Betty Ann Norton (5 July 1936 – 5 June 2020) was an Irish drama teacher and founder of the Betty Ann Norton Theatre School and actor agency.

Background

Norton was born in 1936 and grew up in Dublin near the South Circular Road. Her mother, Frances, played the violin and her father, Eugene, was a baritone singer. Frances was a full-time homemaker while Eugene worked as manager of the Bacon Shops on

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowes ...

. One of two children, her younger brother Jim Norton also became a successful actor. She attended school at St Louis High School, Rathmines.

Training

Norton attended the Ena Mary Burke School of Drama and Elocution on

Kildare Street Kildare Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location Kildare Street is close to the principal shopping area of Grafton Street and Dawson Street, to which it is joined by Molesworth Street. Trinity College lies at the north end of the ...

, Dublin, where

Hollywood star The ''Hollywood Star'' was an idiosyncratic gossip tabloid published on an erratic schedule in Hollywood, California by William Kern, who wrote much of the magazine under the pseudonym "Bill Dakota." Published in a newspaper format (and sold in n ...

Maureen O'Hara had also trained. Norton's acting school offers an annual Ena Mary Burke scholarship in Burke's honour. Norton was a Licentiate of the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

(LGSM) in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and Associate of the

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution whic ...

(ARIAM) in Dublin. She was a member of the Dublin Shakespeare Society.

Theatre school

Norton originally planned to become an actor, but her family did not approve and her mother Frances encouraged her to become a teacher. In 1959 Norton established the Betty Ann Norton Theatre School on Harcourt Street in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. Her husband, Michael, was co-director of the school. According to Norton, changes to traffic by the new Luas tram system caused the business to change premises to her childhood school, St Louis High School, Rathmines, in 2006. Alumni of the School include: * Claudia Boyle, opera singer * Claudia Carroll, actor and author * Peter Crawley, art critic for

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

* Jim Culleton, actor *

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, actor *

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, founder of

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, author and playwright *

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Personal life

Norton met her husband Michael J. Cunneen on the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony of Aran i ...

in 1965 and they married in 1967. They lived in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

. Michael died in the

Blackrock Clinic Blackrock Clinic ( ga, Clinic na Carraige Duibhe) is a private hospital in Blackrock, Dublin. It is associated with both the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and University College Dublin. History The hospital was founded by surgeons Jos ...

on 12 May 2017.

Death

Norton died in the

Beacon Hospital Beacon Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Beacon) is a privately owned full-service teaching hospital located in the Sandyford suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The hospital was developed by Beacon Medical Group (BMG). History Beacon Hospital signed an affiliati ...

on 5 June 2020 at the age of 83. She was cremated and interred at

Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium ( ga, Reilig Chnocán Iaróm) is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemet ...

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

, paid tribute to Norton, describing her as a "theatre legend" and "one of our foremost theatre teachers".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Betty Ann 1930s births 2020 deaths Theatre people from Dublin (city) Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Alumni of the Royal Irish Academy of Music Year of birth missing