Nora Boland

Short, round and sweet-faced, she was a little butterball of sunshine (no more than 5 feet tall) topped by a tight, adorable, tangerine Orphan Annie-like frizz. Character actress Nora Boland was one of a host of endearing character ladies who fell into their careers quite late in life. Born Nora Madeleine Webb on December 14, 1929 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, she had pursued theater here and there for much of her life but was comfortably settled in as a married lady and a mother several times over by the time she decided to plant her feet more firmly into the entertainment business. She couldn't miss. Despite a minor presence in films and on TV, she would effortlessly steal focus with a simple glazed look or act of befuddlement. Add to that was a wonderfully hearty, squawk-like laugh that seemed so mischievous in nature and could be quite infectious. Making her film debut at age 48 in a small role in Gene Wilder's The World's Greatest Lover (1977), Nora lent her gleeful disposition t