Norma Varden

Norma Varden
Credits
Role	Lucille Dumont
Biographical Information
Birth Name	Norma Varden Shackleton
Birthdate	January 20, 1898
Birthplace	London, England, United Kingdom
Death Date	January 19, 1989 (age 90)
Death Place	Santa Barbara, California, United States

Norma Varden portrayed Lucille Dumont in the third season episode, "Oedipus Hex" (1966).

Biography

Norma Varden was an English-American actress. She was born Norma Varden Shackleton on January 20, 1898 in London, England.

Daughter of a retired sea captain, 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 located in the City of London and made her first stage appearance as Mrs. Darling in a production of Peter Pan. She acted in repertory theatre and made her West End debut in a stage adaptation of 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. At the same time, she began appearing in British films in uncredited roles, usually playing a genteel upper-class wife or widow, although she never married in real life. Her first credited film role was in Tom Walls' 1933 Turkey Time. Varden's English film roles led to offers from Hollywood, and she moved there at the start of World War II. She became a naturalized United States citizen on January 28, 1949.

In Hollywood, she played minor or supporting roles in over sixty films, including several classics such as Billy Wilder's 1942 The Major and the Minor, Michael Curtiz's 1942 Casablanca, Mervyn LeRoy's 1942 Random Harvest, Robert Wise's 1944 Mademoiselle Fifi, Clarence Brown's 1944 National Velvet, Victor Saville's 1946 The Green Years, Fred M. Wilcox's 1949 The Secret Garden, Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 Strangers on a Train (alongside Marion Lorne and Kasey Rogers), Douglas Sirk's 1951 Thunder on the Hill (alongside Queenie Leonard), Howard Hawks's 1953 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Billy Wilder's 1957 Witness for the Prosecution, Robert Wise's 1965 The Sound of Music, and Richard Fleischer's 1967 Doctor Dolittle.

She also appeared on television beginning in December 26, 1952 with the role of Mrs. Wentworth in the Mr. & Mrs. North episode, "Silent Butler" (season one, episode thirteen). She subsequently had guest roles on numerous series, including I Love Lucy, Adventures of Superman, I Married Joan, General Electric Theater, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Four Star Playhouse, The Red Skelton Show, Private Secretary, Letter to Loretta, Mr. Adams and Eve, The Life of Riley, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Betty Hutton Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Disneyland, 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, The Third Man, The Real McCoys, Perry Mason, The Lucy Show, Batman, and The Beverly Hillbillies.

She was best-known for her portrayal of Harriet Johnson in the television series Hazel (1961-1964).

She retired in 1969 and spent her remaining active years with the Screen Actors Guild, lobbying for better health benefits for older actors.

Norma Varden died of heart failure on January 19, 1989 in Santa Barbara, California, the day before her 91st birthday.

Sources

• Norma Varden on the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on February 2, 2025. Updated on June 9, 2025.
• Norma Varden on Wikipedia. Retrieved on June 9, 2025.