MISS NIGHTMARE
Born Kathleen Ann Maslowski in Minneapolis, her parents, Thomas and Julia, were Polish immigrants.
She grew up in poverty. Every cent was precious. Kathleen loved the movies from a very young age. “I was playing dress-up and let’s pretend before I could speak. I was transfixed by Tinseltown.”
As a teenager, Kathleen was regarded as an exceptional beauty.
She went to high school in Minneapolis, but having just turned sixteen, the lure of Hollywood called.
As she had an older sister living in Los Angeles, she moved out to Van Nuys in California, hoping to break into the film industry. Kathleen instantly changed her name to ‘Kathy Marlowe’.
She is not to be confused with the minor 1930s Hollywood actress Katherine Marlowe – who looked remarkably like Kathy.
In California, Kathy finished her high schooling before signing up with a modelling agency.
However, she was very savvy and realised she needed a back up plan in case work in the modelling industry was sparse – so she took a bookkeeping course.
Kathy’s tag line was ‘The Minneapolis Model’. Her first success was as the queen of the annual ‘Get the Dents out of your Fenders’ month – a national campaign launched to get American car owners to take more care of their automobiles.
Kathy went back to her home city to win Miss Minnesota, and after that, success followed success. She rapidly won six more beauty queen competitions: Miss Long White Potato, Miss Travelling Salesman, Miss Chinchilla, Miss Lawnseed, Miss Green Stamps and Miss Nightmare.
In the early 1950s, beauty queens were an essential part of public relations, advertising and sales. Kathy said of her titles, “These seed magnates were worth big bucks. I helped their profits grow.”
To help ends meet, Kathy got a part-time job working for Bernard’s of Hollywood – a famous photographer (who took the iconic picture of Marilyn Monroe in a white dress).
For a short while, Kathy dated boxer Lou Nova, until the actor Lawrence Tierney fell head-over-heels in love with her.
Kathy appeared on the front cover of Photo magazine. This led to her lighting a flaming torch used to promote Rafter’s Restaurant in Los Angeles.
Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce made her their annual ‘Sun Goddess’ in July of 1955. This was followed by her being chosen to promote the 64-year-old record heatwave in southern California.
There were many other assignments for Kathy. She acquired the nickname ‘The It Girl of the 1950s’’ and was the most photographed model in Hollywood.
Kathy was featured in Life Magazine, named ‘Miss Date of the Month’. She was also ‘Meet Me at the Fair Queen’ and presented prizes at Bonelli Stadium stock car racing in Saugus, California.
Through all of this, Kathy was working as a bookkeeper in the mornings.
She had ambitions to be a film star and had a small part in the film ‘A Double Life’.
Then, Kathy was selected as one of WAMPA’s ‘Baby Stars’.
From 1922 to 1934, WAMPA (The Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) had selected the thirteen young actresses who were likely to become movie stars.
Some of them did. Famous names such as Clara Bow (the original It Girl), Janet Gaynor, Fay Wray, Mary Astor, Joan Crawford, Loretta Young and Ginger Rogers had all been ‘Baby Stars’.
The idea had died out, but this was an attempt to revive it.
Out of thirteen girls chosen, Kathy had the longest acting career – albeit not that successful. The Baby Stars idea was quickly dropped – never to be revived.
Kathy appeared in the film ‘Bombers B-52, made by Warner Brothers. She played ‘Girl seated at a Bar’. She did this so well that the studio chose her for a film called ‘The Helen Morgan Story’, starring Paul Newman. This time she played ‘Girl Standing at a Bar’.
She was in ‘Death in Small Doses’ – probably her greatest success. Kathy was paid about $1,000 per film – a sharp contrast with the $3,000 per year she earned as a model.
Kathy continued with her promotional work. She opened a golf course in North Hollywood, greeted the Captain of the USS Rochester (K.M Gentry), for the film premier of ‘D-Day: The Sixth of June’, opened two Valley Food Giant Markets in California (cutting the ribbon) and appeared in the magazines ‘Jem’ and ‘Adam’.
She was also one of five blondes chosen to host the Ballyhoo Ball in Los Angeles, alongside master of ceremonies, Tommy Noonan. One of the other co-hosts was Jayne Mansfield.
This was the age of the blonde bombshell. Kathy was often mentioned alongside Marilyn Monroe and Mansfield in the gossip columns of the time.
Kathy made other films. She appeared in ‘The Pajama Game’ alongside Doris Day, in ‘Queen of Outer Space’ with Zsa Zsa Gabor and featured in one of the first Hollywood films to challenge racism, ‘No Way Out’ starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier.
She was even top of the bill for ‘Girl with an Itch’. The tag line for the film was, ‘The girl on fire who starts in where Monroe and Mansfield left off’.
Kathy made a great impression on the actor Spencer Tracy. He had been signed up to star in a film called ‘10 North Frederick’.
Tracy insisted Kathy star alongside him. When the director, Philip Dunne, refused to cast her, Tracy withdrew from the film. He was replaced by Gary Copper.
All in all, Kathy appeared in fifteen films – but was more often on television. She was in The Dean Martin Show and was a regular on the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.
Kathy was exceptionally hard working, always saying she remembered the poverty of her childhood. Consequently, she never turned down any work. She literally made thousands of adverts.
In 1959, Kathy married actor Harry Jackson in New Rochelle, New York. He was twelve years older than her.
Soon after the marriage, she met Navy captain Gerald (Jerry) Thompson in a bar at Van Nuys airport, on her way to model some swimwear. Thompson was to become the love of Kathy’s life.
In 1963, Kathy filed for divorce from Jackson, claiming he had punched her on the jaw, pushed her to the ground, thrown things at her, punched holes in the wall, barricaded himself in the bedroom and told her to, “Get out of my life.”
The divorce case came to court.
Whilst it was being heard, she opened her own business – the ‘Kathy Marlowe School of Charm’. It was a roaring success.
In court, Kathy wore a pink silk suit, feathered hat and matching shoes. Giving testimony, she also said Jackson had tried to strangle her and he was earning a fortune but refused to give her any money with which to run the household.
Her mother-in-law, Matilda Jackson, also gave evidence. She said, “Harry was upset because his wife was out every night for about three weeks, and she wouldn’t tell him where she went.”
The decisive moment came when Harry took the stand. He was asked if he had punched Kathy. He replied, “Yes – but I was angry.”
Kathy won the case and was given a divorce. She asked for $400 a month alimony but was only given $250. However, Harry was forced to move out of the marital home and a restraining order was put on him.
Shortly after the hearing, Kathy married Jerry Thompson. They would have three children, Gerald Junior, Betty and April Ann.
As soon as they married, Kathy retired from both modelling and acting. Jerry had left the Navy and owned a fleet of fishing boats, based at Newport Harbour.
The couple lived in a house on the waterfront of Newport Beach. Kathy said she had an idyllic life.
She spent her time working for charities – particularly ‘Share Ourselves’, which provided for poor families.
Kathy’s husband, Jerry, died in 2018.
Kathy loved talking to movie fans, “But only those who know their onions – not the modern kind.”
Reflecting on her career, Kathy pointed out, “Monroe died in 1962, I retired in 1963, and Mansfield died in 1968. The age of the blonde bombshell was over.”
She added, “There were two obvious reasons why Hollywood liked me.”
Kathy died after a long period of ill health. Her funeral was Hollywood themed.
RIPP – Repeatedly In Photographs (&) Pictures
