Marjorie Lord
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Marjorie Lord (born Marjorie Wollenberg July 26, 1918 in San Francisco, California) is an American television actress best known for playing Kathy "Clancey" Williams, opposite Danny Thomas on Make Room for Daddy and later, Make Room for Granddaddy.
In 1934, at the age of sixteen, Marjorie made her Broadway debut in "The Old Maid" with Judith Anderson. The following year, she was signed with RKO Studios. While appearing in Springtime for Henry with Edward Everett Horton, director Henry Koster lured her away from RKO Studios and signed her to a contract with Universal Studios. Marjorie would appear in six feature films for Universal.
While appearing in "Anniversary Waltz" in 1956, Marjorie caught the attention of Danny Thomas who asked her to replace Jean Hagen as his television wife on "Make Room for Daddy". Hagen had played Thomas' wife since the series began, but quit in 1956 and was written out of the script, making her the first 'killed off' actor in a sitcom. Marjorie continued her role until the show was cancelled in 1964.
In 1970, Marjorie and Thomas, along with several original supporting actors, returned to television with Make Room for Granddaddy; however, the show lasted just one season.
Marjorie has been married three times. Her first husband was actor John Archer, with whom she had two children, including actress Anne Archer. They were married from 1941 until their divorce in 1955. Her second husband was producer Randolph Hale (1958 until his death in 1974). Her third husband was banker Harry Volk (1976 until his death in 2000).
Marjorie has continued to remain active as she approaches her 90th birthday. On May 8, 2008, Marjorie was scheduled to participate in a salute to television moms panel discussion organized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Mini Biography from http://www.IMDB.com
Born 26 July 1918, as Marjorie Wollenberg in San Francisco, California, USA
Poised and lovely Marjorie Lord started her long and varied career on the Broadway stage and in "B" films as a sweet-natured ingénue. Born in San Francisco in 1918, her family transported themselves to New York City when she was fifteen. Here she enrolled in both acting and ballet at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Chaliff School of Dance, respectively.
Her first job was as an 18-year-old replacement on Broadway in "The Old Maid" starring Judith Anderson in 1936. Film parts from recently-signed RKO Studio started coming her way with Border Cafe (1937) and Forty Naughty Girls (1937). A few years later, she met actor John Archer after they appeared together in the stage production of "The Male Animal".
Married at the end of 1941, they settled in Hollywood after playing Los Angeles in a stage tour of "Springtime for Henry" with Edward Everett Horton in 1942. She earned a Universal contract in the process and throughout the 1940s and 1950s alternated between theater and film assignments. She and Archer separated in 1951 and divorced two years later. Son Gregg became an airline pilot and daughter Anne Archer followed in her parents' footsteps as an actress. Most of Marjorie's film were inconsequential, her best being "Johnny Come Lately" (1943) with James Cagney and "Sherlock Holmes in Washington" (1943) starring the irrepressible sleuthing team of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.
Her greatest exposure came with TV as the second wife of widower Danny Thomas in "Make Room for Daddy" (1953). She lucked into the role when Danny's first wife, played by actress Jean Hagen, best known for her classic role as screechy "Lina Lamont" in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), asked to leave the series. Marjorie proved an able sparring partner for the comedian for seven more seasons but was unsparingly typecast as the wholesome wife thereafter. She appeared in dinner theater productions and TV guest spots but would indelibly remain Kathy ("Clancy") Williams to her public. Marjorie gently phased her career out for the most part after her third marriage in 1977. In 1987, she returned for a short-lived run on the domestic sitcom "Sweet Surrender" (1987) starring Dana Delany and Mark Blum, as the latter's mother. In 2005, Marjorie published her memoir "A Dance and a Hug".
Pin-up Gallery
- Marjorie Lord appeared in YANK magazine on 4jun1943
Filmography
- For a complete filmography, see [ Marjorie Lord ] at the Internet Movie Database
External links
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