DAGMAR
From Wikipedia:
Dagmar (born Virginia Ruth Egnor, November 29, 1921 – October 9, 2001) was
an American actress, model and television personality of the 1950s. As a
statuesque, busty blonde, she became the first major female star of television,
receiving much press coverage during that decade.
In 1950, when Lewis was hired by Jerry Lester for NBC's first late-night show 'Broadway Open' House (1950–52), he renamed her Dagmar. Lester devised the name as a satirical reference following the huge success on television of the TV series 'Mama' (1949–57), in which the younger sister, Dagmar Hansen, was portrayed by Robin Morgan. As Dagmar, Lewis was instructed to wear a low-cut gown, sit on a stool and play the role of a stereotypical dumb blonde. With tight sweaters displaying her curvy 5' 8" figure (measuring 42"-23"-39"), her dim-bulb character was an immediate success, soon attracting much more attention than Lester.
Lewis quickly showed that regardless of appearances she was quite bright and quick-witted. She appeared in sketches, and Lester made occasional jokes about her "hidden talents." Her appearances created a sensation, leading to much press coverage and a salary increase from $75 to $1,250. With Dagmar getting all the attention, Lester walked off his own show in May 1951, and Dagmar carried on as host. On July 16, 1951, she was featured on the front cover of Life, and the show came to an end one month later.
In the 1950s, Dagmar was a regular panelist on the NBC game show, 'Who
Said That?', along with H. V. Kaltenborn, Deems Taylor, Frank Conniff, Peggy Ann
Garner, and Boris Karloff. She occasionally made guest appearances on such shows
as 'What's My Line?', 'The Mike Wallace Interview' and 'Masquerade Party' (disguised
as John L. Lewis) and during the 1960s she appeared on 'Hollywood Squares', 'The
Mike Douglas Show' and other shows.
AS SEEN IN:
'You'll Never Get Rich'
"Bilko's Television Idea"
SYNOPSIS:
In the closing moments of 'The Buddy Bickford Show', Dagmar appeared with the host to do a few sketches.....
BCnU!
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