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Jane Norman (actress)

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Jane Norman
Jane Norman as “Pixanne” in the Enchanted Forest.
Born
Jane Lazarus

1933 or 1934
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedMay 13, 2017
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materTemple University
OccupationActress
Known forPixanne TV show
SpouseJack Beazley

Jane Lazarus Norman (1933 or 1934 - May 13, 2017)[1][2] was an actress best known for her role as Pixanne in the children's television program of that same name that was broadcast in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1960s.[3]

Early years

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Born in Philadelphia,[1] Norman was an only child, the daughter of Stanley and Jeanette Lazarus. Her father worked in the children's-dress-manufacturing business, and her mother was a musician who was trained in Europe.[4] Norman was considered a child prodigy after she sat at a piano when she was 3 years old and played a Mozart sonata by ear. From that experience followed what Norman decades later described as "a lifelong love of music."[5] When she was 8, she composed "Sad Story", a musical work that was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra.[6] When she was 16 years old, she headed to Maine by herself and lied about her age in order to work in summer stock theater.[5]

After graduating from Olney High School in Philadelphia, Norman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education at Temple University with a minor in radio-TV-theater.[4][7] While at Temple, she acted in the University of the Air and the Studio Schoolhouse, both of which Temple produced and WFIL radio broadcast.[8]

She then became a kindergarten teacher and taught at Shoemaker School in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania.[4][9]

Television

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Having her kindergarten students act out stories and put on plays, and writing songs for the students awakened an interest in a different direction for Norman's career, A meeting with executives at WCAU-TV in Philadelphia led to the creation of Pixanne,[5] a show whose main character was essentially a female version of Peter Pan.[10] Norman explained that the program centered around a pixie because from childhood she had wanted to fly.[6][11]

Initially broadcast in black and white, the program began airing in color, six days every week, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, November 21, 1966.[12]

The children's program eventually branched out from Philadelphia and into television syndication. Relocating to New York,[13] it found a new home there with WNEW-TV as the flagship station, and was carried in seventy-five cities,[10] across the United States,[14] including on television stations in: California,[15] Illinois,[16] Iowa,[17] Louisiana,[18] Maryland,[19] Massachusetts,[20] Mississippi,[21] Missouri,[22] Oklahoma,[23] Tennessee,[24] Texas,[25] Washington,[26] and Wisconsin.[27]

Ultimately, Norman's show lasted seventeen years.[5] At one point, it attracted sixty-one percent of the viewing audience in the Philadelphia market.[4][28] Soon after it began, Pixanne's ratings exceeded those of Captain Kangaroo, which preceded it daily.[10]

Norman became Pixanne for viewers to such an extent that a newspaper article contained the comment: "Pixanne is Jane Norman, and Jane Norman is Pixanne. And while it is possible to separate the two, the quality of each is the catalyst that has created this unique symbol of perpetual youthful innocence."[6]

During her show's run, Norman also wrote and performed in special, holiday-themed shows which featured Pixanne and her Enchanted Forest friends, including "Pixanne's Christmas Fantasy," which aired at 5:30 p.m. on WCAU on December 23, 1967. Skits involved Pixanne's time travel back to Philadelphia during colonial times, where she visited a toymaker's shop with antique dolls and toy soldiers, a blacksmith's shop where horses were being shoed, a tailor's shop where period clothing was being sewn, and the shops of a butcher, baker and candlestick maker.[29] Pixanne also became the first local children's television show to be filmed at major world events, including at the World's Fair in New York and at Expo '67 in Canada, and gave children the opportunity to watch segments about the Ice Capades and the Moscow Circus, both of which were filmed on location while the groups were on tour on the East Coast.[30]

Norman's experience with Pixanne led her to produce The National Kid's Quiz series, which was broadcast on NBC.[5] She and her husband also made 117 episodes of Maintenance Ms., a series of 90-second TV spots designed to help women cope with various aspects of household maintenance.[10]

