Norma Terris

Norma Terris (November 13, 1904, Columbus, Kansas – November 15, 1989, Lyme, Connecticut) was an American musical theatre star. Her mother, a singer, named her after the heroine of Bellini's opera, Norma.

Born Norma Allison Cook, she was acclaimed for her adroit impersonations of popular public figures, which she had performed in Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies, but may be best known for having originated the roles of Magnolia Hawks and her daughter Kim (as an adult) in the original Broadway production of Show Boat in 1927. She reprised her role in the first New York revival of the show in 1932. However, she was not selected to reprise her role in the 1929 part-talkie film, nor in the 1936 film version.

Irene Dunne, who was discovered for Hollywood in the first touring company of Show Boat, would make her film debut in 1929, and go on to become one of the greatest stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. It was Dunne who eventually eclipsed Terris as Magnolia, playing the role in the 1936 film. Rather than have Dunne also play the role of Kim in the movie, the producers chose musical comedy star Sunnie O'Dea for the role. [1]

Terris was originally chosen to play the dual roles of Moonyean Clare and her niece Kathleen in Through the Years, Vincent Youmans's 1932 musical version of Jane Cowl's once-popular play, Smilin' Through, but she was replaced at the last minute. The musical was a failure, but in 2001, it was given a highly acclaimed studio cast recording. She made two films during the early days of talking pictures - Married In Hollywood, and the 1930 version of Cameo Kirby, which was, like Show Boat, a riverboat musical involving a gambler. [2] Cameo Kirby appears to be lost, and only twelve minutes of Married in Hollywood apparently survive. [3][4]

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