Norma Mitchell Explained

Norma Mitchell
Other Names:Norma Steele, Norma Talbot (married names)
Birth Name:Norma Stafford Mitchell
Birth Date:May 8, 1884
Birth Place:Eastham, Massachusetts
Death Date:May 29, 1967
Death Place:Greenwich, Connecticut
Occupation:Actress, writer
Notable Works:Cradle Snatchers (1925), Post Road (1934)
Spouse(S):Wilbur Daniel Steele, Hayden Talbot

Norma Stafford Mitchell (May 8, 1884 – May 29, 1967) was an American actress and writer.

Early life

Mitchell was born in Eastham, Massachusetts, the daughter of George William Mitchell and Mary Louisa Horton Mitchell. Her father was a mining engineer.

Career

Mitchell appeared in Broadway comedies, including The Call of the Cricket (1910), The Truth Wagon (1912),[1] [2] Her Husband's Wife (1917),[3] March Hares (1921), To the Ladies (1922), The Goldfish (1922), Why Not? (1922), The New Poor (1924), and Dancing Mothers (1924). She also acted in the films The Woman Accused (1933),[4] Melody in Spring (1934), and Susan and God (1940).

Mitchell wrote Cradle Snatchers (1925) with Russell G. Medcraft,[5] a comedy starring Mary Boland, Edna May Oliver, and a young Humphrey Bogart;[6] it was adapted for the screen three times, as Cradle Snatchers (1927), as Why Leave Home? (1929), and as Cole Porter's musical Let's Face It (1943).[7] [8] Mitchell and Medcraft collaborated again in writing Buy, Buy, Baby (1926).[9] Mitchell also wrote a sketch, "Her Morning Bath", made popular in 1926 by vaudeville star Charlotte Greenwood.[10] [11]

Mitchell and her second husband cowrote the plays Any Woman (1934)[12] and Post Road (1934–1935),[13] [14] "a stubborn but not untalented play that refuses to make its peace with the theatre", according to critic Brooks Atkinson.[15] Post Road was adapted for television in 1952 for Robert Montgomery Presents, and again in 1956 for Encounter. Her final play on Broadway was Autumn Hill (1942), written with John Harris.[16]

Personal life

Mitchell married twice.[17] Her first husband was journalist and playwright Hayden Talbot, father of editor Betsy Blackwell; they married in 1913 and divorced in 1921.[18] Her second husband was writer Wilbur Daniel Steele;[19] they married in 1932, in London.[20] Steele survived her when she died in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1967, aged 83 years.[21]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hines. Dixie. Who's who in Music and Drama. Hanaford. Harry Prescott. 1914. H.P. Hanaford. 433. en.
  2. Book: Jordon, Sanger &. Catalogue of Plays, 1916. 1916. Sanger & Jordan. 171. en.
  3. January 20, 1917. New Attractions for New York Playgoers. Dramatic Mirror. 77. 7.
  4. Book: Glancy, Mark. Cary Grant, the Making of a Hollywood Legend. 2020-09-25. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-005313-0. 505. en.
  5. Book: Cradle Snatchers. Samuel French, Inc.. 978-0-573-60733-2. en.
  6. News: Allen. Kelcy. September 8, 1925. 'Cradle Snatchers', Succession of Hearty Laughs, Opens at Music Box. 6. Women's Wear. ProQuest.
  7. Book: Mordden, Ethan. Beautiful Mornin': The Broadway Musical in the 1940s. 1999. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-512851-2. 13. en.
  8. Book: Fisher. James. Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism. Londré. Felicia Hardison. 2017-11-22. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-1-5381-0786-7. 164. en.
  9. Book: Tucker, David C.. Shirley Booth: A Biography and Career Record. 2008-03-11. McFarland. 978-0-7864-3600-2. 141. en.
  10. Book: Hayter-Menzies, Grant. Charlotte Greenwood: The Life and Career of the Comic Star of Vaudeville, Radio and Film. 2007-04-18. McFarland. 978-0-7864-2995-0. 141, 234. en.
  11. News: Mantle. Burns. 1925-09-13. Cussing Drama's New Start. 141. Daily News. 2021-09-11. Newspapers.com.
  12. News: 'Any Woman' . The Brooklyn Daily Eagle . August 28, 1934 . Brooklyn, New York . 9 . Newspapers.com.
  13. Book: Kabatchnik, Amnon. Blood on the Stage, 1925-1950: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection : an Annotated Repertoire. 2010. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-6963-9. 403–405. en.
  14. Book: Post Road, by Wilbur Steele & Norma Mitchell. 1936. Montreal Repertory Theatre. en.
  15. News: Atkinson. Brooks. December 5, 1934. The Play: Lucile Watson in a Mystery Comedy by Wilbur Daniel Steele and Norma Mitchell. 28. The New York Times. ProQuest.
  16. April 25, 1942. Autumn Hill. Billboard. 10.
  17. News: January 15, 1932. Wilbur Daniel Steele Marries in London. 18. ProQuest.
  18. News: June 12, 1913. Author Talbot Weds Actress Saturday. Los Angeles Herald. September 11, 2021. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  19. News: 1929-07-28. Author Seeking Older America. 1. The Spokesman-Review. 2021-09-11. Newspapers.com.
  20. News: 1932-01-15. U.S. Writers Wed in London. 29. The Pittsburgh Press. 2021-09-11. Newspapers.com.
  21. News: 1967-05-30. Norma Mitchell, Actress, Dead; Co-Author of 'Cradle Snatchers'. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-09-11. 0362-4331.

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