Norma Jean Nilsson
Nilsson in 1946
Born (1938-01-01) January 1, 1938
Hollywood, California
OccupationActress
Years active1941–1959

Norma Jean Nilsson (born January 1, 1938) is a former child actress in old-time radio and films.[1]

Early years

Nilsson is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur V. Nilsson. Her father was a professor of anatomy at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. She has an older brother, Arthur Jr.[2] She began performing when she was 3 years old and was active during World War II, entertaining troops at Army camps across the United States.[3]

Nilsson attended Victory Garden School and Bancroft Junior High School.[4] Newspaper columnist Louella Parsons wrote in 1946 that Nilsson had an IQ of 162.[5]

Radio

When Nilsson was 4 years old, she won a talent contest on Tune-Out Time on KECA. At 5, she made her "first big-time radio appearance", portraying a dying girl on Free World Theatre. At 8, her picture was featured on the cover of the July 21, 1946, issue of Radio Life magazine.[6]

In 1947, she was the highest-paid child actress in radio.[2] An article published in Radio and Television Mirror in 1951 reported that she was "a charter member of the Five Hundred Club, an organization of children who have appeared on five hundred or more radio broadcasts."[3]

Nilsson played Cookie (the Bumsteads' daughter) in the radio version of Blondie,[7] Kathy (the Andersons' younger daughter) on the radio version of Father Knows Best[7]: 115 , Glory Mae (the "little girl who lives next door") on The Jack Carson Show.,[6] and as the lead actress Lois to Raymond Burr's antagonist in the "Murder on Mike" (1957) episode of Suspense.

She was also heard on Luke Slaughter of Tombstone,[8] Cavalcade of America[9] and the radio version of Have Gun, Will Travel.[10]

Film

Nilsson was seen in Suspense (1946),[11] The Actress (1953)[12] and The Green-Eyed Blonde (1957).[13] She also appeared on the TV series Official Detective as Mary in the 1957 episode 'The Night It Rained Bullets'.[14]

References

  1. ↑ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 203.
  2. 1 2 "The Little Girl Next Door". Radio Mirror. 27 (3): 46–47, 90–92. February 1947. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Father's children". Radio Television Mirror. 36 (3): 18. August 1951. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "These Girls Know Father Best". Radio-TV Mirror. 37 (1): 56–57, 70. December 1951. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  5. ↑ Parsons, Louella (November 16, 1946). "Hollywood". Middletown Times Herald. New York, Middletown. International News Service. p. 4. Retrieved July 31, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. 1 2 "On Our Cover" (PDF). Radio Life. July 21, 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  7. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0786445134. pp. 45–46.
  8. ↑ French, Jack; Siegel, David S. (2013). Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929–1967. McFarland. p. 128. ISBN 978-1476612546. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  9. ↑ Smith, Ronald L. (2010). Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices. McFarland. p. 219. ISBN 978-0786457298. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  10. ↑ Cox, Jim (2002). Radio Crime Fighters: More Than 300 Programs from the Golden Age. McFarland. p. 127. ISBN 978-0786443246. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  11. ↑ Reid, John Howard (2005). Hollywood Gold: Films of the Forties and Fifties. Lulu.com. p. 145. ISBN 9781411635241. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Actress". Film Bulletin. August 24, 1953. p. 9. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  13. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2015). Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965. Penguin. p. 269. ISBN 9780147516824. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  14. ↑ Classic TV Archive 'CTVA' Episode Guide-US Crimes Shows
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