European Film Star Postcards: Marilyn Maxwell

13 March 2025

Marilyn Maxwell

Curvaceous, platinum-haired, sparkling-eyed Marilyn Maxwell (1920-1972) was a leading lady in Hollywood films of the 1940s and 1950s. Throughout World War II, and later the Korean War, she accompanied three-time co-star (and off-screen lover) Bob Hope on USO tours to entertain troops.

British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. W 718. Photo: United Artists.

Dutch postcard, no. A.X. 173.

Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, no. 52.13. Photo: Paramount.

"Hey, I'm the blond with her clothes on"

Marilyn Maxwell was born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell in Clarinda, Iowa, in 1921. She was trained in dance from age 3. While still a teenager she worked as an usher at the Rialto Theater in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later as as a radio singer.

In 1942, she signed up with MGM. Studio head Louis B. Mayer wisely insisted she change her real first name 'Marvel'. She dropped it and kept Marilyn, which was her middle name. Also on advice from her new employer, Maxwell went blonde. This completed her look and eventually cemented her as a beauty icon of the time. She made her film debut in the War film Stand by for Action (Robert Z. Leonard, 1942) with Robert Taylor and Charles Laughton.

Tall, blonde, with good looks and a pleasant singing voice, she scampered through many breezy, forgettable film roles. Her films included Lost in a Harem (Charles Reisner, 1944) with Abbott and Costello, the Film Noir Champion (Mark Robson, 1949) starring Kirk Douglas, the Bob Hope comedy The Lemon Drop Kid (Sidney Lanfield, 1951), and Rock-A-Bye Baby (Frank Tashlin, 1958), starring Jerry Lewis

Her style was once described as part Joan Blondell's 'Good Joe' and part Mae West's vamp. She was once compared to Marilyn Monroe and replied, "Hey, I'm the blond with her clothes on." She was popular in nightclubs, particularly in New York's famed Latin Quarter.

She was also a crowd-pleaser and stalwart trouper in Bob Hope's legendary tours of US and Allied military installations worldwide. Part of her act with Hope was wearing a tight sweater and singing 'I Want to Love You'. According to Arthur Marx's biography 'The Secret Life of Bob Hope', Hope's long-term affair with Maxwell was so open that the Hollywood community routinely called her "Mrs. Bob Hope." Hope was married to singer Dolores (Reade) Hope. Maxwell also appeared on TV as a sexy foil to many top comedians, especially Hope and Red Skelton.

Vintage postcard. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

French or Belgian postcard by Kores Carboplane. Photo: Universal.

Belgian collector card by Kwatta, Bois-D'Haine, no. C. 29. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

"Only a friendship"

Marilyn Maxwell was a close friend of Rock Hudson. After her third marriage to Jerry Davis ended in 1960, Hudson's agent Henry Willson arranged for Maxwell to become one of several women Hudson publicly "dated" to counter rumors of the actor's homosexuality. She teased reporters about how their relationship was "only a friendship."

Her most prominent part on television in this period was that of diner owner Grace Sherwood on Bus Stop (1961), a series she left after one season after becoming bored of "doing nothing but pour a second cup of coffee and point the way to the men's room". Reportedly, Maxwell found her reprieve by drinking, and drinking far too much. As the 1960s wore on her vice started to take a toll on her, affecting both her acting ability and the good looks that helped carry her through her career.

Her later films included the comedy Critic's Choice (Don Weis, 1963), starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, and the action drama The Lively Set (Jack Arnold, 1964) starring James Darren. At one low point in 1967, she performed in a burlesque show as a stripper in Queens, New York. Maxwell struggled with her health during this time. Doctors diagnosed her with both lung disease and hypertension, which were probably further aggravated by her drinking habits.

Marilyn Maxwell married three times, each marriage ending in divorce. She married MGM actor John Conte in 1944 in The Little Church Around the Corner in New York City. They divorced two years later. Her second marriage to restaurateur Anders McIntyre lasted just over a year. Her third marriage to writer/producer Jerry Davis produced a son, Matthew (1956). They divorced after six years of marriage.

In 1972, her then 15-year-old son Matthew found her dead in the bathroom of their home, when he arrived home from school. She was the victim of a heart attack brought on by high blood pressure and a pulmonary ailment. Maxwell was 51 at the time of her death. Rock Hudson looked after her son during the funeral arrangements.