Joan Crawford

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Lore & Background

Maidie Norman was born Maidie Ruth Gamble on a plantation in Villa Rica, Georgia, to Louis and Lila Graham Gamble. She was raised in Lima, Ohio, and began studying drama and performing in Shakespeare plays as a child. She graduated from Central High School in Lima in 1930, earned a Bachelor of Arts from Bennett College in 1934, and a master's degree in drama at Columbia University in 1937. She married real-estate broker McHenry Norman on December 22, 1937, and later used his surname as her professional name. Norman made her stage debut in 1949 as Honey in Deep Are the Roots at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. She appeared in her only leading role in 1951, playing Martha Crawford in The Well. One of her more memorable roles was as the ill-fated housekeeper Elvira Stitt in Robert Aldrich's 1962 horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. In a 1995 interview, Norman recalled that the character was originally written as a "doltish, yessum character"; she rewrote the dialogue to dignify the character. During the 1960s and for the remainder of her career, Norman appeared mainly in television roles because she believed more opportunities existed for African-American performers in the medium. At the height of her career during the 1950s, Norman toured colleges lecturing on African-American literature and theater. From 1955 to 1956, she taught at the University of Texas at Tyler. She was also an artist-in-residence at Stanford University from 1968 to 1969. In 1970, she created and taught a course in African-American theater history at UCLA—the first course devoted to the subject of African-American studies in the college's history. Norman taught at UCLA until 1977. In her honor, UCLA established the Maidie Norman Research Award for the best student essay on African-American film or theater.

Reader's Guide

Maidie Norman's career is marked by her refusal to play roles that deprived black women of their dignity. She initially found it difficult to find positive roles for African-American women and felt limited to playing maids and domestics, but she refused to portray these characters in a subservient or stereotypical manner. She later said, "In the beginning, I made a pledge that I would play no role that deprived black women of their dignity." This commitment is exemplified by her work on What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, where she rewrote her character's dialogue to remove what she called "old slavery-time talk."

Norman's teaching career was equally significant. She created the first course in African-American theater history at UCLA in 1970, and the university later established the Maidie Norman Research Award in her honor. She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977, received a professional artist award from the California Educational Theatre Association in 1985, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bennett College in 1992. Norman died of lung cancer on May 2, 1998, at her son's home in San Jose, California, aged 85. Her funeral was held at the Alum Rock United Methodist Church in San Jose on May 12. She was cremated per The Neptune Society of Central California and her ashes scattered at sea.

Did You Know?

• Maidie Norman rewrote her dialogue in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? to remove what she called 'old slavery-time talk' and dignify her character.
• She created and taught the first course in African-American theater history at UCLA in 1970.
• Norman was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bennett College, her alma mater, in 1992.
• She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977.
• Norman died of lung cancer on May 2, 1998, at her son's home in San Jose, California, aged 85.