Kathleen Norris Stark Caruso, professionally known as Kathi Norris (June 1, 1919 – June 15, 2005) was an American writer and television presenter.

Career

Born in

Newark, Ohio Newark ( ) is a city serving as the county seat of Licking County, Ohio, United States, east of Columbus, at the junction of the forks of the Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 census, which makes it the 15th largest city in ...

, Norris was the daughter of Edwin Oliver (or Earl) Norris by his marriage to Lena Adelaide Loyd. Her father was a woodworker and cabinetmaker, and also a musician, playing the

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

and the

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

in the Newark Symphony Orchestra. She had an older sister, Helen, who became a schoolteacher, and three older brothers, Carl, Donald, and Lowell Norris. The family were Presbyterians. Kathi Norris became an advertising executive at W. R. Grace in Chicago and a radio writer,'KATHLEEN NORRIS S. CARUSO Obituary' in ''

Herald Tribune ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' is the name of various newspapers. ''Herald'' or ''The Herald'' Australia * The Herald (Adelaide), ''The Herald'' (Adelaide) and several similar names (1894–1924), a South Australian Labor weekly, then daily * ''Ba ...

'' dated Aug. 3, 2005 marrying

Wilbur Stark Wilbur Stark (August 10, 1912 – August 11, 1995) was an American writer and film, television, and radio producer and director. Life Stark was born in Brooklyn and was the brother of Douglas Stark, an actor, Sheldon Stark, a writer, and Midge ...

in 1945. She hosted the first daytime

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

WABD WABD (97.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mobile, Alabama. The station, established in 1973 as WABB-FM, is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are on Dauphin Street in Midtown Mobile, and its ...

, the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

flagship TV station in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The show was known by the alternate titles ''Kathi Norris' Television Shopper,'' '' TV Shopper'' , and ''Your Television Shopper'', which ran on DuMont from November 1, 1948 to December 1, 1950, and as ''The Kathi Norris Show'' which ran from 1950 to 1955 on DuMont, and on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from 1955 to 1957. When her father died in 1957, she was living in

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the town of Eastchester. The village comprises one square mile (2.5 km2) of land in its entirety, a ...

. Norris also was host of the DuMont

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

'' Spin the Picture'' (4 June 1949 - 4 February 1950), and was host of the syndicated TV series ''True Story'' (1957–1961) produced by her husband

(1912–1995). Norris also appeared in the TV series ''Modern Romances'' (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, 1954) and did occasional women's segments for ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'' with

Dave Garroway David Cunningham Garroway (July 13, 1913 – July 21, 1982) was an American television personality. He was the founding host and anchor of NBC's ''Today'' from 1952 to 1961. His easygoing and relaxing style belied a lifelong battle with depressi ...

. Model and film actress

Koo Stark Kathleen Norris Stark (born April 26, 1956), better known as Koo Stark, is an American photographer and actress, known for her relationship with Prince Andrew. She is a patron of the Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, which runs the museum of the Vic ...

is her daughter with Stark. Norris was married to 1950s TV host Carl Caruso from 1979 until her death. She and Caruso had co-hosted ''Spin the Picture''. Her husband died in 2001.Carmen A. Caruso
at legacy.com/obituaries, accessed November 17, 2017 Norris died in London in June 2005, aged 86, survived by her children Pamela Stark-Guyer, Kathleen (Koo) Stark, and Wilbur B. Stark, three stepchildren, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

References

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...

, 2004) *Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

, 1964)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Kathi 1919 births 2005 deaths American television hosts American women television presenters People from Newark, Ohio 20th-century American women 20th-century American people

Career

See also

References

Bibliography

External links