Norma Varden

Norma Varden
Norma Varden in Casablanca
Born	20 January 1898(1898-01-20) London, England, UK
Died	19 January 1989(1989-01-19) (aged 90) Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1931-69

Norma Varden (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989) was an English actress with a long film career in Hollywood.

Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea-captain, Varden was a child prodigy. She trained as a concert pianist in Paris and performed in England before deciding to take up acting. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and made her first appearance as Mrs Darling in Peter Pan.

She acted in rep and made her West End theatre debut in The Wandering Jew in 1920. From Shakespeare to farce, she established herself as a regular member of the Aldwych Theatre company where she appeared in plays from 1929 to 1933. She then began to appear in British films, usually in haughty upper-class roles.

Visiting California with her ailing mother in the 1940s, she decided to settle permanently there and began her American film career. She appeared in Casablanca (1942), The Major and the Minor (1942), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), National Velvet (1944), The Green Years (1946), Forever Amber (1947), Strangers on a Train (1951), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and The Sound of Music (1965).

She had a recurring role in the 1960s sitcom Hazel as Harriet Johnson, the Baxters' dotty neighbor.

She died of natural causes on the day before her 91st birthday, in Santa Barbara, California.

Filmography

• The Glorious Adventure (1922)
• A Night Like This (1932)
• Happy (1933)
• Turkey Time (1933)
• Crime on the Hill (1933)
• Evergreen (1934)
• Dirty Work (1934)
• The Iron Duke (1934)
• Music Hath Charms (1935)
• The Student's Romance (1935)
• Boys Will Be Boys (1935)
• Stormy Weather (1935)
• Foreign Affaires (1935)
• Get Off My Foot (1935)
• The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss (1936)
• Where There's a Will (1936)
• Windbag the Sailor (1936)
• East Meets West (1936)
• Strange Adventures of Mr. Smith (1937)
• Fire Over England (1937)
• Wanted! (1937)
• The Lilac Domino (1937)
• Make-Up (1937)
• Rhythm Racketeer (1937)
• Fools for Scandal (1938)
• You're the Doctor (1938)
• Everything Happens to Me (1938)
• Home from Home (1939)
• Little Ladyship (1939, TV film)
• Shipyard Sally (1939)
• The Earl of Chicago (1940)
• Waterloo Bridge (1940)
• Hit Parade of 1941 (1940)
• A Date with Destiny (1941)
• Mr. District Attorney (1941)
• Scotland Yard (1941)
• Road to Zanzibar (1941)
• Hearts in Springtime (1941)
• We Were Dancing (1942)
• Flying with Music (1942)
• The Major and the Minor (1942)
• The Glass Key (1942)
• Casablanca (1942)
• Random Harvest (1942)
• Johnny Doughboy (1942)
• Slightly Dangerous (1943)
• Dixie (1943)
• The Good Fellows (1943)
• Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943)
• My Kingdom for a Cook (1943)
• The Beautiful Cheat (1943)
• Mademoiselle Fifi (1944)
• The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
• National Velvet (1944)
• Bring on the Girls (1945)
• Those Endearing Young Charms (1945)
• The Cheaters (1945)
• Girls of the Big House (1945)
• Hold That Blonde (1945)
• The Green Years (1946)
• The Searching Wind (1946)
• Millie's Daughter (1947)
• The Trouble with Women (1947)
• Ivy (1947)
• Thunder in the Valley (1947)
• Forever Amber (1947)
• Where There's Life (1947)
• Mr. Ashton Was Indiscreet (1947)
• The Spiritualist (1948)
• The Scar (1948)
• Let's Live a Little (1948)
• My Own True Love (1949)
• The Secret Garden (1949)
• Bachelor Bait (1949)
• Fancy Pants (1950)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)
• The Highwaymen (1951)
• Bonaventure (1951)
• Target for Scandal (1952)
• Les Miserables (1952)
• Something for the Birds (1952)
• Young Bess (1953)
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
• Loose in London (1953)
• Elephant Walk (1954)
• Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
• The Silver Chalice (1954)
• Jupiter's Darling (1955)
• The Birds and the Bees (1956)
• Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
• In the Money (1958)
• The Buccaneer (1958)
• The Miracle (1959)
• Five Minutes to Live (1961)
• Rome Adventure (1962)
• Island of Love (1963)
• 13 Frightened Girls! (1963)
• Kisses for My President (1964)
• A Very Special Favor (1965)
• The Sound of Music (1965)
• Doctor Dolittle (1967)
• The Impossible Years (1968)
• Istanbul Express (1969, TV film)
• Doc (1969, TV film)

External links

• Norma Varden at the Internet Movie Database
• Norma Varden at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Varden, Norma
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	20 January 1898
Place of birth	London, England, UK
Date of death	19 January 1989
Place of death	Santa Barbara, California, U.S.