Saturday, July 14, 2012

From my collection: Nancy Millard & Cathie Merchant


In 1952, socialite/singer/actress Nancy Millard appeared with Frank Fay, the famed emcee and former husband of Barbara Stanwyck, at Hollywood's swanky Mocambo nightclub. Next time we hear anything from Miss Millard is in 1955 when she reportedly refuses a 7-year contract with Paramount because the studio won't guarantee her an immediate screen role. Well then! The following year, she was mentioned as the socialite who turned writer-producer Polan Banks away from screen star Linda Darnell. So there! But Perhaps Nancy should have accepted that Paramount contract back in '55; her actual movie career was reduced to a walk on in Wake Me When It's Over (1960), a dreary service comedy starring Ernie Kovacks.


Another singer, Cathie Merchant, at least earned a good role as Vincent Price's erstwhile lover turned witch in the Roger Corman classic The Haunted Palace (1963) and she graced both Gunsmoke and The Untouchables. But that was really that for Cathie, who disappears from cast-lists after a couple of Alfred Hitchcock Hours in 1964.

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