Harry Karl
Who was the spouse of Marie McDonald from 1947 to 1954?
Marie McDonald Marie McDonald ( born Cora Marie Frye , July 6 , 1923 – October 21 , 1965 ) was an American singer and actress known as The Body Beautiful and later nicknamed The Body . Early life . Born in Burgin , Kentucky , McDonald was the daughter of Evertt Ed Frye and Marie Taboni ( née McDonald ) who performed in the Ziegfeld Follies . After her parents divorced , she eventually moved with her mother and stepfather to Yonkers , New York . At the age of 15 , she began competing in numerous beauty pageants and was named The Queen of Coney Island , Miss Yonkers and Miss Loews Paradise . At the age of 15 , she dropped out of school and began modeling . In 1939 , McDonald was named Miss New York State . Later that same year , she debuted in George Whites Scandals of 1939 . The following year , at age 17 , she landed a showgirl role in the Broadway production at the Earl Carroll Theatre called Earl Carrolls Vanities . Shortly thereafter , she moved to Hollywood hoping to develop a career in show business . She continued modeling and continued to work for the owner of the Broadway theatre as a showgirl at his Sunset Boulevard nightclub . Career . After auditioning for Tommy Dorsey in December 1940 , she joined Dorsey & His Orchestra on his radio show and she later performed with other big bands . Dorsey suggested that she change her last name from Frye to her mothers maiden name McDonald , which she used professionally for the rest of her life . In 1942 , she was put under contract by Universal for $75 a week and immediately appeared in several minor roles . That year , she appeared in three motion pictures , most notably , Pardon My Sarong , which earned her the nickname The Body for her shapely physique . She was eventually dropped by Universal and signed with Paramount Pictures , earning $100 a week . While at Paramount , McDonald appeared in Lucky Jordan ( 1942 ) . The following year , she was lent to Republic Pictures , where she co-starred in A Scream in the Dark , a B detective mystery that met with reasonable success . During World War II , McDonald became one of Hollywoods most popular pin-up girls and posed for the United States military magazine , Yank . While she initially did not mind being called The Body , McDonald soon grew tired of the nickname and focus on her body and expressed a desire to be known for her acting and singing skills . She returned to Paramount where she appeared in supporting roles . In 1944 , McDonald co-starred in Guest in the House , in which she received the first positive reviews in her career . Her next starring role came when she worked for independent producer Edward Small as the title character in the 1945 screwball comedy Getting Gerties Garter . In 1947 , McDonald signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and co-starred with Gene Kelly in Living in a Big Way ( 1947 ) . McDonald and Kelly did not get along while shooting and the film was a financial failure . McDonald bought out the rest of her contract at M-G-M and went to Columbia Pictures where she appeared in a supporting role in Tell It to the Judge ( 1949 ) . In 1950 , McDonald appeared in Once a Thief and Hit Parade of 1951 , which would be her final films for the next eight years . For the remainder of the 1950s , McDonald focused on theatre and music . McDonald recorded an LP for RCA Victor in 1957 , The Body Sings , backed by Hal Borne and His Orchestra , which consisted of twelve standard ballads . She also toured the world in a very successful nightclub act . She returned to the screen in 1958 , when she was cast as actress Lola Livingston in The Geisha Boy , a slapstick comedy , opposite Jerry Lewis . In 1963 , she made her last film appearance in the sex comedy Promises ! Promises! , opposite Jayne Mansfield . Personal life . McDonalds seven marriages and various romances kept her in the media throughout her career . McDonalds first marriage was to sportswriter Richard Allord in 1940 . The marriage was annulled after three weeks . In January 1943 , McDonald married her agent , Victor Orsatti , in Reno , Nevada . They divorced in May 1947 . While awaiting her divorce from Orsatti , McDonald had an affair with mobster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel . Siegel reportedly dumped McDonald because of her chronic tardiness . McDonalds third and fourth marriages were to millionaire shoe manufacturer Harry Karl . They initially married in September 1947 . After McDonald suffered several miscarriages , the couple adopted two children , Denice and Harrison . They separated in August 1954 and were divorced that November . Shortly thereafter , the couple announced that they would remarry . By January 1955 however , McDonald claimed that plans to remarry were all off because she discovered she was allergic to Karl . Despite this claim , McDonald and Karl remarried in Arizona in June 1955 . They separated in March 1956 and , in May , Karl filed for divorce claiming that McDonald had beat him , causing him grievous mental suffering . At the time of their separation , McDonald was pregnant with the couples first biological child . Karl dropped the divorce suit in June . In July , McDonald filed for divorce from Karl and was granted an interlocutory divorce decree later that month but their divorce was never finalized . Their daughter , Tina Marie , was born in September 1956 . During their separation , McDonald dated Michael Wilding . McDonald and Karl reconciled again in 1957 but separated again in December 1957 . They divorced for good on April 16 , 1958 . Karl would go on to marry actress Debbie Reynolds . During her final separation from Karl , McDonald began dating George Capri . Capri was one of the owners of the Flamingo Las Vegas . On June 12 , 1958 , Capri accompanied McDonald to the hospital after she accidentally overdosed on sleeping pills while the two were staying in Las Vegas . The following month , McDonald told the media that the two planned to marry after Capris divorce . They broke up in September 1958 . On May 23 , 1959 , McDonald married television executive Louis Bass in Las Vegas . She filed for divorce after ten months , charging Bass with mental cruelty . On August 6 , 1961 , she married banker and attorney Edward Callahan in Las Vegas . On