Norma Crane
Norma Crane (born Norma Anna Bella Zuckerman; November 10, 1928 — September 28, 1973) was an American actress of stage, film and television best-known for her role as Golde in the 1971 film adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof. She also starred in They Call Me Mister Tibbs! and Penelope. Crane was born in New York City but raised in El Paso, Texas.[1]
Norma Crane | |
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Crane in 1966 | |
Born | Norma Anna Bella Zuckerman November 10, 1928 New York City, U.S. |
Died | September 28, 1973 44) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Resting place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1951–1973 |
Spouse(s) | Herb Sargent (m. 1961; div. 19??) |
Biography
Born to a Jewish family in New York City and raised in El Paso, Crane studied drama at Texas State College for Women in Denton,[2] and was a member of Elia Kazan's Actors Studio.[3] She made her debut on Broadway in Arthur Miller's play The Crucible.[1]
Throughout the 1950s, she appeared on a variety of live television dramas, first gaining recognition in a televised adaptation of George Orwell's 1984.[1] She played Ellie Martin in Vincente Minnelli's film version of Tea and Sympathy. She appeared in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "There Was an Old Woman" the 1958 episode "The Equalizer" and the 1959 episode “Appointment at Eleven”. She guest-starred four times on the CBS western television series Have Gun – Will Travel with Richard Boone. She appeared on an episode of ABC's The Untouchables as Lily Dallas, a ruthless gang leader, and she appeared in two other episodes.[4]
In 1960, Crane appeared as Sarah Prentice in the episode "River Champion" of the NBC western series Riverboat starring Darren McGavin. A few weeks later, Crane was cast as Sarah in the episode "Deadly Tomorrow" of the ABC adventure series The Islanders, set in the South Pacific.
In 1961, Crane guest-starred in the title role in the episode "The Return of Widow Brown" of the NBC western The Deputy. She also appeared on television that year in an episode titled "Perce" on Gunsmoke, as well as in an episode of The Asphalt Jungle. In 1965, Crane guest-starred as Mrs. Mavis Hull in The Fugitive episode "Masquerade" as well as a 1968 episode of The Flying Nun.
Personal life
In 1961, she married writer-producer Herb Sargent; the marriage ended in divorce. [5]
Death
Crane died of breast cancer, aged 44, in Los Angeles, California, two years after the release of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), her last film. She is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1956 | Tea and Sympathy | Ellie Martin | |
1961 | All in a Night's Work | Marge Coombs | |
1966 | Penelope | Mildred | |
1968 | The Sweet Ride | Mrs. Cartwright | |
1970 | They Call Me Mister Tibbs! | Marge Garfield | |
1971 | Fiddler on the Roof | Golde |
References
- "Norma Crane, Starred in 'Fiddler'". St. Petersburg Times. 1973-09-29. p. 11-B. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- "New Carol Lombard". The Baltimore Sun. 1961-09-03. p. A6. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 280. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- IMDB Norma Crane bio and filmography
- Finstad, Suzanne (2009). Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. Crown p. 308. ISBN 978-0-3074-2866-0.