Barbara Nichols


Barbara Marie Nickerauer, better known as Barbara Nichols, was an American actress who often played brassy or comic roles in films in the 1950s and 1960s.

Early life and career

Nichols was born Barbara Marie Nickerauer to George and Julia Nickerauer, and raised in Queens, New York.
Early in her career, Nichols was a showgirl when a club owner offered her a much higher salary to become a striptease performer. She declined the offer, keeping her focus on becoming an actress. She began modeling for cheesecake magazines in the late 1940s, and eventually was considered a minor rival to Marilyn Monroe. On Broadway, she appeared in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey and in Let It Ride. In the mid-1950s, she moved to Hollywood and began appearing in showy supporting roles in A-films starring such actors as Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, Sophia Loren, and Doris Day in such films as Miracle in the Rain, The King and Four Queens, The Naked and the Dead, The Pajama Game, Sweet Smell of Success, That Kind of Woman, and Where the Boys Are. One of her few starring roles was in the 1965 science-fiction film The Human Duplicators.
Nichols was also a frequent guest star on many television series including It's a Great Life, The Jack Benny Television Show, The Twilight Zone, The Untouchables, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Going My Way, Batman, Hawaii Five-O, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies. Her final film was Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood in 1976.

Death

Nichols died on October 5, 1976, aged 47, from liver failure due to complications of a damaged spleen and liver reportedly sustained in an automobile accident many years earlier. She is interred at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, New York.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleEpisodes
1953Studio One in HollywoodFirst Pretty GirlEpisode: "Complications of a Nervous Man"
1954The MaskEpisode: "Murder in the Burlesque House"
1954The United States Steel HourBridieEpisode: "Good for You"
1954The Philco-Goodyear Television PlayhouseRuthEpisode: "The Man in the Middle of the Ocean"
1954Center StageEpisode: "Heart of a Clown"
1954Armstrong Circle TheatreBar Patron/Party Flirt/Bobsey BaxterEpisode: "Fred Allen's Sketchbook"
1955DangerEpisode: "Sandy River Blues"
1956Chevron Hall of StarsRosieEpisode: "Double Cross"
1956It's a Great LifeCaroline Cabot2 episodes
1956-1958The Bob Cummings ShowMarian Billington3 episodes
1957Matinee TheaterEpisode: "The Gentleman Caller"
1957-1959The Thin ManVarious roles2 episodes
1958MaverickBlancheEpisode: "The Third Rider"
1958Love That JillGinger13 episodes
1958Shower of StarsMiss Kim O'DayEpisode #4.7
1958Climax!Dale BensonEpisode: "The Push-Button Giant"
1958DragnetEpisode: "The Big Star"
1958The Milton Berle ShowGuestEpisode dated November 19, 1958
1958-1960The Red Skelton HourGertie - Bolivar's Girlfriend4 episodes
1958-1960The Jack Benny ProgramMildred Meyerhouser4 episodes
1959The Scarface MobBrandy LaFranceTelevision movie
1959Westinghouse Desilu PlayhouseBrandy LaFrance2 episodes
1959The Real McCoysGladys SladeEpisode: "The Politician"
1959The UntouchablesBrandy LaFrance/Barbara Ritchie2 episodes
1959The Dennis O'Keefe ShowEpisode #1.10
1960Stagecoach WestSadie WrenEpisode: "A Time to Run"
1961The Twilight ZoneLiz PowellEpisode: "Twenty Two"
1961G.E. True TheaterLeslie BlaineEpisode: "The Small Elephants"
1961Michael ShayneTopaz McQuuenEpisode: "Marriage Can Be Fatal"
1961The Detectives Starring Robert TaylorAbby LandisEpisode: "Duty Date"
1961Miami UndercoverKittyEpisode: "Kitty"
1961Westinghouse PlayhouseLorraine HadleyEpisode: "House Guest"
1962The Dick Powell ShowBunny EasterEpisode: "No Strings Attached"
1963Alcoa PremiereWilly SimmsEpisode: "Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks"
1963Going My WayMarieEpisode: "Has Anyone Seen Eddie?"
1963Vacation PlayhouseBarbara AdamsEpisode: "All About Barbara"
1963Arrest and TrialGinnyEpisode: "Isn't It a Lovely View"
1963GrindlWilma BryanEpisode: "Grindl, Witness for the Defense"
1963The Beverly HillbilliesChickadee Laverne2 episodes
1964Kraft Suspense TheatreAnn HiltsEpisode: "My Enemy, This Town"
1964The Travels of Jaimie McPheetersMamieEpisode: "The Day of the Dark Deeds"
1965LaredoPrincessEpisode: "A Question of Discipline"
1966The Wild Wild WestBessieEpisode: "The Night of the Whirring Death"
1966BatmanMaid Marilyn2 episodes
1967Green AcresWandaEpisode: "Never Take Your Wife to a Convention"
1967The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.Ida MartzEpisode: "The Phi Beta Killer Affair"
1967The Jackie Gleason ShowKitty - Big Sam's MollEpisode: "The Honeymooners: Two Faces of Ralph Kramden"
1969Hawaii Five-OBetsyEpisode: "A Thousand Pardons - You're Dead!"
1971The Smith FamilyEffieEpisode: "Greener Pastures"
1971The Doris Day ShowMrs. HollisterEpisode: "Have I Got a Fellow for You!"
1971Love, American StyleGladysSegment: "Love and the Doctor's Honeymoon"
1971-1973Adam-12Various roles3 episodes
1974Emergency!GingerEpisode: "Details"
1974The RookiesMarie AntionetteEpisode: "Blue Christmas"