Pretty girls in the 1950s who dreamed of becoming movie stars could dip their toes into the entertainment business by working as pinup models. That’s the route the Long Beach-native Mari Blanchard took. Although she never became the Hollywood starlet she hoped to be, she was a popular pinup girl and knockout femme fatale of B movies in the 1950s and 1960s. Her coquettish singing and flirtatious dancing in B movies for Universal Studios earned her the nickname the “Queen Allure.”
Mari Blanchard was born in 1932 and at the age of nine years old, she was stricken with polio, a deadly disease that left many of its survivors crippled for life. Mari was one of the lucky ones. She used dance lessons to help improve her mobility and stamina. By the time she was 15 years old, she was not only completely recovered from her bout with polio, but she was also a skilled dancer. And she had matured into a beautiful girl.
She ran away to join the circus and later enrolled as a student, bouncing between three different colleges. Hoping to make her mark on the silver screen, Mari attended film auditions, but failed to land any roles. As pretty as she was, however, she caught the eye of a photographer who helped her start her career as a pinup model. Photos of her circulated all over the country.
By the late 1940s, Mari Blanchard was enjoying a small degree of professional success as a model and had become more confident as an actress. It was time to give her acting dreams another shot. When a film producer saw her photo in a bubble bath ad and sought her out, Mari hoped her big break was coming. It turned out to be a little break.
Mari Blanchard was cast as a film extra. That led to a few more bit roles until, in 1952, she was signed to a contract with Universal. She appeared in Back at the Front and The Veils of Baghdad. Her most memorable movie role was in the 1953 comedy, Abbot and Costello Go to Mars. In this film, Blanchard played Queen Allure of Venus. She starred in the 1954 movie, Destry, alongside Audie Murphy.
Throughout the 1950s, Mari Blanchard appeared in such films as the 1955 Son of Sinbad, the 1956 Stagecoach to Fury, the 1957 She Devil, the 1957 Jungle Heat, and the 1958 No Place to Land. She was modeling and working consistently as an actress, yet she could never elevate herself to stardom.
In the 1960s, she switched gears and tried to gain fame as a television actress. She took guest appearances in television series like Rawhide, Bachelor Father, Sea Hunt, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, and The Virginians, but yet again, she was unable to parlay these appearances into starring roles. She only made a few film appearances in the 1960s. Her minor role as the flashy and flamboyant Camille in the 1963 John Wayne movie McLintock! was well-received.
After filming wrapped up on McLintock!, Mari Blanchard’s health began to decline. She was diagnosed with cancer and fought bravely against the disease until she finally lost her fight in 1970. Mari Blanchard epitomized the plight of every 1950s pinup girl during the Golden Age of Hollywood who hoped her pretty face and curvy physique could launch her to stardom, only to be relocated to B movies and cheesecake posters.