September 17 , 1962 , Callahan filed suit in Los Angeles asking for a divorce from McDonald for mental cruelty or that the marriage be annulled due to fraud . Callahan claimed that the two had only lived together for two days because McDonald had no intention of making a home with him or having his children . Callahan also charged that McDonald would not convert to Roman Catholicism . McDonald counter sued dismissing Callahans claim , stating that they had lived together until September 7 . She also claimed that Callahan had committed adultery and borrowed $2600 from her to finance their wedding and honeymoon which he did not repay . McDonald married for the sixth time to Donald Taylor in 1963 . They met while McDonald was appearing in Promises , Promises , the final film which Taylor produced . They remained married until McDonalds death . Alleged kidnapping . On January 4 , 1957 , McDonalds mother phoned police claiming that a man who sounded nervous called her at her home in Woodland Hills , Los Angeles at around 12 a.m . and told her that he had abducted McDonald from her Los Angeles home . McDonalds mother went to her daughters house and discovered a note in the mailbox instructing her not to call the police and that they would be in touch with her . Approximately two hours later , McDonalds then estranged husband Harry Karl also received a call from a male who sounded like a nervous young kid also informing him not to call police if he wanted to see McDonald alive again . While McDonald was supposedly being held by her abductors at another home , she telephoned her agent Harold Plant , actor Michael Wilding ( whom she was dating at the time ) , and columnist Harrison Carroll . McDonald told Carroll that two men kidnapped her from her house , demanded that she give them her ring and money and gave her a shot of something . McDonald later said one of the men discovered her making the call to Carroll ; he then took the phone from her , slapped her , blindfolded her and loaded her into a car . According to McDonald , the two men drove with her for some time and discussed taking her to a house in Mexico but , after hearing reports of her kidnapping on the radio , decided against this idea and dumped her on the side of the road . On January 5 , a truck driver discovered McDonald on a highway near Indio , California . After being rescued , McDonald told police that on January 4 , two swarthy men came to her house brandishing a sawed-off gun demanding that she open the door or they would shoot into the bedrooms of her children . After entering the home , McDonald said the two men took some jewelry , prepared a note and discussed demanding a $30,000 ransom for her return . The men then allowed McDonald to put on a robe and slippers and pack a small carrying case . They then forced McDonald into their car where she claimed she was blindfolded and driven to a home . At the home , McDonald said the men forced her to swallow pills which made her drowsy . She also claimed that she was able to make the three phone calls when the men left the room . A doctor who examined McDonald discovered she had two cracked teeth , bruises on her face and abrasions on her neck , legs and cheek but was otherwise unharmed . The doctor concluded that McDonalds injuries were not consistent with the supposed assault she claimed the two men inflicted on her . Police immediately began to doubt McDonalds story , which changed several times . Those doubts were furthered when it was discovered that the newspapers which the two supposed abductors used to construct the note found in McDonalds mailbox were found in McDonalds fireplace . Upon searching McDonalds home , police found a copy of the novel The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown , by Sylvia Tate . The book tells the story of a movie star who is kidnapped by two men . One investigator noticed that details in the book matched McDonalds story . Police then asked McDonald to undergo a polygraph test but her lawyer refused . McDonald agreed to reenact the abduction which the police filmed . McDonalds estranged husband Harry Karl also doubted the story and claimed McDonald was not a well woman . He also said that he doubted that two men would have easily abducted her as she would have surely fought back . McDonald then accused Karl of orchestrating the abduction for publicity purposes ( Karl denied this , calling McDonalds claims absurd and ridiculous ) . She later admitted that she made up Karls alleged involvement . After investigating the alleged kidnapping , police admitted that they could find no conclusive evidence that the event took place , due to perplexing discrepancies . On January 16 , a grand jury convened to investigate the kidnapping . McDonald testified that her story changed frequently because she was in shock when she gave her initial statement and had been taking sedatives when she gave other statements . After weighing the evidence , the grand jury could not come up with any conclusive evidence to bring charges against anyone . Death . On October 21 , 1965 , McDonalds sixth husband , Donald F . Taylor , found McDonalds body slumped over her dressing table in their Hidden Hills , California home . On October 30 , the coroner announced that McDonalds death was caused by active drug intoxication due to multiple drugs and was determined to be an accident or a suicide . The case was then referred to a suicide team of psychologists and psychiatrists who would determine the final mode of McDonalds death . McDonalds funeral was held on October 23 at the Church of the Recessional at Forest Lawn Memorial Park , Glendale in Glendale , California . Her remains were interred in the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park , Glendale . In December 1965 , the suicide team classified her death as accidental after determining that McDonald likely did not choose to commit suicide . Three months after McDonalds death , on January 3 , 1966 , her widower , Donald F . Taylor , died of an intentional overdose of Seconal . McDonalds three surviving children were raised by Harry Karl ( her former husband ) and his wife , Debbie Reynolds . On May 4 , 1967 , McDonalds father , Evertt Ed Frye , committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot to the head in the garage of his New Smyrna Beach , Florida home .