Mary Lawrence

Mary Lawrence was an American actress whose career took in film and television. Born Mary Lou Lender, she moved with her family to Columbus, Ohio, at age two, and her first acting came in Columbus schools. A California vacation led to an introduction to Harold Lloyd through family friend Elliott Nugent, and Lloyd cast her in The Professor. She later left acting for a time and returned through little theater productions. Family friend Bob Cummings brought her onto his television show, and between 1956 and 1958 she was Ruth Helm on Love That Bob. Her other television appearances included Climax, Playhouse 90, Dragnet and The Donna Reed Show, and she had a recurring role as Alice in Casey Jones. On screen she appeared in State Fair, No Man of Her Own and The Stratton Story (1949). In later years she wrote art books, among them Mother and Child (1975) and Lovers (1982). She died in 1991.