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IMDbPro

Marie Wilson(1916-1972)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Marie Wilson
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:28
Tontut toverukset Lännessä (1950)
2 Videos
61 Photos
Lovely, innocent-looking, well-endowed comedienne Marie Wilson was a featherbrained delight instantly reminiscent of the zany Gracie Allen. Unlike Allen, however, Marie was a knockout--with high cheekbones, a wide slash of a mouth and a figure that wouldn't quit.

She was born Katherine Elizabeth Wilson on August 19, 1916, in Anaheim, California. Her family moved to Hollywood after her businessman father's death and Marie set her sights on an entertainment career while quite young. Educated at Miss Page School and the Hollywood Cumnock School for Girls, she found extra work in films upon graduation and made ends meet at one point by taking a job as a salesgirl in a department store. Her big break occurred after an "accidental" meeting with the director Nick Grinde. The relationship grew intimate, and he was instrumental in the formulation of her early Hollywood career. She appeared in his comedy short My Girl Sally (1935) with the inimitable Sterling Holloway and, to start with, had an extra part in Grinde's feature film Ladies Crave Excitement (1935).

After the 18-year-old was cast (unbilled) as Mary, Quite Contrary in the Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy musical fantasy Surullisen hahmon ritarit (1934), Marie started sharpening up her "dumb blonde" skills. It was Grinde who helped secure her a contract at Warner Brothers in 1935. She would stay with the studio for four years. After making her Warners debut in Broadway Hostess (1935), Marie adroitly moved around and about the "B"-level chain (along with an intermittent "A" movie). As the quintessential dizzy, dim-witted foil, Marie scored in several Prohibition-style entertainment showcases, including the comedy potboilers Stars Over Broadway (1935), Miss Pacific Fleet (1935), Satan Met a Lady (1936), Melody for Two (1937), Public Wedding (1937) (directed by Grinde), Suuri Garrick (1937), Skandaali yössä (1938), Onnettomia sankareita (1938) (one of her best), Broadway Musketeers (1938) and Sweepstakes Winner (1939). Her last film for Warners was the forgettable The Cowboy Quarterback (1939).

Following the termination of her Warners contract in 1939, Marie had trouble securing film work. As compensation, she found great stage success as the sexy stooge for impresario Ken Murray in his extremely popular Los Angeles "Blackout" vaudeville-style stage shows of the early 1940s. Her mock striptease bit was a particular highlight and she stayed with the show for an incredible seven years. Intermixed were an array of film opportunities for various studios: Rookies on Parade (1941), She's in the Army (1942), Fabulous Joe - puhuva koira (1947), Tyttö joka satamassa (1952), Älä vilkuta naiselle (1953), Marry Me Again (1953) and her last, Mr. Hobbs lähtee lomalle (1962). She reached her "dumb blonde" zenith with the successful radio, film and TV versions of Tontut toverukset (1949). Most of her subsequent kooky characterizations from then on were patterned on her Irma persona.

A smart, ambitious woman known to do crazy stunts for publicity, Marie took to the stage, nightclub and TV circuits once her film career bottomed out after the spectacular arrival of Marilyn Monroe. On the road in summer stock and dinner theater engagements, Marie appeared to find advantage in such well-suited vehicles as "Bus Stop," "Born Yesterday and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." One of her last roles was in animated form as a voice in the cartoon Where's Huddles? (1970).

Married twice, she had an adopted son, Gregson (Greg) via her second marriage to actor/TV producer Robert Fallon. Her first, to actor Allan Nixon, ended in divorce. Marie had undergone surgery several times for cancer by the time she died at age 56, surrounded by her family, in 1972.
BornAugust 19, 1916
DiedNovember 23, 1972(56)
BornAugust 19, 1916
DiedNovember 23, 1972(56)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 3 wins

Photos61

Walter Abel, Sheldon Leonard, and Marie Wilson in Fabulous Joe - puhuva koira (1947)
Walter Abel, Sheldon Leonard, and Marie Wilson in Fabulous Joe - puhuva koira (1947)
John Lund and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
Kathryn Givney and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
John Lund and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
John Lund and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
Diana Lynn and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
Percy Helton, John Lund, and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
Percy Helton and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Diana Lynn, and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
John Lund and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)

Known for:

Bette Davis and Warren William in Satan Met a Lady (1936)
Satan Met a Lady
5.9
  • Miss Murgatroyd
  • 1936
Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Don DeFore, John Lund, Diana Lynn, and Marie Wilson in Tontut toverukset (1949)
Tontut toverukset
6.4
  • Irma Peterson
  • 1949
Ihminen ja paholainen (1957)
Ihminen ja paholainen
4.8
  • Marie Antoinette
  • 1957
Boris Karloff, Eddie Craven, and Marie Wilson in The Invisible Menace (1938)
The Invisible Menace
5.2
  • Sally
  • 1938

