Norma Terris

Norma Terris (born Norma Allison Cook; November 13, 1904 – November 15, 1989) was an American performer in musical theatre and vaudeville.

Early years Born in Columbus, Kansas, Terris was named after the heroine of Bellini's opera Norma.

Career

In the early 1920s, Hoffman and Terris debuted an act called "Junior and Terris" in Asbury Park, New Jersey. They went on to tour on the Interstate Circuit.

For 10 seasons in the 1930s and 1940s, she starred in productions at the Muny Opera in St. Louis.

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.

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. Cameo Kirby appears to be lost, and only twelve minutes of Married in Hollywood apparently survive.

Marriage Terris and Hoffman married in Houston while they were touring with their act. where she was an avid supporter of the Goodspeed Opera House, which eventually expanded and named their second theatre the Norma Terris Theatre. She later married Albert D. Firestone, son of William McKinley Firestone and Gladys Bigam Firestone of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Terris and Albert Firestone spent winters at their Palm Beach, Florida, residence (where they were major donors to the Ballet Florida) and summered in Lyme, Connecticut. Mr. Firestone, who remained dedicated to Terris' remembrance, died in 1997 at the summer residence.

Last years In 1972, Terris donated 30 acres of land on which the Norma Terris Humane Education and Nature Center was created.

Legacy In 1984, Goodspeed Musicals created a second performance venue in Chester, Connecticut, which is named the Norma Terris Theatre.