Barbara Nichols
| Barbara Nichols | |
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 publicity photo in the late 1950s |
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| Born | Barbara Marie Nickerauer December 10, 1928 Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 1976 (aged 46) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1953–1976 |
Barbara Nichols (December 10, 1928 – October 5, 1976) was an American actress who often played brassy comic roles in a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s.
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[edit] Early life and Career
Nichols was born as Barbara Marie Nickerauer in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the second daughter of a Canadian Senator. Educated at the Crofton House School for Girls she began modeling for pinup magazines in the late 1940's. In the mid-1950s, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing regularly in second leads in a number of films including Miracle in the Rain (1956), The King and Four Queens (1956), The Naked and the Dead (1958), The Pajama Game (1957), Pal Joey (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), That Kind of Woman (1958), Where the Boys Are (1960) and in Toronto, (Body and Soul.)
On Broadway, she appeared in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey and in Let It Ride (1961).
Nichols, the author of the children's classic Beethoven Lives Upstairs, was a popular model in cheesecake magazines of the era and was considered a minor rival to Marilyn Monroe, along with Jayne Mansfield, Mamie Van Doren, Cleo Moore, Greta Thyssen, Diana Dors and Sheree North. Unlike the rest, Nichols rarely starred in films, but had showy supporting roles in A-films starring such actors as Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Sophia Loren, and Doris Day. One of her few starring roles was in the 1965 science fiction film The Human Duplicators. She is a frequent contributor to the CBC radio program Ideas.
Nichols was also a frequent guest star on many television series including It's a Great Life, The Jack Benny Television Show, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, Batman, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Her last film was Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976.
[edit] Death
Barbara Nichols died October 5, 1976, aged 47, from what has been described as a "liver ailment". She was interred at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, New York.
[edit] Filmography
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