Nora Francesca Blackburne (21 April 1914 – 7 July 2009) was a British casting director and civil servant.

Biography

Nora Francisca Blackburne was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a banker John Devereaux Blackburne and Francisca Nazaria López. She was educated at

South Hampstead High School ) , established = as St. Johns Wood School , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = , head ...

and then

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Se ...

(class of 1935). As a striking young woman amongst a very exciting and creative and mostly male crew at the Ministry of Information's

Crown Film Unit The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in ...

its leader

Ian Dalrymple Ian Dalrymple (26 August 190328 March 1989) was a British screenwriter, film director, film editor and film producer. Biography Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he was educated at Rugby School, Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge. He worke ...

saw she needed a challenge and made her the Assistant to the pioneering documentary film-maker Humphrey Jennings. She met her future husband Jack Lee there. He was the elder brother of Laurie Lee, and became a film director post war. Her two sons survive her. Later she had a series of jobs including working at the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

's staff college, The Vache, Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, former home of her first husband,

Adam Alexander Dawson Adam Alexander Dawson (20 March 1913 – 29 January 2010) was a noted film and television editor. Biography Dawson was born at 33 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh, son of Alexander Bashall Dawson and Aileen Twentyman Smithers. He was a descendant o ...

Personal life

She was first married to

, and secondly to film director Jack Lee. Both of her marriages ended in divorce, the first in 1946 and the second marriage ended in divorce in 1963.''Laurie Lee: The Well-loved Stranger'', published by Viking,

Valerie Grove Valerie Grove (née Smith, born 11 May 1946) is a British journalist and author, who for many years worked as a feature writer, interviewer and columnist for ''The Times'' newspaper. Grove was born in South Shields. Her father, William Douglas " ...

, 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburne, Nora 1914 births 2009 deaths Alumni of RADA Argentine emigrants to the United Kingdom Argentine people of British descent British civil servants British casting directors Women casting directors People educated at South Hampstead High School People from Buenos Aires Place of death missing