Edward Norris

Although a veteran of over 70 feature films including many grade A classics, Norris was best known as the star of many Bs, thanks to his appearances in innumerable second features during the 1930s and 1940s. The son of a prominent gynecologist, Dr. Richard Cooper Norris, he grew up in Philadelphia. At 16 he dropped out of the Culver Military Academy to marry a socially prominent physician's daughter, and took a job as a reporter. When the marriage ended two years later, Edward spent time on the west coast where a chance meeting with famed director, William A. Wellman netted him his first film work, as a double for actor Buddy Rogers in the World War I classic, Wings (1927). Taking Wellman's advice, Norris headed back east in 1928 to gain acting experience in stage productions and traveling shows. By 1933 he was back in Hollywood where he soon won a small role in Rouben Mamoulian's Queen Christina (1933), starring Greta Garbo. His film debut landed him a long-term contract with MGM who