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Marilyn Maxwell
from the trailer for High Barbaree (1947)
Born	Marvel Marilyn Maxwell August 3, 1921(1921-08-03) Clarinda, Iowa, U.S.
Died	March 20, 1972 (aged 50) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Years active	1942–1971
Spouse(s)	John Conte (1944–1946) Anders (Andy) McIntyre (1949–1950) Jerry Davis (1954–1960)

Marilyn Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972), born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.

Noted for her blonde hair and sexy persona she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.

Career

She started her professional entertaining career as a radio singer while still a teenager before signing with MGM in 1942 as a contract player. Among the programs in which she appeared was The Abbott and Costello Show. The head of MGM, Louis B. Mayer, insisted she change the "Marvel" part of her real name. She dropped her first name and kept the middle. Some of her film roles included Lost in a Harem (1944), Champion (1949), The Lemon Drop Kid (1951), and Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958).

In the 1961-1962 television season, Maxwell played Grace Sherwood, owner of the diner on ABC's 26-episode Bus Stop, a drama about travelers passing through the fictitious town of Sunrise, Colorado.

Death

In 1972, Maxwell's 15-year-old son arrived home from school and found her dead at the age of fifty of an apparent heart attack, after she had been treated for hypertension and pulmonary disease. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Jack Benny were honorary pallbearers at her funeral.^[1]

Filmography

Features

Short Subjects

• Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Goes to Bat (1950)
• Brooklyn Goes to Las Vegas (1956)

References

• Terrace, Vincent. Radio Programs, 1924-1984. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9

External links

• Marilyn Maxwell at the Internet Movie Database
• Marilyn Maxwell at Find a Grave
• Marilyn Maxwell obituary