Barbara Nichols
Barbara Marie Nickerauer (December 10, 1928[1] – October 5, 1976), known professionally as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s.
Barbara Nichols | |
|---|---|
Nichols in 1956 | |
| Born | Barbara Marie Nickerauer December 10, 1928 Mineola, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 1976 (aged 47) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Pinelawn Memorial Park |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1953–1976 |
Early life and career
Nichols was born Barbara Marie Nickerauer to George and Julia Nickerauer and was raised in Queens, New York.[citation needed]
Early in her career, Nichols was a showgirl when a club owner offered her a much higher salary to become a striptease performer. She declined the offer, keeping her focus on becoming an actress.[2] She began modeling for cheesecake magazines in the late 1940s and eventually was considered a minor rival to Marilyn Monroe. On Broadway, she appeared in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey (she also appeared in the 1957 film version) and in Let It Ride (1961).[3] In the mid 1950s, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in showy supporting roles in A-films, such as Miracle in the Rain (1956), The King and Four Queens (1956), The Naked and the Dead (1958), The Pajama Game (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), That Kind of Woman (1958), and Where the Boys Are (1960), with high profile actors, including Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Sophia Loren, and Doris Day[citation needed]. One of her few starring roles was in the 1965 science-fiction film The Human Duplicators.[citation needed] Her final film was Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976.
Nichols was also a frequent guest star on many television series, including It's a Great Life, The Jack Benny Television Show, The Twilight Zone (in the episode "Twenty Two"), The Untouchables, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Going My Way, Batman (episodes 35 and 36), Hawaii Five-O, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies.
Death
Nichols died on October 5, 1976, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from liver failure due to complications of a damaged spleen and liver reportedly sustained in separate automobile accidents many years earlier.[4][5] She is interred at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, New York.[6]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | River of No Return | Blonde dancer | Uncredited |
| 1956 | Manfish | Mimi | |
| 1956 | Miracle in the Rain | Arlene Parker née Witchy | |
| 1956 | Beyond a Reasonable Doubt | Dolly Moore | |
| 1956 | The Wild Party | Sandy | |
| 1956 | The King and Four Queens | Birdie McDade | |
| 1957 | Sweet Smell of Success | Rita | |
| 1957 | The Pajama Game | Poopsie | |
| 1957 | Pal Joey | Gladys | |
| 1958 | Ten North Frederick | Stella | |
| 1958 | The Naked and the Dead | Mildred Croft | |
| 1959 | Woman Obsessed | Mayme Radzevitch | |
| 1959 | That Kind of Woman | Jane | |
| 1960 | Who Was That Lady? | Gloria Coogle | |
| 1960 | Where the Boys Are | Lola Fandango | |
| 1961 | The George Raft Story | Texas Guinan | |
| 1962 | House of Women | Candy Kane | |
| 1964 | Looking for Love | Gaye Swinger | |
| 1964 | Dear Heart | June Loveland | |
| 1964 | The Disorderly Orderly | Miss Marlowe | |
| 1965 | The Human Duplicators | Gale Wilson | (Alternative title: Jaws of the Alien) |
| 1965 | The Loved One | Sadie Blodgett | |
| 1966 | The Swinger | Blossom LaTour | |
| 1968 | The Power | Flora | |
| 1968 | Criminal Affair | (Alternative titles: Seven Men and One Brain and Sette uomini e un cervello) | |
| 1973 | Charley and the Angel | Sadie | |
| 1974 | The Photographer | Mrs. Wilde | |
| 1976 | Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Nick's Girl |
| Year | Title | Role | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Studio One in Hollywood | First Pretty Girl | Episode: "Complications of a Nervous Man" |
| 1954 | The Mask | Episode: "Murder in the Burlesque House" | |
| 1954 | The United States Steel Hour | Bridie | Episode: "Good for You" |
| 1954 | The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse | Ruth | Episode: "The Man in the Middle of the Ocean" |
| 1954 | Center Stage | Episode: "Heart of a Clown" | |
| 1954 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Bar Patron/Party Flirt/Bobsey Baxter | Episode: "Fred Allen's Sketchbook" |
| 1955 | Danger | Episode: "Sandy River Blues" | |
| 1956 | Chevron Hall of Stars | Rosie | Episode: "Double Cross" |
