Jane Norman, 1934-2017
Unless you’re from the Philadelphia area you won’t know who this person is and even if you are you may not know the name, but those of us of a certain age almost certainly will remember the TV show Pixanne. For almost all of the 1960s Pixanne – Ms. Norman – educated and entertained children with her local morning television program. A Peter Pan-like character, she wore a green pixie costume and lived in an enchanted forest with a bunch of furry puppet friends – and she flew! The songs she sang were her own compositions and she delighted children – including The Curmudgeon – and their parents alike. The Curmudgeon imagines that anyone who recognizes the name or the face is smiling now, and if her passing chokes you up a little, too, that’s okay.
Tagged: jane norman, pixanne
Crossing Against the Light: 
Thanks for passing that along as there must be people like myself who would not have heard. Yeah, I choked up a little.
I do have a couple Pixanne memories… one is when the Boy’s Choir appeared on the show. She was so sweet without being sickening, listened to everything any of us had to say, and was very kind in her remarks about our performance. I do, though, remember being disappointed that she didn’t fly in at the beginning of the show – I learned about video tape that day. I was, after all, only 11 at the time.
Thanks again, Curm.
You were one of two or three people I had in mind when I wrote a piece about someone I know most of my readers wouldn’t know. A few years ago it was Sally Starr, last year it was Captain Noah, so now I’ve got my fingers crossed for Gene London, who’s been around town in the past year or two.
Gene… Yes! Did you know Randy Brenner very well? We’re friends on Facebook. He used to be a regular on Gene London’s show and arranged for me to get an antique piano stool to him that he wanted. In later years Gene dealt in period clothing for NY stage productions. I haven’t heard anything about him for a long time. I think I’ll write Randy and see if he knows how he’s doing.
In a school of 4300 kids, Randy was one of those people I knew of but didn’t know, and I definitely remember him being on the show.