Norma Donaldson

Norma Donaldson (August 18, 1928 – November 22, 1994) was an American actress and singer. She gained broad notoriety for her portrayal of Miss Adelaide in the 1976 Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls. Among her other credits, Donaldson had a recurring role on the CBS television soap opera The Young and the Restless as Lillie Belle Barber from 1990 to 1994.

Born Norma C. Donaldson in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, her parents were Laura, a housekeeper, and Fredrick Donaldson (b. 1906; d. 1955).^{[citation needed]} The first of two children, Donaldson attended Boys and Girls High School (known at the time as Girls' High School), studying there until her junior year.^{[citation needed]}

At age 21, Donaldson launched her career as a nightclub singer in 1949, booking gigs throughout New York City. During her nightclub stint, Donaldson began touring with Harry Belafonte and later Lena Horne.

Donaldson started her screen acting career in the late 1960s, first appearing in the March 8, 1969 episode of Callback!, with Barry Manilow as the show's music director.^{[citation needed]} She also appeared in 1970s Blaxploitation films, most notably portraying Gloria Roberts in Across 110th Street (1972) and Honey in Willie Dynamite (1973).

Appearing on Broadway stages since 1957, Donaldson was most acclaimed for portraying the loveless chorus line dancer Miss Adelaide, opposite Robert Guillaume, in an all-black 1976 revival of Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls. Donaldson later co-starred alongside Guillaume again in Purlie and No Place to be Somebody.

Prior to her lengthy recurring role on The Young and the Restless, she had played Dr. Pauline Ravelle on General Hospital between 1988 and 1990, who strove to prevent her daughter Simone from marrying the white Dr. Tom Hardy.

Donaldson never married nor had children. Donaldson died of cancer at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on November 22, 1994, at 66 years old. She was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.