Barbara Nichols
1929-1976

It might be a great temptation for some movie fans to dismiss Barbara Nichols as the quintessential dumb blonde, but it is much more appropriate to honor her as one of the screen's great good-time gals. Sure, she was kind of sad in some of those flashy floozie roles, but she was always kind of bubbly too. And she had that voice -- a voice that was simply unforgettable! Try to imagine her reading from Shakespeare or Dickens . . . or even the Bible. And think of the career she might have had performing for the "books on tape" industry. It's better, though, to just think of the countless tired little films you've seen that were immeasurably perked up by her sudden and usually much too brief appearances. The movie history books are full of dearly departed performers we'll always miss, but gee, this was one of the really special ones.

-- Plus numerous guest appearances on television programs of the 1950s and 1960s: The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, The Wild, Wild West etc.