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Kerry Norton-Smyser
Kerry Norton in the early 1950's.
Born	Norma-Jean Norton December 7, 1927(1927-12-07) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1948–1954

Kerry Norton-Smyser (b. December 7, 1927) was an Australian actress who performed in stage shows, night-club acts, and radio shows in the early 1950s in Australia, and is best-remembered as Australia's "Blondie".

Early life

Kerry Norton was born as Norma-Jean Norton. She was an A-grade student throughout her school life, excelling in English and Grammar.

Career

Kerry Norton was a petite blonde, adding piquancy to Sydney's radio, stage and night-club world. Tom Breen, theater critc for the Sydney Sun, wrote in a derogatory manner, as did most critics, about the production "Ladies' Night In A Turkish Bath" at the Empire Theater in 1951, starring old vaudeville master Jim Gerald, assisted by a number of scantily-dressed lovely ladies; but, when he came to discussing the cast, he noted: "Kerry Norton was curvacity itself, and her script delivery had a sure-fire quality about it that made her outstanding."

Kerry Norton had a voice quality that enabled her to be heard at the back of the theater without shouting, and in appearance she was most attractive. Certainly positive attributes for someone wanting to be an actress.

Her first stage appearance was a minor role in Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday" in 1948 for J.C. Williamson's at the Royal; at the same time when she was taking acting lessons at the Independent and in 1949 she took part in the Independent's production of "Father Malachy's Miracle". That same year she auditioned for Radio 2GB-Macquarie and gained an A-Grade pass, which meant she started acting for 2GB almost immediately.

That year she was in Kay Keavney's serial "Nurse White"; she was Diana Reed in "Superman"; and she was in the Caltex Theater play "Prison Without Bars", which starred Babs Mayhew, Peter Bathurst, and Betty McDowall. At the same time she was working as a secretary to 2GB writer Bob MacKinnon, typing his scripts as he dictated them. She declared that anyone who wanted to make a career as an actress should have a permanent job until well established.

This secretarial stint came to an end early in 1950. On 2UE she won the important role of Angel White in "Hagen's Circus", written by Max Afford; she was in episodes of "I Hate Crime", starring Ken Wayne as Larry Kent; and she was part of the team working with the inimitable comedian Mo in Allen's "Cavalcade". For 2GB she was in the serial "Kitty Foyle" and she had her first starring role in the Caltex Theater in "Adam And Evelyne" with Reg Goldsworthy. On stage, she replaced Betty Lucas, who was leaving for England, in "One Wild Oat" at the Palace Theater. This was followed by "Madam Louise". Both these light comedies were written by Vernon Sylvaine.

After the Sydney season, Norton toured in both of these productions to the Kings Theater in Melbourne. She then started working with Jack Davey in "The Club Show", continuing to work with him for more than two years, when she went to America.

Important parts in radio plays continued in 1951: a lead in the Actor's Choice play "A Star Reborn" on 2UE; the General Motors Hour play "He Came To Stay", starring Allan Trevor, and the Caltex play "The Dark Corner", starring Neva Carr Glyn and Moray Powell on 2GB. On stage she acted with Hollywood comedian Mischa Auer in Benn Levy's comedy "Springtime For Henry", which played at the Theater Royal in Sydney, toured NSW country towns, then played in Hobart, Tasmania.

At the Independent, she appeared in "Anna Lucasta", a powerful play by Phillip Yordan, starring American actress Ellen Morgan. Again, Tom Breen, theater critic for the Sydney Sun, is quoted: "Kerry Norton was noteworthy for her devestatingly real depiction of a waterfront harlot." Norton was thrilled with what was obviously a good notice, but she said: "I don't know if I was real or not. I've never met a waterfront harlot."

Around this time, Kerry Norton reached what she considered the peak of her radio career. Ron Beck, former producer of the Colgate-Palmolive shows, had entered into production with his own company. He obtained scripts of "Blondie", the American show based on Chic Young's comic strip, and set about producing an Australian version of them. Willie Fennell played Dagwood Bumstead, Blondie's rather put-upon husband, but competition for the title role was very keen. Kerry Norton won it from a large field of auditioning actresses. "Blondie" went to air in November 1951, but its run was not to be a long one. The threat of legal action from the United States brought it to an abrupt end. Kerry Norton, however, will always be remembered as Australia's "Blondie".

Norton did a good deal of radio work for the ABC: Anna in Clifford Odets' "The Golden Boy"; Letta in Arthur Miller's "Death Of A Salesman", starring Edward Howell; roles in Rex Rienits' "Wide Boy", Elmer Rice's "Counselor At Law", and the serial "Stranger Come In", written and produced by Max Afford. On stage she played Olive in John Van Druten's "The Voice Of The Turtle" produced by Sydney John Kay for the Mercury Theater, and at the Metropolitan Theater she was in the satirical revue "Merry-Go-Round", produced by Bill Orr, the forerunner of the famous Phillip Street Revues.

Special mention must be made of the hilarious version of the balcony scene from "Romeo And Juliet" which convulsed patrons at the Celebrity night-club. Norton's Romeo was Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, former boxing champion. She played Juliet straight, with the boxer sending-up Romeo uproariously, to the delight of all.

In March 1954, Kerry Norton married Jack Smyser, a highly-placed executive from Pan American Airways, and they went to America to live. After the sudden death of her husband, Jack, and later her son, Kerry Norton-Smyser returned to Australia, where she now lives in Bondi, Sydney.