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IMDbPro

Marie McDonald(1923-1965)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Marie McDonald
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:16
Le Kid en kimono (1958)
3 Videos
9 Photos
Kentucky-born Marie McDonald, born Cora Marie Frye in 1923, was a leggy, voluptuous blonde starlet who pursued her career with a vengeance but found little reward in the end. Her mother was a former Ziegfeld girl and her grandmother an operatic singer. Her father, on the other hand, was not so artistically inclined, earning a living as a warden at Leavenworth Prison. Her parents divorced when Marie was just 6 years old. Marie's mother remarried and the new family moved to Yonkers, New York, where she attended Roosevelt High School and excelled in piano and wrote for the school newspaper.

Although Marie was offered a college scholarship by Columbia University in journalism, Marie's impressive beauty and physical assets propelled her to try a show business career. A Powers model at 15 (she lied about her age), she quit high school and started entering beauty contests, winning the "Miss Yonkers" and "The Queen of Coney Island" titles, among others. In 1939 she was crowned "Miss New York," but subsequently lost at the "Miss America" pageant.

The attention she received from her beauty titles, however, pointed her straight to the Broadway stage and the "George White's Scandals of 1939." This in turn led to her move to Los Angeles, finding work in the chorus line while trying to break into pictures. She found her first singing work with Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra on his radio show and eventually joined other bands as well. Although Universal signed her up, she couldn't get past a few one-line jobs. She knew publicity would have to be her mode of operation if she was to draw the necessary attention and advance her career.

Press agents dubbed Marie "The Body" and the tag eventually stuck. Though her physical attributes were impressive, her talent was less so. Managing to come her way were the films Guest in the House (1944), Living in a Big Way (1947) with Gene Kelly and Pas de pitié pour les maris (1949). Marie was once in contention for the Billie Dawn role in "Born Yesterday," which could have been her big break, but she lost out to Judy Holliday. The audience simply didn't latch on to Marie and she ended up more on the road doing bus-and-truck shows than anything else.

Despite a plethora of tabloid attention, which included her seven marriages and numerous sex scandals in addition to the publicity hijinks she managed to muster up, notoriety that would have made the late Jayne Mansfield envious, Marie's career eventually stalled and she turned to drink, drugs and despair. This led to frequent skirmishes with the law and more than a few nervous breakdowns. Her last effective role was in the Jerry Lewis starrer Le Kid en kimono (1958) where she gamely played a snippy movie star at the mercy of the comedian's outrageous slapstick. In 1965, at age 42, the never-say-die gal finally decided enough was enough and she ended it all with an overdose of pills.
BornJuly 6, 1923
DiedOctober 21, 1965(42)
BornJuly 6, 1923
DiedOctober 21, 1965(42)
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Photos8

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Known for

Le Kid en kimono (1958)
Le Kid en kimono
6.4
  • Lola Livingston
  • 1958
Robert Lowery and Marie McDonald in A Scream in the Dark (1943)
A Scream in the Dark
5.8
  • Joan Allen
  • 1943
Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald in Living in a Big Way (1947)
Living in a Big Way
6.1
  • Margaud Morgan
  • 1947
Sonja Henie and Michael O'Shea in La fée blanche (1945)
La fée blanche
5.8
  • Gale Fletcher
  • 1945

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress



  • Jayne Mansfield in Promises..... Promises! (1963)
    Promises..... Promises!
    5.0
    • Claire
    • King's Wife
    • 1963
  • Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Show (1951)
    The Red Skelton Show
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Lil
    • 1959
  • Le Kid en kimono (1958)
    Le Kid en kimono
    6.4
    • Lola Livingston
    • 1958
  • John Carroll and Marie McDonald in Hit Parade of 1951 (1950)
    Hit Parade of 1951
    6.2
    • Michele
    • 1950
  • Cesar Romero, June Havoc, and Marie McDonald in La voleuse (1950)
    La voleuse
    6.2
    • Flo
    • 1950
  • Robert Cummings and Rosalind Russell in Pas de pitié pour les maris (1949)
    Pas de pitié pour les maris
    6.4
    • Ginger Simmons
    • 1949
  • Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald in Living in a Big Way (1947)
    Living in a Big Way
    6.1
    • Margaud Morgan
    • 1947
  • Jerome Cowan, Marie McDonald, J. Carrol Naish, Dennis O'Keefe, and Barry Sullivan in Dans la chambre de Mabel (1945)
    Dans la chambre de Mabel
    6.4
    • Gertie Kettering
    • 1945
  • Sonja Henie and Michael O'Shea in La fée blanche (1945)
    La fée blanche
    5.8
    • Gale Fletcher
    • 1945
  • Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Jerome Cowan, Aline MacMahon, Scott McKay, and Ruth Warrick in Guest in the House (1944)
    Guest in the House
    6.2
    • Miriam
    • 1944
  • James Brown, Bill Edwards, Diana Lynn, and Gail Russell in Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944)
    Our Hearts Were Young and Gay
    6.7
    • Blonde (uncredited)
    • 1944
  • Paulette Goddard, Barry Fitzgerald, and Sonny Tufts in I Love a Soldier (1944)
    I Love a Soldier
    6.5
    • Gracie
    • 1944
  • Paulette Goddard, Edward Arnold, Fred MacMurray, and Roland Young in L'amour cherche un toit (1944)
    L'amour cherche un toit
    7.1
    • Opal
    • 1944
  • Olga San Juan in Caribbean Romance (1943)
    Caribbean Romance
    Short
    • Passenger
    • 1943
  • Cass Daley, Gil Lamb, Dorothy Lamour, Victor Moore, and Dick Powell in Riding High (1943)
    Riding High
    4.9
    • Showgirl (uncredited)
    • 1943

Soundtrack



  • Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita in The Steve Allen Show (1956)
    The Steve Allen Show
    8.4
    TV Series
    • performer: "Old Devil Moon" (uncredited)
    • 1959
  • Gene Kelly and Marie McDonald in Living in a Big Way (1947)
    Living in a Big Way
    6.1
    • performer: "It Had to Be You" (uncredited)
    • 1947
  • Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Jerome Cowan, Aline MacMahon, Scott McKay, and Ruth Warrick in Guest in the House (1944)
    Guest in the House
    6.2
    • performer: "Molly Malone" (uncredited)
    • 1944

Videos3

Trailer
Trailer 2:40
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:06
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:06
Trailer
The Geisha Boy
Trailer 2:16
The Geisha Boy

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 1.69 m
  • Born
    • July 6, 1923
    • Burgin, Kentucky, USA
  • Died
    • October 21, 1965
    • Calabasas, California, USA(overdose)
  • Spouses
      Donald F. TaylorNovember 1, 1963 - October 21, 1965 (her death)
  • Other works
    Album: "The Body Sings!" (RCA Victor).
  • Publicity listings
    • 9 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Harry Karl, the father of her three children, did not want them after Marie died. His wife at the time, Debbie Reynolds, insisted they move in with him anyway.
  • Quotes
    Husbands are easier to find than good agents.
  • Nickname
    • The Body

FAQ

Powered by Alexa
  • When did Marie McDonald die?
    October 21, 1965
  • How did Marie McDonald die?
    Overdose
  • How old was Marie McDonald when she died?
    42 years old
  • Where did Marie McDonald die?
    Calabasas, California, USA
  • When was Marie McDonald born?
    July 6, 1923

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