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When Norfolk actress Carol Chittum died unexpectedly at age 50 earlier this year, the loss saddened her family and friends as well as the regional theater community.
“Her passing leaves the local theater community minus a delightful gem,” wrote Mal Vincent, theater critic for The Virginian-Pilot. “Her career on the local stages stands tall.”

“For many of us, the local stages will be unrecognizable without Carol upon them,” echoed Robert P. Arthur, Port Folio Weekly’s theater critic. “Her death on March 24 has had a major impact on the morale of the theater community.”

Shortly after Chittum’s death, her sister Navy Capt. Susan L. Chittum, M.D. of Okinawa, Japan, made sure her sister’s legacy would live forever. She created a designated fund at The Norfolk Foundation in Carol Chittum’s name to benefit the Generic Theater, the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach and the Little Theatre of Norfolk. Chittum had frequently graced the stages at all three companies.

Best known for her impeccable comic timing, the versatile Chittum also performed in dramas and musicals. She had roles in more than 100 area productions, including “Love Letters,” “Born Yesterday,” “Agnes of God” and “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” At the time of her death, Chittum was featured in “Waiting in the Wings” at the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach. Over the years Chittum won acting awards from Port Folio for her work in “Death of a Salesman,” “Eleemosynary” and “Fuddy Meers.” When the Norfolk resident wasn’t on stage, she volunteered behind the scenes as stage manager or a board member.

Chittum was born and raised in the former Norfolk County, which is now Chesapeake. She graduated from the University of Richmond and was a professional actress who performed with the Barter Theatre and Theatre IV. She also worked in public relations for the Virginia Council for Higher Education and at The Manning Studio. She acted in television commercials and industrial films and was a mainstay at the former Cavalier and Tidewater dinner theaters.

The new Carol Chittum Endowment for the Theatrical Performing Arts will provide annual grants to three area nonprofit theaters. “It means so much to us when a fund honors someone who has worked on our stage and served on our board of directors,” says Staci Robbins, managing artistic director of Norfolk’s Generic Theater. “In this day and age when so much arts funding is being cut, it is vital that we know there will be support year after year.”
 

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