dead Norah Baring

[Arnold 1]

Norah Baring, Alfred Hitchcock's leading lady in his 1930 film "Murder!" will be 99 on January 1 2006.

 

I think the only problem we have here is this - does this lady pass the famouseness test?

 

I'm not 100 per cent certain she does. But if we think so, we could have a very good candidate for next year.

 

It's perhaps one for debate.

 

So here are the pros and cons as I see them.

 

The pros:

 

1 She is a Htichcock leading lady. There were around 50 of them and they all exist as a movie sub-genre in themselves.

 

2 She is British and will be natural fodder for a Daily Telegraph obit.

 

3 She starred in Hitchcock's second talkie, very early in his career and will be seen as something of a pioneer. (Anny Ondra, wife of Deathlist success Max Schmeling, was his first and received numerous obits when she died in 1987, despite making only a handful of British films and retiring in 1951.)

 

4 Virtually all Hitchcock leading ladies get an obit in the broadsheets.

 

5 In "Murder!", she is a devastatingly stunning brunette (rare for Hitchcock, who famously cast blondes). Her uniqueness to the obit writers is again enhanced.

 

The cons:

 

1 She retired from films in 1934! (Although this could make her more of an enigma for obit writers).

 

2 We have no idea of her health although one very poorly put together website is following her longevity with interest, along with other ancient movie stars - http://www.totalblowhole.com/new-4688533-4676.html.

 

Opinions gratefully sought.

[Magere Hein 1,399]

Norah Baring, Alfred Hitchcock's leading lady in his 1930 film "Murder!" will be 99 on January 1 2006.

 

I think the only problem we have here is this  - does this lady pass the famouseness test?

Surely old Hitchcock actresses get an obit, so I suppose she'll pass the famousness test.

It's perhaps one for debate.

 

So here are the pros and cons as I see them.

 

The pros:

 

1 She is a Htichcock leading lady. There were around 50 of them and they all exist as a movie sub-genre in themselves.

 

2 She is British and will be natural fodder for a Daily Telegraph obit.

 

3 She starred in Hitchcock's second talkie, very early in his career and will be seen as something of a pioneer. (Anny Ondra, wife of Deathlist success Max Schmeling, was his first and received numerous obits when she died in 1987, despite making only a handfull of British Flms and retiring in 1951.)

 

4 Virtually all Hitchcock leading ladies get an obit in the broadsheets.

 

5 In "Murder!", she is a devastatingly stunning brunette (rare for Hitchcock, who famously cast blondes). Her uniqueness to the obit writers is again enhanced.

 

The cons:

 

1 She retired from films in 1934! (Although this could make her more of an enigma for obit writers).

 

2 We have no idea of her health although one very poorly put together website is following her longevity with interest, along with other ancient movie stars - http://www.totalblowhole.com/new-4688533-4676.html.

 

Opinions gratefully sought.

It's the health bit. Being 99 doesn't kill. Otherwise: good call.

 

regards,

Hein

[Tempus Fugit 214]

.

[Anubis the Jackal 77]

It's a tough call.

Yes, a very likely candidate and good for the averages, on the other hand, no entertainment value. Just try to imagine a Deathlist forum with no ranters, no crackpots, no Richard O'Sullivan fanatics...I shudder at the thought.

 

So I put it to the DL...are we showboating fancy-dan Brazil or dour grind-it-out Germany?

[Star Crossed 33]

It's a tough call.

Yes, a very likely candidate and good for the averages, on the other hand, no entertainment value. Just try to imagine a Deathlist forum with no ranters, no crackpots, no Richard O'Sullivan fanatics...I shudder at the thought.

 

So I put it to the DL...are we showboating fancy-dan Brazil or dour grind-it-out Germany?

A hybrid, surely? Think Oliver Kahn with a René Higuita mullet doing a scorpion-kick save. (OK, he's columbian, I know, but, well...)

 

I reckon the one-time super-stunner starlet deserves a place on the DL.

[Grim Reaper 186]

Arnold's rare contributions to the DL forums are particularly notable for their quality so we surely cannot afford to overlook this one.

 

As for it not being an exciting pick, lets not forget that Arnold started the Emlyn Hughes a long time before his eventual demise and rant-mania that followed

 

The famousness call is a tough one but I can easily imagine an obit in one a proper UK newspaper when the time comes.

 

Definitely one for consideration.

[Octopus of Odstock 2,180]

Genarians Website

Norah Baring has been killed off. It's a very fair argument, and what's more even the established film researchers cannot find any trace of her.

That won't help the two people who picked her on DDP, that's for sure.

[Canadian Paul 97]

Genarians Website

Norah Baring has been killed off. It's a very fair argument, and what's more even the established film researchers cannot find any trace of her.

That won't help the two people who picked her on DDP, that's for sure.

