Mari Blanchard

Petite, attractive Mari Blanchard rarely managed to get the lucky breaks. The daughter of an oil tycoon and a psychotherapist, she suffered from severe poliomyelitis from the age of nine, which denied her a hoped-for dancing career. For several years, she worked hard to rehabilitate her limbs from paralysis, swimming and later even performing on the trapeze at Cole Brothers Circus. At the urging of her parents, she then attended the University of Southern California, where she studied international law before dropping out nine units short of a degree. Her university studies did not lead to a career either. Sometime in the late 1940s, she joined the Conover Agency as an advertising model and, at the same time, was promoted by famed cartoonist and writer Al Capp, becoming the inspiration for one of his Li'l Abner characters. As the result of an advertisement on the back page of the Hollywood Reporter, Mari was signed to a contract with Paramount. However, her early experience in the movie business proved an unhappy one, most of her roles being walk-ons and bit parts. Ten Tall Men (1951), for example, limited her to a token stroll down a street, twirling a parasol and smiling seductively at members of the Foreign Legion. It wasn't until Mari joined Universal that her fortunes improved somewhat, with a co-starring role (opposite Victor Mature) in The Veils of Bagdad (1953). After that, it was all downhill again. Burt Lancaster, co-producer and star (with Gary Cooper of the excellent A-grade western Vera Cruz (1954), had requested Mari as his leading lady, but Universal refused her release to United Artists and forbade her to accept the lucrative role (Denise Darcel ended up getting the part). Mari then lost the lead in a much lesser picture,Saskatchewan (1954), to Shelley Winters. Instead, she was cast as Venusian Queen Allura in one of the least exciting outings by Universal's leading comic duo, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953). Mari did end up with a respectable starring role in the western Destry (1954) opposite Audie Murphy. A remake of the classic Destry Rides Again (1939), she was cast in the Marlene Dietrich part and took great pains to affect a totally different look, darkening her hair so as not to be compared to the great star. Even the name of her character was changed from 'Frenchy' to 'Brandy'. "Destry" was not all smooth sailing. There was tension between her and director George Marshall (who had also directed the original version) and Mari suffered a facial injury as the result of a fight scene. The film was critically well received, but unfortunately Universal failed to renew its contract with Miss Blanchard, and her career then went into free fall. Freelancing for lesser studios, she played a TB victim injected with a serum turning her into a Mr. Hyde-like killer in the lurid She Devil (1957) (during filming she nearly died of acute appendicitis). Mari then appeared for Republic in the eminently forgettable No Place to Land (1958) before briefly starring in her own short-lived adventure series Klondike (1960). Her last role of note was as the cheerful and likeable town madam in the rollicking John Wayne western comedy McLintock! (1963). Sometime that year, Mari Blanchard developed the cancer which was to claim her life in 1970 at the age of just 47.

Known For: Acting

Born: Long Beach, California, USA, 1923-04-13

Died: 1970-05-10

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1951	On the Riviera	Eugenie (uncredited)	60
2	1951	No Questions Asked	Natalie	60
3	1951	Bannerline	Eloise	60
4	1951	Ten Tall Men	Marie DeLatour	64
5	1951	The Unknown Man	Sally Tever	48
6	1951	Overland Telegraph	Stella	67
7	1952	Something to Live For	Hat Check Girl (uncredited)	68
8	1952	The Brigand	Dona Dolores Castro	55
9	1952	Assignment: Paris	Wanda Marlowe (scenes deleted)	55
10	1952	Back at the Front	Nina - Johnny Redondo's Accomplice	0
11	1953	Abbott and Costello Go to Mars	Allura	55
12	1953	The Veils of Bagdad	Selima	60
13	1954	Rails Into Laramie	Lou Carter	63
14	1954	Black Horse Canyon	Aldis Spain	59
15	1954	Destry	Brandy	61
16	1955	Son of Sinbad	Chistina	49
17	1955	The Return of Jack Slade	Texas Rose	60
18	1955	The Crooked Web	Joanie Daniel	59
19	1956	Basket of Mexican Tales	Gladys Winthrop	68
20	1956	The Cruel Tower	Mary 'The Babe' Thompson	51
21	1956	Stagecoach To Fury	Barbara Duval	50
22	1957	She Devil	Kyra Zelas	55
23	1957	Jungle Heat	Ann McRae	43
24	1958	Karasu	Nevin	0
25	1958	No Place to Land	Iris Lee LaVonne	30
26	1958	Machete	Jean Montoya	59
27	1962	Don't Knock the Twist	Dulcie Corbin	47
28	1963	Twice-Told Tales	Sylvia Ward	62
29	1963	McLintock!	Camille Reedbottom	66

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1952	Terry and the Pirates		30
2	1954	Climax!		33
3	1955	The Millionaire	Policewoman Laura Hunter	50
4	1957	Sugarfoot	Adah Isaacs Menken	48
5	1957	Perry Mason	Irene Chase	77
6	1958	Sea Hunt		66
7	1958	Bronco		52
8	1958	The Texan		55
9	1958	77 Sunset Strip		67
10	1959	Rawhide	Laura Carter	72
11	1959	Hawaiian Eye		52
12	1959	The Detectives		56
13	1959	Not for Hire		0
14	1959	Mr. Lucky		64
15	1960	Klondike	Kathy O'Hara	62
16	1960	The Roaring 20's		0
17	1962	The Virginian	Marie Coulter	65
18	1963	Breaking Point		73
19	1963	Burke's Law	Mrs. Vasquez	60

Mari Blanchard

Film

Television