Norma Barzman

American screenwriter (1920–2023) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Norma Levor Barzman (September 15, 1920 – December 17, 2023) was an American journalist, screenwriter, actress and novelist[1] who was active in the film industry in the Golden Age of Hollywood.[2][3][4]

Born
Norma Levor

(1920-09-15)September 15, 1920
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 17, 2023(2023-12-17) (aged 103)
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • actress
Quick facts Born, Died ...
Norma Barzman
Publicity Photo of Norma Barzman
Born
Norma Levor

(1920-09-15)September 15, 1920
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 17, 2023(2023-12-17) (aged 103)
Alma materRadcliffe College
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • actress
Years active1946–2000
Spouses
  • (m. 1940; div. 1941)
  • (m. 1942; died 1989)
Children7, including Paolo
Close

Life and career

Barzman was born into a Jewish family on September 15, 1920, in Manhattan, New York City.[5] She attended Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[6] She started her career in 1946 writing the original story for Never Say Goodbye and The Locket. Later, she also wrote Finishing School (1952) and Il triangolo rosso (1967).[7]

Barzman also appeared as an actress[8] in Theatre 70 (1970) and Pajama Party (2000) as the Groovy Grandma guest.[9]

Personal life

Barzman married mathematician Claude Shannon,[10] known as the "father of information theory",[11] and lived with him in Princeton, New Jersey. When they divorced, Barzman moved to Los Angeles with her mother and took classes at the School for Writers, the members of which were leftist. She met and married screenwriter Ben Barzman.[12] Having been blacklisted from Hollywood between the years 1949 and 1976, they lived in London, Paris, and on the French Riviera at Mougins. They had seven children.[13]

Barzman died at her home in Beverly Hills, California, on December 17, 2023, at the age of 103.[14]

Filmography

Writer

Actress

  • Pajama Party (2000) – Groovy Grandma guest
  • Theatre 70 (1960) – narrator

Documentary

Books

  • The End of Romance: A Memoir of Love, Sex, and the Mystery of the Violin (2006)[15]
  • The Red and the Blacklist: The Intimate Memoir of a Hollywood Expatriate (2002)[16]
  • Rich Dreams (1982)[17]

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI