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 hopedfor 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 Lil 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 walkons 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 wasnt until Mari joined Universal that her fortunes improved somewhat with a costarring role opposite Victor Mature in The Veils of Bagdad 1953 After that it was all downhill again Burt Lancaster coproducer and star with Gary Cooper of the excellent Agrade 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 pictureSaskatchewan 1954 to Shelley Winters Instead she was cast as Venusian Queen Allura in one of the least exciting outings by Universals 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 Hydelike 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 shortlived 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