Marie McDonald

Marie McDonald (born Cora Marie Frye, July 6, 1923 – October 21, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She started her career at a young age, participating in beauty pageants and gaining attention as "The Queen of Coney Island" and "Miss New York State." She ventured into show business by debuting in George White's Scandals of 1939 and landed roles in Broadway productions and Hollywood films. McDonald earned the nickname "The Body" for her attractive figure and became a popular pin-up girl during World War II.

Despite initial success, McDonald faced professional challenges and sought recognition for her acting and singing abilities. She switched studios, moving from Universal to Paramount and later to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures. Throughout her career, she also faced personal challenges, including multiple marriages and romances that kept her in the media spotlight. One of the most notable incidents in her life was a controversial kidnapping claim. McDonald reported being abducted by two men who demanded a ransom, but the police found inconsistencies in her story, leading to no conclusive evidence or charges.

In October 1965, her sixth husband, Donald F. Taylor, found her dead in their California home. The coroner attributed her death to "active drug intoxication due to multiple drugs", later determined to be accidental rather than suicide. Her three surviving children were raised by former husband Harry Karl and his wife Debbie Reynolds.

Early life Born in Burgin, Kentucky, McDonald was the daughter of Evertt "Ed" Frye and Marie Taboni (née McDonald) who performed in the Ziegfeld Follies. After her parents divorced, she eventually moved with her mother and stepfather to Yonkers, New York. At age 15, she began competing in numerous beauty pageants and was named "The Queen of Coney Island", "Miss Yonkers" and "Miss Loew's Paradise". At age 15, she dropped out of school and began modeling. In 1939, McDonald was named "Miss New York State". Later that same year, she debuted in George White's Scandals of 1939.

She was eventually dropped by Universal and signed with Paramount Pictures, earning $100 per week. While at Paramount, McDonald appeared in Lucky Jordan (1942). The following year, she was lent to Republic Pictures, where she co-starred in A Scream in the Dark, a "B" detective mystery that met with reasonable success. In January 1943, she married her agent Victor Orsatti in Reno, Nevada. They divorced in May 1947. After McDonald suffered several miscarriages, the couple adopted two children, Denice and Harrison. Shortly thereafter, the couple announced that they would remarry. By January 1955 however, McDonald claimed that plans to remarry were "all off" because she discovered she was allergic to Karl. Despite this claim, McDonald and Karl remarried in Arizona in June 1955. They separated in March 1956 and, in May, Karl filed for divorce claiming that McDonald had beat him, causing him "grievous mental suffering". At the time of their separation, McDonald was pregnant with the couple's first biological child. Karl dropped the divorce suit in June. In July, McDonald filed for divorce from Karl and was granted an interlocutory divorce decree later that month but their divorce was never finalized. Their daughter Tina Marie was born in September 1956. They divorced for good on April 16, 1958. Karl later married actress Debbie Reynolds.

During her final separation from Karl, McDonald began dating George Capri, one of the owners of the Flamingo Las Vegas. On June 12, 1958, Capri accompanied McDonald to the hospital after she accidentally overdosed on sleeping pills while the two were staying in Las Vegas. The following month, McDonald told the media that the two planned to marry after Capri's divorce.

On May 23, 1959, McDonald married television executive Louis Bass in Las Vegas. She filed for divorce after ten months, charging Bass with "mental cruelty". On August 6, 1961, she married banker and attorney Edward Callahan in Las Vegas. On September 17, 1962, Callahan filed suit in Los Angeles asking for a divorce from McDonald for mental cruelty or that the marriage be annulled due to fraud. Callahan claimed that the two had only lived together for two days because McDonald had no intention of making a home with him or having his children. Callahan also charged that McDonald would not convert to Catholicism. McDonald counter sued dismissing Callahan's claim, stating that they had lived together until September 7. She also claimed that Callahan had committed adultery and borrowed $2600 from her to finance their wedding and honeymoon which he did not repay. McDonald married for the seventh time in 1963 to her sixth and final husband, Donald Taylor. They met while she was appearing in Promises, Promises, the final film which Taylor produced. They remained married until McDonald's death.

Alleged kidnapping

On January 4, 1957, McDonald's mother contacted the police, reporting that a nervous-sounding man had claimed to have abducted her daughter from her Los Angeles home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. McDonald's mother found a note in the mailbox of her daughter's house, instructing her not to involve the police. Later, McDonald's estranged husband, Harry Karl, also received a call from a male who sounded "like a nervous young kid", warning against contacting the authorities if he wanted to see her alive.

McDonald claimed that she had been taken to another location, where she managed to make three phone calls to her agent, Harold Plant, actor Michael Wilding (whom she was dating), and columnist Harrison Carroll. According to her account, two men demanded her ring and money and gave her a mysterious injection. did not align with the assault she described. McDonald agreed to a re-enactment, which was filmed by police. but later admitted that she fabricated his alleged involvement. On January 16, a grand jury convened to investigate the kidnapping. After weighing the evidence, the grand jury could not come up with any conclusive evidence to bring charges against anyone. On October 30, the coroner announced that McDonald's death was caused by "active drug intoxication due to multiple drugs" and was determined to be an accident or a suicide. The case was referred to a suicide team of psychologists and psychiatrists, which determined the final cause of her death. McDonald's funeral was held on October 23 at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale in Glendale, California. Her remains were interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale. In December 1965, the suicide team classified her death as "accidental" after determining that she likely did not choose to die by suicide.

Three months after McDonald's death, on January 3, 1966, her widower Donald F. Taylor died of an intentional overdose of Seconal.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1941 It Started with Eve Cigarette girl uncredited 1942 You're Telling Me Girl uncredited Pardon My Sarong Ferna Lucky Jordan Pearl (Secretary) 1943 Tornado Diana Linden A Scream in the Dark Joan Allen Riding High bit part uncreditedalternative title: Melody Inn Caribbean Romance alternative title: Musical Parade: Caribbean Romance 1944 Standing Room Only Opal uncredited I Love a Soldier Gracie Our Hearts Were Young and Gay Blonde uncredited Guest in the House Miriam alternative title: Satan in Skirts 1945 Getting Gertie's Garter Gertie It's a Pleasure Gale Fletcher 1947 Living in a Big Way Margo Morgan 1949 Tell It to the Judge Ginger Simmons 1950 Once a Thief Flo Hit Parade of 1951 Michele 1954 The Danny Thomas Show episode: "Pittsburgh" 1958 The Geisha Boy Lola Livingston 1959 The Red Skelton Show Lil episode: "Clem the Mailman" 1963 Promises! Promises! Claire Banner