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Love, American Style (1969)
    Love, American Style
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Margaret Cooperman (segment "Love and the Girlish Groom")
    • 1972
  • Where's Huddles? (1970)
    Where's Huddles?
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Penny McCoy (voice)
    • 1970
  • Gene Barry in Burken laki (1963)
    Burken laki
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Ramona Specks
    • Chuchi Smith
    • 1964–1965
  • My Son, the Witch Doctor
    TV Movie
    • 1964
  • The Comedy Spot (1960)
    The Comedy Spot
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Ernestine McDougal
    • 1962
  • Ernestine
    TV Movie
    • Ernestine
    • 1962
  • Maureen O'Hara, James Stewart, Fabian, and Lauri Peters in Mr. Hobbs lähtee lomalle (1962)
    Mr. Hobbs lähtee lomalle
    6.8
    • Emily Turner
    • 1962
  • Ed Sullivan in Toast of the Town (1948)
    Toast of the Town
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Comedian
    • 1960
  • Ihminen ja paholainen (1957)
    Ihminen ja paholainen
    4.8
    • Marie Antoinette
    • 1957
  • The Johnny Carson Show (1953)
    The Johnny Carson Show
    8.3
    TV Series
    • 1955
  • Mary Shipp and Marie Wilson in My Friend Irma (1952)
    My Friend Irma
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Irma Peterson
    • Irma
    • 1952–1954
  • Marry Me Again (1953)
    Marry Me Again
    7.4
    • Doris
    • 1953
  • Älä vilkuta naiselle (1953)
    Älä vilkuta naiselle
    5.9
    • Clara Schneiderman
    • Danger O'Dowd
    • 1953
  • Betty Furness in Ellis in Freedomland (1952)
    Ellis in Freedomland
    6.5
    • The Dryer (voice)
    • 1952
  • Screen Snapshots Series 15, No. 12 (1936)
    Screen Snapshots: Hollywood on a Sunday Afternoon
    Short
    • Marie Wilson
    • 1952

Soundtrack

  • The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1956)
    The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
    7.7
    TV Series
    • performer: "Strike Up the Band", "Notre Dame Victory March", "On, Wisconsin", "Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech", "Far Above Cayuga's Waters", "The Whiffenpoof Song", "South Carolina Victory March", "Strike Up the Band" (reprise) (uncredited)
    • 1957
  • Ann Sheridan in Elokuun taivaan alla (1944)
    Elokuun taivaan alla
    6.3
    • performer: "So Dumb But So Beautiful" (1944)
    • 1944
  • Johnny Johnston and Betty Jane Rhodes in You Can't Ration Love (1944)
    You Can't Ration Love
    6.5
    • performer: "How did it Happen ?"
    • 1944
  • Sheila Bromley, Gloria Dickson, Dennis Morgan, and Larry Williams in Waterfront (1939)
    Waterfront
    5.8
    • performer: "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes" (uncredited)
    • 1939
  • Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, Jack Oakie, and Dick Powell in Colleen (1936)
    Colleen
    5.9
    • lyrics: "You Gotta Know How to Dance" (1936)
    • performer: "You Gotta Know How to Dance" (1936) (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • Phil Regan and Wini Shaw in Broadway Hostess (1935)
    Broadway Hostess
    5.2
    • performer: "Sweet and Slow" (1935) (uncredited)
    • 1935

Videos2

Official Trailer
Trailer 1:38
Official Trailer
My Friend Irma Goes West
Trailer 2:28
My Friend Irma Goes West

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 1.66 m
  • Born
    • August 19, 1916
    • Anaheim, California, USA
  • Died
    • November 23, 1972
    • Hollywood, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Robert FallonDecember 15, 1951 - November 23, 1972 (her death)
  • Children
    • Gregson Fallon
  • Other works
    Unsold pilot: Starred in a sitcom pilot, "The Marie Wilson Show".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Losing the dizzy Billie Dawn role to Judy Holliday in the film version of Eilen syntynyt (1950) was a particular disappointment. She, however, did the role in summer stock years later.
  • Quotes
    Show business has been very good to me and I'm not complaining, but some day I just wish someone would offer me a different kind of role. My closest friends admit that whenever they tell someone they know me they have to convince them that I'm really not dumb. To tell you the truth I think people are disappointed that I'm not.
  • Trademark
    Baby doll voice

FAQ13

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