Dancing queen's glorious reign; She raised the curtain on thousands of singers and dancers stretching for the top in glittering shows. Now the fairy godmother, maker of stars, is 70.

Byline: David Charters reports

THEY sit at home with cherished photograph albums open on their knees, slowly turning the dark pages. Once, they hoofed and sang and dreamed and preened, before smiling, all gleaming teeth and curtsies, for the little lady. Now, they stare into the mirrors of the memory.

Yes, she could put your name in lights then and, as she gingerly nears her 70th birthday, she still can. But, for the moment, this grand lady of showbiz is remembering her own giddy beginnings, when the whole world seemed within her reach.

It was, she believes, her personality and unyielding determination that clinched it in those days of hugging swimsuits and polished eyeballs - when young Miss Button was as bright as any star in the sky and she applied lemon juice to her cheeks and prayed that God would take away her freckles. He never did and we can thank Him for that now, as a full Irish smile spreads across her face, stretching those lovely freckles.

But God was generous in other ways, too, and Norah Button had the finest figure in town with measurements of 33-21-33 to twirl and parade in front of the beauty contest judges on those long, hazy summer afternoons of cream teas and clicking cameras - before the legions of the politically correct had begun their march down our seaside promenades. Those "vital statistics" were as much a part of a contestant's curriculum vitae as her desire to travel the world and find the cure for leprosy.

But prepare yourselves for a secret here. "I used to say 34-21-34," whispers Norah, with a conspiratorial tilt of her auburnhaired head. "I was very slim then. Anyway, I thought I won the competitions on the interviews. If you were a good talker, you could sway the audience."

However, it was the age of voluptuous blondes, Marilyn Monroe and Diana Dors lookalikes, with their swinging hips and tight sweaters. Norah's little white lie did no harm at all.

Among the 19 titles she claimed were Miss Ireland, Miss National Candy Queen, Miss TV Times and the Fashion Queen of Great Britain. In 1962, she became Miss Liverpool and one of the judges was Ken Dodd. During the interview, Norah told him she was a dancer. That resulted in her coaching his Diddymen, dozens of them.

By then, Norah Button was a veteran of the variety stage, for whom beauty contests were just a sideline.

And on Monday she celebrates her 70th birthday. Coincidentally, it is also the 70th anniversary of the Liverpool Theatre School, begun by her grandmother, Anastasia Morrisey, at Stanley House on Upper Parliament Street, Toxteth. A double celebration is being held at the rebuilt 800-seat Floral Pavilion Theatre, New Brighton, on Sunday, which is appropriate. It was there that 15-year-old Norah joined the dancers and chorus, as a "Lido Lovely", in the summer revue, Melody Inn, run by the late Jackson Earle.

But now we have to deal with another little white lie. In her enthusiasm, Norah gave him a false National Insurance number because she didn't have one, as he discovered after three weeks.

Norah had to go, but he had been so impressed that he agreed to hire her the following summer as a soloist. In between, she had done panto at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool. Norah was on her way.

Years earlier, she had learned the rudiments of her art from the lessons given by Anastasia at the school opposite their house in Upper Parliament Street, where she lived with her parents, Kathleen and her husband Wilbert Button, a seaman from Newfoundland. He died when Norah was 16. She had two brothers, Raymond and little Wilbert.

Showbusiness glowed in her thoughts and she read magazines about the big musical stars, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and all the others, while Anastasia and Kathleen sang popular melodies at home. Although not a great singer (pitching at mezzosoprano), Norah had nimble feet, natural rhythm and strong legs.

Childhood success as a dancer led to her studying under Matt Mattox (Caleb in the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) in London and New York. Despite regular work, including three Royal Command Performances, she continued teaching and succeeded Anastasia as principal of the Liverpool Theatre School, now based in a converted night club on Aigburth Road, Aigburth.

It has 80 full-time students, aged from 16 upwards, and around 200 pupils, aged between four and 16.

