Norma Varden

Norma Varden (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989) was a British-born American actress with a long film career.

Life and career

Early life

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.

Theater career

In England, Varden was a protoge of actress Kate Rorke. She acted in repertory theaterand made her West End 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 began to appear in British films, usually in haughty upper-class roles.

Move to America and film career

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), Jupiter's Darling (1955), and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). She played the housekeeper Frau Schmidt in The Sound of Music (1965). Two years later, she had a minor part as Lady Petherington in Doctor Dolittle (1967).

Television career

She had a recurring role in the 1960s NBC sitcom Hazel as Harriet Johnson. She appeared on CBS's I Love Lucy as "Mrs. Benson", the neighbor with whom the Ricardos switch apartments after the birth of Little Ricky in 1953. She was cast as Mrs. Murdock in the 1961 episode "The Swedish Girl" on ABC's The Real McCoys. She appeared on CBS's Perry Mason as Winifred Wileen in the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Illicit Illusion." She also appeared on the 7th season episode of The Beverly Hillbillies "Problem Bear" as the snobby socialite, Mrs. Vanransenhoff, who went home with Granny to get gossip on Mrs. Drysdale.

Personal life

She became a naturalized United States citizen on 28 January 1949.

Varden died of heart failure in Santa Barbara, California, on the day before her 91st birthday.

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 Highwayman (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)