British collectors card in the Modern Beauties Series, Sixth Series, no. 4 (of 36). Photo: Warner Bros & First National Pictures.

Marie Wilson (1916-1972) was an American radio, film, and television actress, best remembered as My Friend Irma. Gary Brumburgh at IMDb: "Lovely, innocent-looking, well-endowed comedienne Marie Wilson was a featherbrained delight instantly reminiscent of the zany Gracie Allen. Unlike Allen, however, Marie was a knockout--with high cheekbones, a wide slash of a mouth and a figure that wouldn't quit."

Marie (sometimes Mari) Wilson was born Katherine Elisabeth White in Anaheim, California, in 1916. Wilson began her career in New York City as a dancer on the Broadway stage. Wilson's performance as Miss Murgatroyd in Satan Met a Lady (William Dieterle, 1936), the second film adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's detective novel The Maltese Falcon, is a virtual template for Marilyn Monroe's later onscreen persona. Other films include The Great Garrick (James Whale, 1937), Fools for Scandal (Mervyn LeRoy, Bobby Connolly, 1938), Boy Meets Girl (Lloyd Bacon, 1938) with James Cagney, and Broadway Musketeers (John Farrow, 1938). She then found great stage success as the sexy stooge for impresario Ken Murray in his extremely popular Los Angeles 'Blackout' vaudeville-style stage shows of the early 1940s. Her mock striptease bit was a particular highlight and she stayed with the show for seven years. During World War II, she was also a volunteer performer at the Hollywood Canteen, and she was a popular wartime pin-up.

In 1947, she gained national prominence as Irma Peterson in the radio show My Friend Irma. This sitcom was so popular in the late 1940s that its success escalated to a comic strip, a comic book and two films, My Friend Irma (George Marshall, 1949) and My Friend Irma Goes West (Hal Walker, 1950). Both films are mainly remembered today for introducing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis to moviegoers. Marie Wilson again played Irma in the TV series My friend Irma, broadcasted on CBS from January 1952 until June 1954. Wikipedia: "the show made her a star but typecast her almost interminably as the quintessential dumb blonde, which she played in numerous comedies." Wilson appeared in more than 40 films and was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show on four occasions. She was a television performer during the 1960s, working until her untimely death. Wilson was married to LA golf professional Bob Stevens (1938–1939), actor Allan Nixon (1942–1950) and producer Robert Fallon (1951–1972). Marie Wilson died of cancer in 1972 at age 56.

Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

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British cigarette card in the seventh Modern Beauties Series by American Tobacco Co, no. 15, 1937. Caption: Beatrice Appleyard of the Windmill Theatre, London.

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British cigarette card in the Seventh series of Modern Beauties, no. 8.

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British cigarette card in the Seventh series of Modern Beauties, no. 16. Caption: 16 year old lady of chorus at the Prince of Wales's Theatre, London. This is one of a series of 36 real photographs now being packed with these cigarettes.

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British cigarette card in the Seventh series of Modern Beauties, no. 6. Caption: Pamela Mervyn of the Windmill Theatre, London.

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