Marie McDonald

Marie McDonald
Marie McDonald (September 8, 1944 issue of Yank magazine)
Born	Cora Marie Frye (1923-07-06)July 6, 1923 Burgin, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	October 21, 1965(1965-10-21) (aged 42) Hidden Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Accidental drug overdose
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Occupation	Actress, singer
Spouse(s)	Richard Allord (m. 1940; div. 1940) Victor M. Orsatti (m. 1943; div. 1947) Harry Karl (m. 1947; div. 1954) Harry Karl (m. 1955; div. 1958) Louis Bass (m. 1959; div. 1960) Edward F. Callahan (m. 1961; div. 1962) Donald F. Taylor (m. 1963–65)
Children	3

Marie McDonald (July 6, 1923 – October 21, 1965) was an American singer and actress known as "The Body Beautiful" and later nicknamed "The Body".

Born Cora Marie Frye in Burgin, Kentucky, she was the daughter 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 the age of 15, began competing in numerous beauty pageants and was named "The Queen of Coney Island", "Miss Yonkers" and "Miss Loew's Paradise". At the age of 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. The following year, at age 17, she landed a showgirl role in the Broadway production at the Earl Carroll Theatre called Earl Carroll's Vanities.

Shortly thereafter, she moved to Hollywood hoping to develop a career in show business. She continued modeling and continued to work for the owner of the Broadway theatre as a showgirl at his Sunset Boulevard nightclub.

After auditioning for Tommy Dorsey in December 1940, she joined Dorsey & His Orchestra on his radio show and she later performed with other big bands. Dorsey suggested that she change her last name from "Frye" to her mother's maiden name "McDonald" which she used professionally for the rest of her life. In 1942, she was put under contract by Universal for $75 a week and immediately appeared in several minor roles. That year, she appeared in three motion pictures, most notably, Pardon My Sarong, which earned her the nickname "The Body" for her shapely physique. She was eventually dropped by Universal and signed with Paramount Pictures, earning $100 a week. While at Paramount, McDonald appeared in Lucky Jordan (1942). The following year, she was loaned to Republic Pictures where she co-starred in A Scream in the Dark, a "B" detective mystery that met with reasonable success. During World War II, McDonald became one of Hollywood's most popular pin-up girls and she posed for the United States military magazine, Yank. While she initially did not mind being called "The Body", McDonald soon grew tired of the nickname and focus on her body and expressed a desire to be known for her acting and singing skills.