Marilyn Maxwell: the Hope partnership

Born 3 August 1921, Clarinda, Iowa — raised in Fort Wayne — died 20 March 1972

The tie: Marvel Marilyn Maxwell was born in Clarinda, Iowa, on August 3, 1921 (some listings give 1920), and raised in Fort Wayne, where the family settled in her childhood. She attended Central High School and worked as an usher at the Rialto Theater on South Calhoun Street, leaving school in her sophomore year to sing with an Indianapolis band. Her full profile is in the People record; her comedy record is a partnership.

The comedy record: Maxwell's film list runs through the era's comedy headliners: Lost in a Harem (1944) with Abbott and Costello, The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) opposite Bob Hope, and Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958) with Jerry Lewis. With Hope she also worked the other great comedy circuit of the century: she entertained troops on his USO tours through the Second World War and the Korean War. The Lemon Drop Kid left the partnership a permanent artifact — the Christmas song "Silver Bells," by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, was first performed in that film by Hope and Maxwell, and became a standard. Maxwell died on March 20, 1972. In the shape of this record she belongs beside Shriner: a Fort Wayne-raised performer whose comedy was made on the road — in her case, on the most documented road act of the age.

Sources:

1. ACGSI, Allen INGenWeb, M surnames — Maxwell (August 3, 1921 – March 20, 1972), Central High School, the usher's job at the Rialto Theater in the mid-1930s, the departure to sing with an Indianapolis band, and the "Silver Bells" debut in The Lemon Drop Kid; from Legendary Locals of Fort Wayne by Randolph L. Harter and Craig S. Leonard.
2. Marilyn Maxwell, biographical record as carried by Wikipedia — the Clarinda birth, the Fort Wayne schooling and the Rialto usher's job at 2616 South Calhoun Street, Lost in a Harem (1944), The Lemon Drop Kid (1951), Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958), the USO tours with Bob Hope in two wars, and "Silver Bells" first performed by Hope and Maxwell in the film.
3. People section of this history — Maxwell's Fort Wayne profile, carried there and cross-referenced here by agreement.