Norma Jean Nilsson
actor
Norma Jean Nilsson (born January 1, 1938) is a former child actress in old-time radio and films.
Early years
Nilsson is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Arthur V. Nilsson. Her father was a professor of anatomy at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. She has an older brother, Arthur Jr. She began performing when she was 3 years old and was active during World War II, entertaining troops at Army camps across the United States.
Nilsson attended Victory Garden School and Bancroft Junior High School. Newspaper columnist Louella Parsons wrote in 1946 that Nilsson had an IQ of 162.
Radio
When Nilsson was 4 years old, she won a talent contest on Tune-Out Time on KECA. At 5, she made her "first big-time radio appearance", portraying a dying girl on Free World Theatre.
The public source identifies “Norma Jean Nilsson” as actor. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Norma, Jean and Nilsson.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Norma Jean Nilsson”, the useful work is to connect “actor” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q26213681. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1938 and 1946.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Norma Jean Nilsson”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Norma Jean Nilsson primary sources, Norma Jean Nilsson archive and Norma research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Norma Jean Nilsson”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Norma Jean Nilsson” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.