When Hillary B. Smith (Nora) was growing up, her parents were not exactly what you would call supportive of her desire to perform for a living. “They had no interest in me being an actress,” she shares. “As a matter of fact, my mother didn’t understand this little profession of mine at all until she recognized as being my mother one day – and then she thought it was fabulous!” Of course, she understands why her folks thought the way they did back then. “They had to have a basis to understand it,” she says. “Unless your name is in the marquee and everyone knows who you are…” Smith can even imagine the type of conversation that her mom and dad – or any parents – would never want to have: “When you say, ‘Oh, my daughter’s an actress,’ and they go, ‘Well, what is she doing?’ She’s  looking for work.’ You know, that’s not really that generation’s idea of gainful employment.”