Latter-day Saint (believed to be a non-churchgoer during most of her adulthood, although her parents, brothers and sisters were devout Church members). Born 6 April 1922 in Pocatello, Idaho. Died 28 August 2003 in New York, New York from cancer. Birth name: Norma Greve. Also known as: Norma Booth; Norma Greaves.

In 1952, Norma went to New York City, where she met African-American vaudville comedian James "Jimmy" Cross. Two years later the couple gave birth to their daughter June Cross. As Jimmy's career declined, he became a physically abusive alcoholic and drug user. Norma left him in 1957 not long afterward sent four-year-old June to be raised by a black family Norma knew in Atlantic City.

Norma then married comedian/actor Larry Storch on 10 July 1961. They remained married until she died. Norma's biological daughter June stayed with Norma and Larry Storch during the Summers, during which time the couple told people that June was their "adopted daughter" who usually stayed with a black couple out of state.

Norma Storch is featured in the PBS "Frontline" documentary "Secret Daughter" (1996), in which her daugher June Cross traces her own childhood and complicated family background.

Film credits including small parts in the movie "The Perils of P.K." (1986), and the TV movies "Exo-Man" (1977) and "The Six Million Dollar Man" (1973). Had a supporting role in the TV movie "The Woman Hunter" (1972). During their long marriage, Norma's husband Larry was a very successful New York-based actor who appeared in over 75 movies and network TV series, and was well known for TV roles such as paying "Cpl. Randolph Agarn" in the 1960s comedy series "F Troop." Larry Storch's film roles include: The Great Race (1965); Airport 1975 (1974); S.O.B. (1981); The Flight of Dragons (1982); Journey Back to Oz (1974). Larry Storch did voice work for many animated TV series including: The Pink Panther and Friends; Scooby and Scrappy-Doo; The Brady Kids; The Batman/Superman Hour ("The Joker"); Underdog. Larry Storch also starred as the voice of "Koko the Clown" in over 100 animated short films that debuted on television from 1961 to 1963.

Obituary for Norma Storch from the New York Times (22 September 2003, written by Douglas Martin): NEW YORK - Norma Storch, a white woman whose decision to have her 4-year-old mixed-race daughter raised by a black couple became the subject of an Emmy Award-winning documentary made by the daughter in adulthood, died Aug. 28 at her Manhattan home. She was 81. The cause was cancer, said the daughter, June Cross, producer of the documentary "Secret Daughter," which PBS broadcast in 1996.

The film was heralded as a searing look at race relations in the 1950s and '60s, and drew praise for its emotional rawness and the bravery of both mother and daughter. Other reviews suggested that the documentary's power came from a mother's willingness to reject her daughter and then rationalize it.

Cross said in an interview last week that this impression properly reflected the documentary but not their real relationship. She said that tensions were exaggerated for dramatic effect.

But for almost 35 years, Mrs. Storch and her husband -- the actor and comedian Larry Storch, who starred as Cpl. Randolph Agarn in the 1960s comedy series "F Troop," -- indisputably lived a lie. They told friends and acquaintances that the black girl who visited them at their Hollywood home was their adopted daughter, who lived with a black family for most of the year.

The truth was that Cross was the child of an affair Mrs. Storch had had with Jimmy Cross, a black song-and-dance man who was Stump in the well-known performing team Stump and Stumpy.

Norma Storch fled Cross soon after their daughter's birth in 1954, because of his drinking, drug use, and violence toward her, she said. As June matured and her complexion darkened, she and her mother encountered racist reactions, including a petition from residents of their Manhattan building demanding that they leave.

Norma Storch asked two friends, a middle-class black couple in Atlantic City, N.J., to raise June. After they took her in, Norma Storch cried every night, developed shingles and wrote daily letters to the girl, according to the documentary.

Norma Greve was born on April 6, 1922, in Pocatello, Idaho. Her mother moved from place to place, married seven times or so, and from time to time vanished completely. From the time Norma Storch was 9 until her marriage, she used the last name Booth, the name of one of her stepfathers.

• Reference: Biographical Summaries of Notable People - SmartCopy: Apr 5 2020, 2:26:07 UTC
• Residence: Parker, Yuma, Arizona - 1930
• Residence: Yuma, Arizona - 1930
  • Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 5 2020, 2:36:34 UTC