Marilyn Maxwell

Marilyn Maxwell was an American actress and singer whose career in films and radio ran through the 1940s and 1950s. A native of Clarinda, Iowa, she attended high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but dropped out in her sophomore year to sing with an Indianapolis band, then sang with Ted Weems' big band and on radio programs including Kraft Music Hall. She appeared with the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1942, where Louis B. Mayer had her drop the Marvel part of her name. Her screen roles included Lost in a Harem (1944) opposite Abbott and Costello, Champion (1949) with Kirk Douglas, New York Confidential (1955) and Rock-a-Bye Baby (1958) with Jerry Lewis, and critics praised her performance in the musical Summer Holiday. She and Bob Hope sang Silver Bells when it debuted in The Lemon Drop Kid. She also sang on The Jimmy Durante Show and starred in the television series Bus Stop in 1961.