Civic affairs and public service activities

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In 1974, Norman became a goodwill ambassador for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania when she signed a contract with Earl Clark to promote Dutch Wonderland and other family-friendly, historical or recreational sites throughout the county and boost county tourism. As an official spokesperson for Dutch Wonderland, she played a key role in the theme park's annual Memorial Day re-opening ceremonies that year. She also toured the United States, speaking about county attractions and tourism issues on local news and talk show programs in Boston, Chicago and other towns and major metropolitan areas.[31] She then continued her ambassador work in subsequent years.[32][33]

Writing

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Norman wrote the books The Private Life of the American Teenager.[5] and Jane Norman’s Fix It and Save, a spinoff of the Maintenance Ms. TV spots.[8]

Singing

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While making Pixanne, Norman wrote, produced, and sang on two albums, The Musical Magic of Pixanne and Bloop or Blink.[8]

In the 1990s, she launched a singing career, performing in nightclubs and recording.[34] Her first CD, Pixanne Sings for Adults ... In a Christmas Mood, included five of Norman's compositions in addition to seven Christmas standards.[10] That Christmas album was followed by Madly in Love, featuring "lush, sensuous standards" with accompaniment by a 47-piece orchestra.[8]

She also sang for the Great American Audio Corp. with several children's cassettes.

Personal life

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A resident of a condominium in a high-rise building near City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd in later life, Norman had spent a major portion of her youth and adulthood in the Philadelphia area. "When I was 8 years old, the Philadelphia Orchestra played one of my compositions at a children's concert," she recalled during a 2011 newspaper interview. Her husband, Frank C. Beazley,[10] was the sales director at WCAU, the television station where her Pixanne character first came to life. After residing for many years in Gladwyne, she and her husband relocated to a condominium, which was described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a dramatic, "urban chic" space featuring a "wide-open living room with a wall of windows overlooking two patios, and a palette of beiges and whites punctuated by splashes of color in accessories and art." One of the room's focal points was an abstract painting by Calman Shemi, an Israeli artist.[35]

The couple also owned a home in Palm Springs, California. Ailing with Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer, her husband's health continued to decline between 2008 and 2010. It was during this phase of their lives that Norman became active in the hospice movement, and helped to raise funds for the Home Care Network/Main Line Health/Jefferson Health System. Her husband died at their Palm Springs home on March 4, 2010.[36][37]

Death

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On May 13, 2017, Norman died at her home in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. She was 83 years old. At her request, there was no funeral service or memorial event held.[1]

