Virginia Ruth "Jennie" Lewis (née Egnor; November 29, 1921 – October 9, 2001), known professionally as Dagmar, was an American actress, model, and television personality. In the 1950s, she became one of the first major female stars of television, receiving much press coverage.

Early life

Egnor was born in Yawkey, West Virginia, and went to high school in Huntington, West Virginia, where she was known as Ruthie. She attended Huntington Business School and worked at

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, a ...

as a cashier, waitress, sandwich maker, and

soda jerk Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is an American term used to refer to a person — typically a young man — who would operate the soda fountain in a drugstore, preparing and serving soda drinks and ice cream sodas. The drinks were made by mixing fl ...

. After her marriage to Angelo Lewis in 1941, she moved to New York, where he was a naval officer, stationed at Navy Ferry Command on Long Island.

Broadway

Egnor adopted Jennie Lewis as her stage name (taken from her real-life married name, Virginia Lewis). To keep herself busy, she became a fashion photographer's model, and in 1944, other models encouraged her to audition for comedians Ole Olsen and

Chic Johnson Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson (March 15, 1891 – February 28, 1962) was the barrel-chested half of the American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his strangely infectious, high-pitched "Woo-Woo" laugh. Background Johnson was born of S ...

. Although she had no show business experience, she was cast in their Broadway musical revue, '' Laffing Room Only'', a Shubert production at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

. With Olsen and Johnson, she performed in four sketches from December 23, 1944, to July 14, 1945. As a

chorus girl A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms su ...

named Bubbles, she appeared with

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Zeke", in the MGM adaptation of ...

in the Broadway comedy ''Burlesque'', which ran for 439 performances from December 25, 1946, until January 10, 1948. The play was set in the basement dressing-room of a midwest burlesque theater, a New York hotel suite, and a theater in Paterson, New Jersey.

Television

In 1950, when Lewis was hired by Jerry Lester for NBC's first late-night show '' Broadway Open House'' (1950–51), he renamed her Dagmar. Lester devised the name as a satirical reference following the huge success on television of the TV series '' Mama'' (1949–1957), in which the younger sister, Dagmar Hansen, was portrayed by

Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the ...

. As Dagmar, Lewis was instructed to wear a low-cut gown, sit on a stool, and play the role of a stereotypical dumb blonde. With tight sweaters displaying the Lewis' curvy figure, her dim-bulb character was an immediate success, soon attracting much more attention than Lester. Lewis quickly showed that regardless of appearances, she was quite bright and quick-witted. Her appearances created a sensation, leading to much press coverage and a salary increase from $75 to $1,250. With Dagmar getting all the attention and Lester burned out from having to create new material five nights per week, Lester walked off his own show in May 1951, and Dagmar became the host until the show was cancelled in August 1951. Dagmar became one of the leading personalities of early 1950s live television, doing sketch comedy on Milton Berle's ''

Texaco Star Theater ''Texaco Star Theater'' was an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave M ...

'', the '' Bob Hope Show'', and other shows. On June 17, 1951, she appeared on the ''

Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' with host Eddie Cantor and guests Milton Berle, Phil Foster, and Jack Leonard. In 1951, she made a TV guest appearance with Frank Sinatra, which prompted Columbia Records producer

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

to record " Mama Will Bark", a novelty duet between Sinatra and Dagmar. The record has often been considered one of the worst of his career; however, it made no. 21 on the ''Billboard'' charts. Dagmar was featured in a ''Life'' cover story with

Alfred Eisenstaedt Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898 – August 23, 1995) was a German-born American photographer and photojournalist. He began his career in Germany prior to World War II but achieved prominence as a staff photographer for ''Life'' magazine af ...

's photo of her on the July 16, 1951 issue. For the interior photo essay, ''Life'' photographers followed her to rehearsals and accompanied her on a vacation to her home town in West Virginia.

''Dagmar's Canteen''

In 1952, she hosted the short-lived, late Saturday evening '' Dagmar's Canteen'' (which aired on NBC at 12:15 am Eastern Time), in which she sang, danced, interviewed servicemen, and performed comedy routines. The basic premise of the show was that servicemen from the audience were given roles to act with Dagmar in sketches. One of Dagmar's sisters, Jean, was a member of the cast of ''Dagmar's Canteen''. Jean previously worked as a chorus girl on Broadway, and served as Dagmar's secretary, handling her sister's fan mail, which sometimes soared to 8,000 letters per month.

Later career

When her television show ended, Dagmar performed in Las Vegas shows and summer stock theater.

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

spoke glowingly of her in an interview, stating that she had given him his big break as her accompanist early in his career. In the 1950s, Dagmar was a regular panelist on the game show ''

Who Said That? ''Who Said That?'' is a 1948–55 NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, ...

'', with H.V. Kaltenborn,

Deems Taylor Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American music critic, composer, and promoter of classical music. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music." Earl ...

, Frank Conniff,

Peggy Ann Garner Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress. As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of c ...

, and

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

. She occasionally made guest appearances on such shows as ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'', '' The Mike Wallace Interview'', and ''

Masquerade Party ''Masquerade Party'' was an American television game show. During its original run from 1952 to 1960, the show appeared at various times on every television network except DuMont ( ABC, NBC, and CBS). A syndicated revival was produced for one ...

'' (once disguised as John L. Lewis), and during the 1960s, she appeared on ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...

'', ''

The Mike Douglas Show ''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...

'', and other shows. Dagmar was one of a number of performers who posed for pictures in the

Patrick Dennis Edward Everett Tanner III (18 May 1921 – 6 November 1976), known by the pseudonym Patrick Dennis, was an American author. His novel '' Auntie Mame: An irreverent escapade'' (1955) was one of the bestselling American books of the 20 ...

novel ''First Lady,'' published in 1965, as the

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a ...

and presidential

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

, Gladys Goldfoil. In 1950s auto design, the slang term Dagmar bumper emerged to describe dual pointed chrome projections on the front ends of Cadillacs, Buicks, Packards, and other U.S. automobiles, an allusion to the actress's physique and trademark attire.

Personal life

After her marriage to Angelo Lewis ended, she was married to actor Danny Dayton through much of the 1950s, and then to bandleader Dick Hinds in 1967. After years on the nightclub circuit, she moved to Ceredo, West Virginia, in June 1996 to be near her family. In her last years, she lived with her brother Bob Egnor and his wife. Dagmar died in Ceredo on October 9, 2001, of undisclosed causes, aged 79. She was survived by three sisters, three brothers, an aunt, and numerous nieces and nephews. In 2006, she was among the early people to be inducted into the newly formed West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame at the Museum of Radio and Technology in Huntington, West Virginia.

References

External links

* *
''Huntington Quarterly'' 35 (1999): "The Delightful Dagmar" (full text)
*

interviewed by Mike Wallace on ''The Mike Wallace Interview'' (August 11, 1957) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dagmar 1921 births 2001 deaths Actresses from West Virginia American stage actresses American television talk show hosts Actors from Huntington, West Virginia People from Lincoln County, West Virginia Female models from West Virginia 20th-century American actresses Huntington High School (West Virginia) alumni