| 1956 | It's a Great Life | Caroline Cabot | 2 episodes |
| 1956-1958 | The Bob Cummings Show | Marian Billington | 3 episodes |
| 1957 | Matinee Theater | Episode: "The Gentleman Caller" | |
| 1957-1959 | The Thin Man | Various roles | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Maverick | Blanche | Episode: "The Third Rider" |
| 1958 | Love That Jill | Ginger | 13 episodes |
| 1958 | Shower of Stars | Miss Kim O'Day | Episode #4.7 |
| 1958 | Climax! | Dale Benson | Episode: "The Push-Button Giant" |
| 1958 | Dragnet | Episode: "The Big Star" | |
| 1958 | The Milton Berle Show | Guest | Episode dated November 19, 1958 |
| 1958-1960 | The Red Skelton Hour | Gertie - Bolivar's Girlfriend | 4 episodes |
| 1958-1960 | The Jack Benny Program | Mildred Meyerhouser | 4 episodes |
| 1959 | The Scarface Mob | Brandy LaFrance | Television movie |
| 1959 | Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse | Brandy LaFrance | 2 episodes |
| 1959 | The Real McCoys | Gladys Slade | Episode: "The Politician" |
| 1959 | The Untouchables | Brandy LaFrance/Barbara Ritchie | 2 episodes |
| 1959 | The Dennis O'Keefe Show | Episode #1.10 | |
| 1960 | Stagecoach West | Sadie Wren | Episode: "A Time to Run" |
| 1961 | The Twilight Zone | Liz Powell | Episode: "Twenty Two" |
| 1961 | G.E. True Theater | Leslie Blaine | Episode: "The Small Elephants" |
| 1961 | Michael Shayne | Topaz McQueen | Episode: "Marriage Can Be Fatal" |
| 1961 | The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor | Abby Landis | Episode: "Duty Date" |
| 1961 | Miami Undercover | Kitty | Episode: "Kitty" |
| 1961 | Westinghouse Playhouse | Lorraine Hadley | Episode: "House Guest" |
| 1962 | The Dick Powell Show | Bunny Easter | Episode: "No Strings Attached" |
| 1963 | Alcoa Premiere | Willy Simms | Episode: "Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks" |
| 1963 | Going My Way | Marie | Episode: "Has Anyone Seen Eddie?" |
| 1963 | Vacation Playhouse | Barbara Adams | Episode: "All About Barbara" |
| 1963 | Arrest and Trial | Ginny | Episode: "Isn't It a Lovely View" |
| 1963 | Grindl | Wilma Bryan | Episode: "Grindl, Witness for the Defense" |
| 1963 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Chickadee Laverne | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Ann Hilts | Episode: "My Enemy, This Town" |
| 1964 | The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters | Mamie | Episode: "The Day of the Dark Deeds" |
| 1965 | Laredo | Princess | Episode: "A Question of Discipline" |
| 1966 | The Wild Wild West | Bessie | Episode: "The Night of the Whirring Death" |
| 1966 | Batman | Maid Marilyn | 2 episodes (35 and 36) |
| 1967 | Green Acres | Wanda | Episode: "Never Take Your Wife to a Convention" |
| 1967 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Ida Martz | Episode: "The Phi Beta Killer Affair" |
| 1967 | The Jackie Gleason Show | Kitty - Big Sam's Moll | Episode: "The Honeymooners: Two Faces of Ralph Kramden" |
| 1969 | Hawaii Five-O | Betsy | Episode: "A Thousand Pardons - You're Dead!" |
| 1971 | The Smith Family | Effie | Episode: "Greener Pastures" |
| 1971 | The Doris Day Show | Mrs. Hollister | Episode: "Have I Got a Fellow for You!" |
| 1971 | Love, American Style | Gladys | Segment: "Love and the Doctor's Honeymoon" |
| 1971-1973 | Adam-12 | Various roles | 3 episodes Ginger Stephens, “Truant” (1971) Janice Walker, “Vendetta” (1972) Elizabeth Mitchell, “West Valley Division (1973) |
| 1974 | Emergency! | Ginger | Episode: "Details" |
| 1974 | The Rookies | Marie Antionette | Episode: "Blue Christmas" |
References
- ^ Some sources formerly cited December 30, 1929 as her date of birth, although December 10, 1928 is accurate.
Search under Barbara Nickerauer 2017-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, death-records.mooseroots.com; accessed March 20, 2016. - ^ "Her Career Is a Teaser". Chattanooga Daily Times. Tennessee, Chattanooga. Associated Press. May 10, 1959. p. 24. Retrieved July 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barbara Nichols at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ "Barbara Nichols, 'dizzy blonde' actress, is dead". Lodi News-Sentinel. October 7, 1976. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
- ^ "Barbara Nichols Dies at 47". The New York Times. October 7, 1976. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ "Obituary for Actress Barbara Nichols (Aged 47)". Newsday (Suffolk Edition). 7 October 1976.
External links
- Barbara Nichols at Find a Grave
- Barbara Nichols at IMDb
- Barbara Nichols at the Internet Broadway Database
- Barbara Nichols at AllMovie