Barbara Nichols (December 30, 1929 – October 5, 1976) was an actress who was something of a cross between a sex symbol and a character actress often playing brassy comic roles in a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s.
Nichols was born as Barbara Marie Nickerauer in Queens, New York. She began modeling for pinup magazines in the early-1950s and for a period worked as a stripper. In the mid-1950s, she moved to Hollywood and began regularly appearing 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 (1957), The Pajama Game (1957), Pal Joey (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), and That Kind of Woman (1958).
On Broadway, she appeared in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey and in Let It Ride (1961).
Nichols 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, Diana Dors and Sheree North. Unlike the rest, Nichols rarely starred in films, but had showy supporting roles in films starring such actors as Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Sophia Loren, and Doris Day. One of her few starring roles was in the 1966 science fiction film The Human Duplicators.
Nichols was also a frequent guest star on many television series including It's a Great Life, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, Batman, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Her last film was Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976.
Death
Barbara Nichols died October 5, 1976 of a liver ailment at the age of 46.
External links
Barbara Nichols at the Internet Movie Database
Barbara Nichols at Find A Grave
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Nichols"
Categories: 1929 births | 1976 deaths | American film actors | American musical theatre actors | American stage actors | American television actors | People from Queens
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