 

Bugger. You got to it before me. I'd always thought people assumed she was still alive because it was convienient - 1/1/1907, first day of the year - but I'm glad someone has put a well-reasoned argument together that she's probably toast. Hope Rude Kid hears about this though.

[Windsor 2,233]

Genarians Website

Norah Baring has been killed off. It's a very fair argument, and what's more even the established film researchers cannot find any trace of her.

That won't help the two people who picked her on DDP, that's for sure.

 

Bugger. You got to it before me. I'd always thought people assumed she was still alive because it was convienient - 1/1/1907, first day of the year - but I'm glad someone has put a well-reasoned argument together that she's probably toast. Hope Rude Kid hears about this though.

 

I suppose we will ultimately find out on the 1st January 2007.

If she is alive, she is bound to get something written about her.

[VSBfromH 74]

Genarians Website

Norah Baring has been killed off. It's a very fair argument, and what's more even the established film researchers cannot find any trace of her.

That won't help the two people who picked her on DDP, that's for sure.

 

I note that her IMDB entry has her birth details as "1 January 1907 Newton Abbot, Devon, England, UK" whilst the New York Times has "1907 - Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK"

 

The use of 1st January (was she really a racehorse?) and the discrepancy over her birthplace suggests major doubt!

 

I see CP has Updated Wikipedia!

[Canadian Paul 97]

I see CP has Updated Wikipedia!

 

It's really such a pointless article, I figured no one would notice!

[Octopus of Odstock 2,180]

I note that her IMDB entry has her birth details as "1 January 1907 Newton Abbot, Devon, England, UK" whilst the New York Times has "1907 - Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK"

 

Definitely Newton Abbott, and it was the 1st January. When trying to find out anything about her, I stumbled on a genealogy website, and there she is Norah Baker (her real name) b. 1/1/1907, Plymouth district.

So, the birthdate is right, but its what happened to her that's the question. If she is dead, she died before 1984, that much I can tell you.

[Canadian Paul 97]

Norah Baring mystery solved:

 

IMDB says she died in a car accident all the way back in 1944.

 

Tough luck for some DDP contestants.

[Windsor 2,233]

Norah Baring mystery solved:

 

IMDB says she died in a car accident all the way back in 1944.

 

Tough luck for some DDP contestants.

 

Haha.

That's the funniest thing I've heard all day!

[Handrejka 1,903]

Norah Baring mystery solved:

 

IMDB says she died in a car accident all the way back in 1944.

 

Tough luck for some DDP contestants.

 

 

IMDB gets things wrong too though you know

[maryportfuncity 10,603]

Just try to imagine a Deathlist forum with no ranters, no crackpots, no Richard O'Sullivan fanatics...I shudder at the thought.

 

You and me both, ATJ.

[Canadian Paul 97]

Norah Baring mystery solved:

 

IMDB says she died in a car accident all the way back in 1944.

 

Tough luck for some DDP contestants.

 

 

IMDB gets things wrong too though you know

 

Usually it's wrong for a lack of information though. For example, there are people who have birthdates in the mid-1800s with no date of death.

 

With something that specific, I'd imagine they put a little effort into their research - either that or they're being total liars just to shut people up, which I find unlikely given the reputation of the site.

 

Mistakes? Yes and many of them. This time? I doubt it

[Octopus of Odstock 2,180]

Wow!

I find that somewhat amazing. I mean, in 1944, she would've been quite famous still, and you'd think there would be something in the news back then. But it would explain why, since the 1970's, when records have been good for deaths, why no-one could find anything. Either way, I'll have a look at the records place in London when I next go down to see if this can be confirmed.

[maryportfuncity 10,603]

IMDB lacks a date of death, you could put them, and us, right.

[Tempus Fugit 214]

Wow!

I find that somewhat amazing. I mean, in 1944, she would've been quite famous still, and you'd think there would be something in the news back then. But it would explain why, since the 1970's, when records have been good for deaths, why no-one could find anything. Either way, I'll have a look at the records place in London when I next go down to see if this can be confirmed.

 

Wasn't there some kind of war going on then,

 

maybe that had something to do with it.

[maryportfuncity 10,603]

IMDB says 'car accident' and puts her death in 1944 in London, but doesn't say which day or which month. They weren't big on seatbelts back then, that might have been a more likely factor than the war.

[Banshees Scream 110]

Atleast Amelia Earnheart was assumed dead. And also like the other guy that the mafia killed back in the 70's, his name slips my mind at the moment. Deathlist is 62 years off target!

[maryportfuncity 10,603]

Jimmy Hoffa?

[Banshees Scream 110]

Jimmy Hoffa?

 

That's it. And i'm 99% sure that his remains were never found. Conspiracy junkies have some great ideas about where he may be.

[maryportfuncity 10,603]

As I understand it the problem with finding Hoffa would be the same as finding a few of the victims of sixties gangland violence in the UK. We'd have to dig up a flyover and cause traffic chaos, meaning it won't happen any time soon.