17 Facts About Maidie Norman

Maidie Ruth Norman was an American radio, stage, film, and television actress as well as an instructor in African-American literature and theater.

Maidie Norman was raised in Lima, Ohio, and began studying drama and performing in Shakespeare plays as a child.

Maidie Norman graduated from Central High School in Lima in 1930, and attended Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1934.

Maidie Norman then got her master's degree in drama at Columbia University in 1937.

Maidie Norman married real-estate broker McHenry Norman on December 22,1937.

Maidie Norman later used her husband's surname as her professional name.

Maidie Norman made her stage debut in 1949 as Honey in Deep Are the Roots at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles.

In 1947, Maidie Norman made her film debut in The Peanut Man.

Maidie Norman initially found it difficult to find positive roles in films for African-American women and felt limited in playing maids and domestics.

Maidie Norman appeared in her only leading role in 1951, playing Martha Crawford in The Well.

Maidie Norman rewrote the dialogue, which she called "old slavery-time talk", in an effort to dignify the character.

At the height of her career during the 1950s, Maidie Norman toured colleges lecturing on African-American literature and theater.

Maidie Norman was an artist-in-residence at Stanford University from 1968 to 1969.

In 1977, Norman married Weldon D Canada, to whom she remained married until her death.

Maidie Norman died of lung cancer on May 2,1998, at her son's home in San Jose, California, aged 85.

Maidie Norman was cremated per The Neptune Society and her ashes scattered at sea.

In 1992, Maidie Norman was awarded an honorary doctorate from Bennett College, her alma mater.