|page=4|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = July 31, 2016}} {{Open access}}
Radio
When Nilsson was 4 years old, she won a talent contest on Tune-Out Time on KECA. At 5, she made her "first big-time radio appearance", portraying a dying girl on Free World Theatre. At 8, her picture was featured on the cover of the July 21, 1946, issue of Radio Life magazine.
In 1947, she was the highest-paid child actress in radio. An article published in Radio and Television Mirror in 1951 reported that she was "a charter member of the Five Hundred Club, an organization of children who have appeared on five hundred or more radio broadcasts."{{cite journal|title=Father's children|journal=Radio Television Mirror|date=August 1951|volume=36|issue=3|page=18|url=https://archive.org/stream/radiote00macf#page/n135/mode/1up|accessdate=1 August 2016}}
Nilsson played Cookie (the Bumsteads' daughter) in the radio version of Blondie,Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|978-0786445134}}. pp. 45–46. Kathy (the Andersons' younger daughter) on the radio version of Father Knows Best{{r|rp|page1=115}}, Glory Mae (the "little girl who lives next door") on The Jack Carson Show.,{{cite news|title=On Our Cover|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/46/Radio-Life-1946-07-21.pdf|accessdate=2 August 2016|work=Radio Life|date=July 21, 1946|page=2}} and as the lead actress Lois to Raymond Burr's antagonist in the "Murder on Mike" (1957) episode of Suspense.
She was also heard on Luke Slaughter of Tombstone,{{cite book|last1=French|first1=Jack|last2=Siegel|first2=David S.|title=Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929–1967|date=2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1476612546|page=128|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATAFAgAAQBAJ&q=%22Norma+Jean+Nilsson%22&pg=PA128|accessdate=2 August 2016|language=en}} Cavalcade of America{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Ronald L.|title=Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices|date=2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786457298|page=219|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_-EtQwxAP4C&q=%22Norma+Jean+Nilsson%22&pg=PA219|accessdate=2 August 2016|language=en}} and the radio version of Have Gun, Will Travel.{{cite book|last1=Cox|first1=Jim|title=Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age|date=2002|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786443246|page=127|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J7fwCQAAQBAJ&q=%22Norma+Jean+Nilsson%22&pg=PA127|accessdate=2 August 2016|language=en}}
Film
Nilsson was seen in Suspense (1946),{{cite book|last1=Reid|first1=John Howard|title=Hollywood Gold: Films of the Forties and Fifties|date=2005|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9781411635241|page=145|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnjZXuE0kqUC&q=%22Norma+Jean+Nilsson%22&pg=PA145|accessdate=2 August 2016|language=en}} The Actress (1953){{cite news|title=The Actress|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmbulletin195321film#page/n525/mode/1up|accessdate=2 August 2016|work=Film Bulletin|date=August 24, 1953|page=9}} and The Green-Eyed Blonde (1957).{{cite book|last1=Maltin|first1=Leonard|title=Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965|date=2015|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9780147516824|page=269|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MIBDAAAQBAJ&q=%22Norma+Jean+Nilsson%22&pg=PA269|accessdate=2 August 2016|language=en}} She also appeared on the TV series Official Detective as Mary in the 1957 episode 'The Night It Rained Bullets'.Classic TV Archive 'CTVA' Episode Guide-US Crimes Shows
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0632288}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Norma Jean}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:American radio actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses