Mary Hartline

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Mary Pauline Hartline (born October 29, 1927 in Hillsboro , Illinois ; † August 12, 2020 there ) was an American actress and presenter . She became one of the first stars of American television through the Super Circus show, which she co-hosted .

Life

Mary Hartline was born to Paul and Dorothy Crowder Hartline, the second child. Her father was a politician and leader of the Democratic Party in Montgomery County . Hartline graduated from Hillsboro High School, where she was dubbed the "Queen of Love and Beauty" at the prom.

Bandleader and radio host Harold Stokes, also from Montgomery County, discovered Hartline while he was planning his television debut. He then hired her as a dancer for his show and encouraged Hartline to move to Chicago and work as a model there.

In 1946 she was signed by the American Broadcasting Company and was henceforth part of the cast of the Harold Stokes-produced show Teen Town , in which she appeared with Dick York , among others . During their engagement on the show Hartline fell out for a short time after on poliomyelitis was ill, returned to their healing but again to fill back. Shortly thereafter, she married her mentor Harold Stokes, who was 42 years her senior.

In 1949, Mary Hartline became the presenter of the show Super Circus , along with Claude Kirchner and Mike Wallace , in which artistic feats, skits and musical numbers were performed in a circus-like setting. Hartline mostly wore a kind of parade uniform during their appearances and became a national star and sex symbol through the show . This resulted in numerous fan articles, including a Mary Hartline doll. Super Circus was successfully produced with the same line-up in Chicago for six years before the studio replaced Claude Kirchner and Mary Hartline with Jerry Colonna and Sandy Wirth in 1955 . However, this turned out to be a flop: after just one season under the new line-up, the show , which was now being shot in New York, was canceled in 1956.

After Super Circus , Mary Hartline attempted a solo career. Already in 1951 she had her own show with the Mary Hartline Show , but it was short-lived. From 1957 she hosted the show Princess Mary's Magic Castle on the local television station Chicago TV for a year and a half . After their dismissal, Hartline ended her television career and withdrew into private life.

After her divorce from Harold Stokes in 1951, Mary Hartline was married three more times. The marriage with the lawyer George Barnard was divorced in 1960. Her third husband, Chicago-based contractor George Carlson, died shortly after the wedding. Their fourth and final marriage to the F. W. Woolworth Company heirs, Woolworth Donahue, lasted until his death in 1972. The couple owned properties in Palm Beach and Long Island , which Hartline also owned for several after Woolworth Donahue's death Years inhabited. Most recently she lived in her native Hillsboro. In 2012, Hartline was honored with her own exhibition at the Museum of Broadcast Communications for her services to American television .

Mary Hartline died at her Hillsboro home on August 12, 2020, aged 92.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ according to the Internet Movie Database 1929
  2. ^ The Museum of Broadcast Communications: Museum Of Broadcast Communications Salutes Telstar And Mary Hartline. In: Chicagoland Radio and Media. July 22, 2012, accessed January 24, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Mary Hartline Donahue, 92. In: The Journal News. August 12, 2020, accessed on August 12, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Hartline, Mary
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hartline, Mary Pauline (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and presenter
DATE OF BIRTH October 29, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Hillsboro , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH August 12, 2020
Place of death Hillsboro , Illinois