The beautiful Norma Eberhardt was born in Oakhurst, New Jersey. Norma
developed a love for movies early. She was at a Easter Parade event
with her mother when a well-known photographer stopped her and gave her
his business card. When she turned seventeen, she got on a train and
went straight to New York to find the photographer. She found out after
she got there that she needed her mother to sign papers, in order for
Norma to model for the photos because she was only seventeen. The
photographer had to drive her all the way back to New Jersey. After
Norma's mother signed the papers, her modeling career began. She became
a John Robert Powers model. After modeling successfully for a few years
in New York, this led to an acting career on television. Norma went out
to Hollywood in 1951 and she was put under contract to Universal
International studios. She appeared on television first and, later, her
"first" film appearance was in a small part in
Seemann, paß auf! (1952). Also
interesting is that this Martin & Lewis comedy would be the second film
role for James Dean, also in a small
part.
Afterwards, her first main film role was as an "agorphobic" girl
(Louise) in Problem Girls (1953)
(aka "The Velvet Cage"), also starring
Beverly Garland and
Ross Elliot and directed by German director
Ewald André Dupont. The storyline
concerned a school for rich troubled girls. Norma later married French
actor Claude Dauphin in 1955. Norma went
on to appear in many more television roles, like
Whirlybirds (1957),
Telephone Time (1956),
Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion (1955).
Then, in 1957, she got a role in the cult exploitation classic,
Live Fast, Die Young (1958)
with Mary Murphy and
Mike Connors.
Earlier, when Norma first arrived in Hollywood, she roomed at The
Studio Club For Women, where
Mary Murphy also roomed. It was
Norma's next film for which she would be always be remembered by horror
film aficionados, as "Rachel" in
Draculas Blutnacht (1958)!
Released in (1958) by United Artists and written by
Pat Fielder and directed by
Paul Landres.
