Marjie Millar (August 10, 1931 – April 16, 1966) was an American television and film

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. She was born Marjorie Joy Miller to George W. and Eunice Miller in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

. Millar's father had changed his surname to "Miller", but she later returned to the original spelling.

Early career and education

During World War II, she was named "Sweetheart of the 41st Division", having performed more than 7,000 hours singing for soldiers at nearby Ft. Lewis. In 1946, she hosted a variety show for patients at Madigan Army Hospital at Ft. Lewis on the unique radio station for the hospital known as "Voice of Madigan". She attended Annie Wright Seminary, Washington Grammar School, and Mason Junior High School, and graduated in 1950 from Stadium High School in Tacoma. In 1949, she enrolled at

Stephens College Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...

, an all-women's school in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

, where she was a double major in radio/drama and psychology, graduating in 1951.

Marriages

Millar was married four times: to

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

college student James Sidney Rollins Jr. (1950–195?); to photographer and television director John Florea (1954–1957); to author and sportswriter

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for ...

(1961–64), whom she met when he was writing her biography, and to Lt. Commander Charles Candoo (USN).

Career

She appeared in the

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

'' Dragnet'' (in 1956) and '' The Millionaire''. While working in Los Angeles, she reunited and lived with her roommate from Stephens College, Boni Ann Buehler. Millar later assisted Buehler during her recovery after two limbs were amputated by a boat propeller (Beuhler was represented by Melvin Belli in the famous civil suit against

Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American hotel magnate and politician who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature ...

). Millar's biggest film role was playing

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

's love interest in the 1953

Martin and Lewis Martin and Lewis were an American comedy duo, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis. They met in 1944 and debuted at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 25, 1946; the team lasted ten years to the day. Before they teamed up, Martin ...

film '' Money from Home''. She also had a major role in '' About Mrs. Leslie'', a drama starring

Shirley Booth Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards. ...

and

Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

as the romantic leads. It was not a success at the box office despite its prominent cast. In the early 1960s, for a short time she was choreographer for the Tacoma instrumental rock group

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...

Injury and later life

Injuries sustained in a 1957 auto accident on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, resulted in infection and gangrene of her left leg. After reporting to work on ''Dragnet'' she went back to her apartment but became too weak to lift the phone and was found by a neighbor who noticed several days' accumulation of milk bottles and newspapers. She was taken to a hospital and saved by massive blood transfusions after an appeal to the public for blood. Her leg was not amputated, but she was forced to end her acting career. She divorced husband John Florea, and moved back to

, where she operated a dance school and later started a

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

-area-produced television program with her third husband, author

. After marrying her fourth husband, a Lieutenant in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, she followed him to his duty station in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

Death

Millar died at Coronado Hospital in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, in 1966 as a result of cirrhosis of the liver and chronic

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

after enduring at least 14 surgeries on her injured leg.Profile
imdb.com; accessed September 26, 2014."Ex-Tacoma Dance Star Dies At 36", ic''Tacoma News Tribune'', April 18, 1966.

Filmography

References

External links

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Marjie Millar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millar, Marjie 20th-century American actresses 1966 deaths 1931 births Actresses from San Diego American film actresses Actresses from Tacoma, Washington Deaths from pancreatitis Deaths from cirrhosis Stephens College alumni Alcohol-related deaths in California Stadium High School alumni