Septimus Edward Norris (March 10, 1911 – December 18, 2002) was an American film actor.

Early years

Norris was born in 1911, the son of a prominent Philadelphia

gynecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

, who was described in a newspaper article as "a famous surgeon and chief of staff at the city's largest hospital." He grew up in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania. At age 16, he dropped out of the

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver Milita ...

to marry a socially prominent physician's daughter, Virginia Bell Hiller, and took a job as a reporter.

Television

Norris made his television debut in 1951 with two appearances on ''

Fireside Theater ''Fireside Theatre'' (later known as ''Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre, Jane Wyman Theatre, The Jane Wyman Show'' and ''Jane Wyman Presents'') is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first ...

''. During the course of his 12-year span on television he made two guest appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'': "The Case of the Fiery Fingers" (1958) and "The Case of the Tarnished Trademark" (1962). He ended his film and television career the following year when he appeared on an episode of ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...

'', titled "Ghost Town".

Military service

Norris was a flying instructor in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Personal life

After Hiller, Norris was married to actresses Ann Sheridan and Lona Andre. On July 21, 1942, newspaper columnist Harrison Carroll reported that Norris "eloped to Arizona Saturday with a new Hollywood beauty who gave her name as Jane Doe." Another newspaper report said, "An affidavit on file testified that the girl's correct name was Jane Doe." The bride's real name was revealed by columnist

Jimmie Fidler Jimmie Fidler (August 26, 1898 – August 9, 1988) was an American columnist, journalist and radio and television personality. He wrote a Hollywood gossip column and was sometimes billed as Jimmy Fidler. Born James Marion Fidler in St. Loui ...

on July 30, 1942: "The girl Edward Norris married and introduced to reporters as 'Jane Doe' is June Satterlee, ex-night club hatcheck looker. She's to make a picture to be titled ''Meet Jane Doe''." In March 1943, Norris was granted a divorce from Satterlee "after testifying that she married him solely to further her career in pictures." Mickey June Satterlee was the older sister of Peggy Larue Satterlee, known for accusing

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

of statutory rape, the incident occurring when Peggy was 15 in August 1941. Both sisters were aspiring actresses. Flynn was acquitted of rape in February 1943. Norris was an avid shooter and "won many ribbons and trophies in skeet matches throughout the country." He was also a licensed pilot.

Death

Norris died on December 18, 2002, at

Fort Bragg, California Fort Bragg is a city along the North Coast (California), North Coast of California in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County. The city is west of Willits, California, Willits, at an elevation of . Its population was 6,983 at the 2020 ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Edward 1911 births 2002 deaths American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Philadelphia People from Fort Bragg, California Culver Academies alumni