Recognition

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On November 18, 2005, Norman was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c O'Reilly, David (May 14, 2017). "Jane Beazley, star of TV's 'Pixanne'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. p. B 8. Retrieved July 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "Jane Norman, 83". Classic Images. No. 513. March 2018. p. 44.
  3. ^ Lauer-Williams, Kathy (February 23, 2013). "Sally & Other Early TV Stars". Life. The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p. 1.
  4. ^ a b c d Nelson, Nels (September 8, 1969). "Thinking Beautiful Thoughts, Pixanne Wings for Big Time". Philadelphia Daily News. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. p. 4. Retrieved July 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c d e f Friedman, Sally (December 21, 2008). "Music and memories". Courier-Post. New Jersey, Camden. p. 11 SJL.
  6. ^ a b c "'Pixanne' Thrills, Mystifies Visitors To Dutch Wonderland". The Indiana Gazette. Pennsylvania, Indiana. September 13, 1975. p. 29. Retrieved July 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Van Tine, Nancy. "Animals Perform, Rocks Sing for Pixanne: Behind Jane Norman's Looking Glass." Camden, New Jersey: Courier-Post, April 22, 1961, p. 21 (subscription required).
  8. ^ a b c d e "Jane Norman (Pixanne)". Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Kids! See Pixanne at Hospital's Fair!" Camden, New Jersey: Courier-Post, May 23, 1964, p. 29 (subscription required).
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Jane Norman, formerly Pixanne, sings for adults". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. November 24, 1996. p. F 11. Retrieved July 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ Van Tine, "Animals Perform, Rocks Sing for Pixanne: Behind Jane Norman's Looking Glass," Courier-Post, April 22, 1961.
  12. ^ "Pixanne Show to Go to Color." Chester, Pennsylvania: Delaware County Daily Times, November 19, 1966, p. 30 (subscription required).
  13. ^ "TV's Pixanne Leaves Town for New York." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Daily News, September 4, 1969, p. 17 (subscription required).
  14. ^ "Pixanne debuts Monday." Tacoma, Washington: The News Tribune, September 2, 1973, p. 73 (subscription required)
  15. ^ "TV Times." Palo Alto, California: The Peninsula Times Tribune, August 4, 1970, p. 13 (subscription required).
  16. ^ TV Schedule for March 3, 1974. Galesburg, Illinois: Galesburg Register-Mail, March 1, 1974, p. 8 (subscription required).
  17. ^ "Weekly Schedule for Siouxland Television: WOI-TV5." Sioux City, Iowa: Sioux City Journal, November 18, 1973, p. 47 (subscription required).
  18. ^ TV Schedule for February 19, 1974. Amite, Louisiana: The News-Digest, February 14, 1974, p. 8 (subscription required).
  19. ^ TV Schedule for Tuesday, October 1, 1968. Salisbury, Maryland: The Daily Times, September 29, 1968, p. 40 (subscription required).
  20. ^ "Television Programming April 8 - May 4." Athol, Massachusetts: Athol Daily News, April 28, 1973, p. 5 (subscription required).
  21. ^ "Television Programs: WAPT-Channel 16." Jackson, Mississippi: Clarion-Ledger, March 24, 1974, p. 98 (subscription required).
  22. ^ "Television." St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 7, 1973, p. 39 (subscription required).
  23. ^ "Daytime Educational." Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: The Daily Oklahoman, March 26, 1978, p. 151 (subscription required).
  24. ^ "Monday TV Schedules." Johnson City, Tennessee: Johnson City Press, September 15, 1973, p. 15 (subscription required).
  25. ^ "El Paso Cablevision: Channel-23." El Paso, Texas: El Paso Herald, February 16, 1974, p. 12 (subscription required).
  26. ^ TV Schedule for February 12, 1974. Bellingham, Washington: The Bellingham Herald, February 8, 1974, p. 14 (subscription required).
  27. ^ "Cablevision 8." Appleton, Wisconsin: The Post-Crescent, July 3, 1975, p. 16 (subscription required).
  28. ^ "WCAU Will Drop 'Pixanne' for Hughes Show." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 15, 1969, p. 12 (subscription required).
  29. ^ "Pixanne Goes Back in Time for Holiday." Chester, Pennsylvania: Delaware County Daily Times, December 16, 1967, p. 65 (subscription required).
  30. ^ "TV Clown Joins with Pixanne." Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Pottsville Republican, November 22, 1967, p. 6 (subscription required).
  31. ^ Butz, Susan. "Ambassador in Green Tights: Pixanne Takes on Job of Promoting Lancaster County Family Attractions." Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Sunday News, June 2, 1974, p. 38 (subscription required).
  32. ^ "Jane Norman Not Make-Believe: Dutch Wonderland's Pixanne Has the Magic Touch with Children." Scranton, Pennsylvania: The Times-Tribune, August 17, 1975, p. 21 (subscription required).
  33. ^ "Pixanne, emissary of fun, good will, women's lib." Danville, Pennsylvania: The Danville News, August 26, 1975, p. 3 (subscription required).
  34. ^ Lloyd, Jack (November 24, 1996). "Remember Pixanne? She sings for adults in new album". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. p. F 1. Retrieved July 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  35. ^ Friedman, Sally. "From woodland to skyrise." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 30, 2011, pp. D01, D05 (subscription required).
  36. ^ Downey, Sally A. "Frank C. Beazley, husband of 'Pixanne,' TV marketer." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 22, 2010, p. B10 (subscription required).
  37. ^ Friedman, "From woodland to skyrise," The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 30, 2011.
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