Mari Blanchard (April 13, 1927 – May 10, 1970) was an American actress, known for her roles as a B movie femme fatale in American films of the 1950s and early 1960s.

Career

In the late 1940s, Blanchard was a successful print model and film extra. Blanchard began appearing in films after she was seen by a producer in an advertisement for bubble bath in 1950.

Blanchard soon found success as an actress. From 1951 to 1952, she took small roles in a number of films at MGM, RKO, and Paramount, until she was signed by Universal-International in 1952. Her first film at the studio was Back at the Front (1952). One of her most memorable roles was the Venusian queen, Allura, in the 1953 comedy Abbott and Costello Go to Mars. She starred in Destry (1954), a western with Audie Murphy. In 1955, she starred in "Escape From Fear", an episode of the television series Climax!.

In the 1960–1961 television season, Blanchard starred as Kathy O'Hara in the NBC Western series Klondike with Ralph Taeger, James Coburn, and Joi Lansing.

Death

After abandoning her film career upon the release of her final film, McLintock! in 1963, Blanchard retired, acting in just a few TV programs afterward. She was diagnosed with cancer in the 1960s. Following a long struggle she died at the age of 43.