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IMDbPro

Norma MacMillan(1921-2001)

  • Actress
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Moby Dick And Mighty Mightor
 
Play trailer0:48
Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor (1967–1969)
Norma MacMillan was a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was there that she met, worked with and married her producer/manager husband Thor Arngrim. Arngrim had started the now-legendary (but short-lived) Totem Theatre company in 1951. Upon its demise (1954), he, his partner Stuart Baker, and MacMillan set out for Toronto, where Norma landed voice over-work with the CBC, due to her vocal versatility.

On morning radio, Norma did more saccharine roles, while in the evening her talents were used playing the 'disturbed children' roles, as she said. Later on, after she and her husband moved to New York, MacMillan culled from the cartoon industry the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost. She also lent her voice to many; from well-known characters Davey and Goliath (1960) to The Gumby Show (1956), and many more. In addition to these roles, MacMillan was the voice of John-John and Caroline Kennedy in the perhaps infamous recordings of the early 60s First Family comedy albums. Perhaps her most visible acting role was the part she played in the 1980's as the sweet, demure, naive aunt Martha opposite Ruth Manning's aunt Harriet, for Kraft Foods mayonnaise commercials. Though Norma died at 79, she never quit working. Even upon returning to Vancouver with her husband in the mid-1990's, MacMillan joined Co-Op's Radio's Sunday show for senior citizens and was a board member of the local 411 Seniors Centre. Interestingly, both her children enjoyed the limelight as children: her daughter, Alison Arngrim, played Nellie in Little House on the Prairie (1974); and her son, Stefan Arngrim, played Barry Lockridge on the short-lived 1968 television show Land of the Giants (1968).
BornSeptember 15, 1921
DiedMarch 16, 2001(79)
BornSeptember 15, 1921
DiedMarch 16, 2001(79)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels

Known for

Wally Cox in Underdog (1964)
Underdog
7.1
TV Series
  • Sweet Polly Purebred
  • Ladies
  • Polly(voice)
Head Over Heels (2001)
Head Over Heels
5.4
  • Gladys(as Norma McMillan)
  • 2001
The Gumby Show (1956)
The Gumby Show
7.0
TV Series
  • Gumby
  • Goo
  • Aunt Gumby
  • Boy
  • Cybill
  • Gumba
  • Kid
  • Madam She
  • Student
  • Teacher
  • Gumby (1967-1968)
  • Additional voices(voice)
Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin in Big Business (1988)
Big Business
6.4
  • Nanny Lewis
  • 1988

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress



  • Funky Fables
    • Narrator (voice)
    • Released
    • TV Series
    • 1988
  • Heidi
    • Narrator (voice)
    • Short



  • Man and Cat (2001)
    Man and Cat
    7.6
    • Man's Mother (voice)
    • 2001
  • Head Over Heels (2001)
    Head Over Heels
    5.4
    • Gladys (as Norma McMillan)
    • 2001
  • Corbin Bernsen, Marla Maples, Gail O'Grady, and Rob Stewart in Two of Hearts (1999)
    Two of Hearts
    5.8
    TV Movie
    • Grandma Sara
    • 1999
  • The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1998)
    The Animated Adventures of Tom Sawyer
    4.4
    Video
    • Widow Douglas (voice)
    • 1998
  • Tom Arnold and Rick Moranis in Big Bully (1996)
    Big Bully
    4.8
    • Mrs. Rumpert (as Norma Macmillan)
    • 1996
  • Madison (1993)
    Madison
    6.9
    TV Series
    • June
    • 1995
  • The New Adventures of Madeline (1995)
    The New Adventures of Madeline
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Additional Voices (2000) (voice, as Norma McMillan)
    • 1995–2001
  • Corbin Bernsen and Donna Mills in Dangerous Intentions (1995)
    Dangerous Intentions
    6.2
    TV Movie
    • Eula Winter
    • 1995
  • Snow White (1991)
    Snow White
    6.9
    Video
    • Narrator (voice)
    • 1991
  • Sugar & Spice: Alice in Wonderland
    3.5
    Short
    • Narrator (voice)
    • 1991
  • The Wizard of Oz (1991)
    The Wizard of Oz
    5.5
    Short
    • Narrator (voice)
    • 1991
  • Thirtysomething (1987)
    Thirtysomething
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Woman in Elevator
    • 1991
  • Nightmare on the 13th Floor (1990)
    Nightmare on the 13th Floor
    5.7
    TV Movie
    • Mrs. Beecher
    • 1990
  • Peter Falk and Robert Foxworth in Columbo: Grand Deceptions (1989)
    Columbo: Grand Deceptions
    6.8
    TV Movie
    • Mrs. Martinson (as Norma Macmillan)
    • 1989
  • Suzanne Somers in She's the Sheriff (1987)
    She's the Sheriff
    4.1
    TV Series
    • 1988

Videos8

Underdog: The Complete Series
Clip 2:22
Underdog: The Complete Series
14
Underdog
Trailer 1:13
Underdog
22
Underdog
Trailer 1:13
Underdog
22
Davey and Goliath: Davey & Goliath Collection
Trailer 0:43
Davey and Goliath: Davey & Goliath Collection
22
Davey and Goliath
Trailer 0:43
Davey and Goliath
12
Davey and Goliath Volume 7-12
Trailer 0:43
Davey and Goliath Volume 7-12
12
The Best Of Gumby
Trailer 1:41
The Best Of Gumby
12

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Norma Macmillan
  • Born
    • September 15, 1921
    • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Died
    • March 16, 2001
    • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada(heart attack)
  • Spouse
    • Thor Arngrim1954 - March 16, 2001 (her death, 2 children)
  • Children
      Alison Arngrim
  • Other works
    Children's voices on record album "The First Family" (1962)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Mother of Alison Arngrim and Stefan Arngrim.
  • Quotes
    Because I could type. -- when asked how she got into the business

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