Overview
From Wikipedia
Norma Terris (November 13, 1904, Columbus, Kansas - November
15, 1989, Lyme, Connecticut) was an American musical theatre star. Her mother,
a singer, named her after the heroine of Bellini's opera, Norma.
Born Norma Allison, she was acclaimed for her adroit
impersonations of popular public figures, which she had performed in Florenz
Ziegfeld's Follies, but may be best known for having originated the roles of
Magnolia Hawks and her daughter Kim (as an adult) in the original Broadway
production of Show Boat in 1927. Terris was originally chosen to play the dual roles of
Moonyean Clare and her niece Kathleen in Through the Years, Vincent Youmans's
1932 musical version of Jane Cowl's once-popular play, Smilin' Through, but she
was replaced at the last minute. The musical was a failure, but in 2001, it was
given a highly acclaimed studio cast recording. She made two films during the
early days of talking pictures - Married In Hollywood, and the 1930 version of
Cameo Kirby, which was, like Show Boat, a riverboat musical involving a
gambler. Cameo Kirby appears to be lost, and only twelve minutes of Married in
Hollywood apparently survive.
