She was born on March 12, 1927 in Suffern, NY to Robert Benedict Bristow Sr. and Grace (Snow) Bristow and was the youngest of three children. She spent her early years in Hillburn, NY, graduating 8th grade from The Main School in Hillburn in 1940. She began taking dancing classes, and when she began high school she started commuting to Manhattan to attend the prestigious School of American Ballet, run by George Balanchine. At age 16 she moved into Manhattan, attending The Gardner School for Girls and living at The Plaza Hotel, while continuing her ballet studies. After graduating from both high school and ballet school, Nora spent the next 20 years working as a professional dancer, choreographer, and director.
At age 21 she appeared in her first Broadway show, Ballet Ballads at The Music Box Theatre. She then became part of a troupe known as Ernie Richman and The Mannequins, which served as the opening act for Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, and Sammy Davis, Jr. From 1953 to 1955 she kept a schedule of five shows a day, most of them on the road.
Nora also performed in nightclubs, from the Catskills to Hawaii, rubbing shoulder with such entertainers as Sophie Tucker, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Vic Damone, and Andy Williams. She was dancing at the Copa when she found herself sitting next to Judy Garland. She said she almost fainted when Judy Garland said to her, “I’ve seen your work.” Nora responded, “I’ve seen your work, too.”
She performed with stock companies across the country, playing Electra in “Gypsy,”, Ellie in “Annie Get Your Gun,” and Valerie in “Pal Joey.”, among many other shows and revivals. On television she appeared on The Kate Smith Show and The Perry Como Show. In “The Boy Friend”, a show she stayed with for four years, she played Masie, and her photograph was published in The New York Times Sunday theater section.
Her picture also appeared in LIFE magazine when she was 25. Nora was introduced by a friend to a man from Connecticut. He made a date to meet her under the clock at the Biltmore Hotel, a well-known dating spot at the time, since it was located across the street from Grand Central Station. As she sat waiting, Ralph Morse, a LIFE magazine photographer, was shooting pictures for a photo essay on The Biltmore Clock. Her photo appeared in the April 21, 1952 issue in a feature titled “Under the Biltmore Clock.” The photo is captioned “Lonesome Girl: Nora Bristow of Hillburn, N.Y. has already waited an hour for date to arrive on a train from Hartford, Conn. He never showed up.”
Once she retired from her entertainment career she joined the staff at The College Entrance Examination Board, an association of educational organizations that sold standardized tests for students. She ran the kitchen and arranged and provided food for breakfasts, lunches, farewell parties, and other celebrations. She retired from this second career in 1993 when she was 66, and embarked on the third phase of her life, her passion for travel.
Nora’s parents Grace and Robert were adventurous travelers, and inspired her desire to explore the world. In 1932, when flying was not a common mode of travel, her parents flew from New York to Los Angeles for the Summer Olympics. In 1936 her parents shipped their car to Poland and, after driving throughout Europe, attended the Berlin Olympics. After Nora’s father’s death her mother continued traveling the world, visiting South America, Europe, and Africa several times. Nora’s Great Aunt Gertrude and Great Grandfather George Worrall also had the travel bug. Gertrude spent three months in “The Orient” in 1921, among many other trips, and Gertrude’s father George was one of the original ‘49ers, as he traveled to California and Australia in search of gold.
This legacy of travel inspired Nora to take many of her own trips. She cruised the Panama Canal, marveled at The Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, rode camels in Egypt, fed giraffes in Kenya, was a guest on the Queen Elizabeth II, spent time in Sydney, admired the beauty of Fiji, watched dogs hunt for truffles in France, and met penguins in Antartica.
Nora lived in the same fifth floor walk up in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan for 55 years. A lifelong New Yorker, she loved going to the theatre, and also volunteered with the New York Road Runners Club. She called New Year’s Eve “amateur hour”, wasn’t happy about the “touristas”, as she called them, invading her space, and didn’t like that parts of Broadway were shut down to accommodate said “touristas”. Nora had an outsize personality, could charm anyone, had a bawdy sense of humor, and could always be found at the center of a party, bursting into song at a moment’s notice.
When the stairs to her apartment became too difficult, Nora moved into an Assisted Living facility, first at Village Care at 10th Avenue and 46th Street in Manhattan, and then to Brighton Gardens in Florham Park, NJ, near her niece Ruth, where she was adored by many.
Nora is pre-deceased by her parents Grace (Snow) Bristow and Robert Benedict Bristow Sr., and brothers John Worrall Bristow, and Robert Benedict Bristow Jr.She is survived by her niece Ruth (Bristow) Portela, her husband Joseph and their children Michael and Sara, and her nephew David. She is also survived by her son, James Heidt, his wife Meribeth, and James’ children Rebecca, (Kristen) and Kevin (Melissa).
A celebration of Nora’s life will be held Saturday, January 5, 2019 at Quinn Hopping Funeral Home, 145 East Mount Pleasant Ave. Livingston, NJ. The gathering of friends and family begins at 10:00, with a memorial service at 11:00. Those who wish may share memories of Nora during the service. All are invited to attend a repast after the service at Ruth and Joe Portela’s home, 46 Irving Ave., Livingston, NJ.
She will be laid to rest at Mahwah Cemetery in the Bristow family plot on January 12, 2019.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contribution may be made to The Broadway League Foundation.
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