Norah is a fellow in tap, ballet and modern jazz with the International Dance Teachers' Association. For the past 10 years, she has run the school with coprincipal, Maxine Ellis, a former pupil. To the students, they are Miss Maxine and Miss Norah.

Among ex-pupils to have seen their names in lights are Les Dennis and Danny McCall, stars of stage and screen; Graham Bickley, Joey Boswell in Bread and the star of West End musicals; Linda Lewis, former beauty queen turned actress and celebrity; Sam Kane, star of Boogie Nights and recently in Our Benny at the Liverpool Empire; and Tommy Sherlock, the lead in Footloose, in the West End. Dozens became teachers themselves. Others are highkickers in choruses or entertainers at holiday camps, on piers and on cruise ships. Norah now teaches their grandchildren.

"They will be part of me always and I know that I am part of them because they have written me nice letters saying so," she says.

Norah is married to Jim Brookwell, 74, a former professional tenor. Their son, Nicholas, 36, a pure maths graduate from Oxford and a chartered accountant, is production director for Electronic Arts.

Norah recalls the old Floral Pavilion, New Brighton. "When we had very high tides, the dancers in the lower dressingroom would look down the stairs to see if the water had come in. If it had, you sighed and took your silver shoes off, so that you could wade through the water to get your change of costume."

Soon after that, she was appearing in panto with Frankie Vaughan. "He was Buttons, I think, or was he Prince Charming?" she asks herself, smiling. "Anyway, I was understudy to Cinderella. So I was able to stand at the top of the stairs with my foot out. I did that about five times. It was smashing.

Frankie Vaughan and I got on like a house on fire. Singing wasn't my strong point and we had to do Tea for Two, but he said, 'It's all right, Norah, I'll sing louder tonight'."

The stories are rolling. "I enjoyed the beauty circuit and I always used to win if they gave us a decent time to speak on stage.

They used to ask about our ambitions. Most of the girls, with their talks of being doctors and missionaries, weren't true, but I really did want to have a large and successful full-time school."

Well, our Norah has seen a lot over the years. What makes a star? "I used to say to them if you have guts, stamina, grit and talent, you'll make it, but if you have talent without the other qualities, you won't. That is my faith, hope and charity. Guts is the most important."

Does she still dance herself ? "I am not quite as nimble as I was, though I like to think I am," she says. "You know, you are gasping a bit at the end of it. I never used to gasp."

There could be some anthropologist out there interested to know what happens when you mix red hair, freckles and Irish blood with the surname Button. The answer is smiling at us now. She's a maker of stars.

A new career

NOW that she has established her reputation in showbiz, Norah is branching out into a new career - veterinary science.

She has three cats, Isadora Duncan, Horace and Holly. "I am into my second year of animal nursing," she says.

"Eventually, I want to be a vet. I have wanted to be a vet for years and years. I am attached to Liverpool University and I have been studying at home. A vet has offered to take me on, unpaid, but I can't do the hours. I hope that, now I am turning 70, I will be able to devote a day a week to learning it properly, so that I can progress quicker. It is very hard."

Proceeds from the show are going to Norah's favourite charities - Garston Animal Rescue, Freshfields Animal Rescue and Animals in Need.

Celebrating 70 years

ALL 280 pupils and students at the Liverpool Theatre School are talking part in the 70th anniversary show at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton.

It is called A Few of My Favourite Things, and features numerous songs and dance numbers in the grand old style. Details about the Liverpool Theatre School are available on 0151 728 7800, [e-mail] and www.liverpooltheatreschool.co.uk

CAPTION(S):

Norah Button - still a driving force for talented youngsters; This picture of animal-lover Norah won a photographic magazine competition in 1963; Beauty queen Norah Button, in the early sixties; Students from Norah Button's Liverpool Theatre School, Aigburth, in rehearsal for the 70th anniversary show at the Floral Pavilion; and, inset, pupils from the first Liverpool Theatre School, on Upper Parliament Street Picture: JASON ROBERTS /jr100109button-6; Norah after winning the National Candy Queen title, in 1964