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Wanda Hendrix Profile
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| (Dixie Wanda Hendrix) |
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| 3 November 28 | is born in Jacksonville, Florida, to Max Sylvester and Mary Faircloth Hendrix, nee Bailley. Her father is a logging camp boss who will later work for Lockheed Aircraft. |
| ? | after graduation from junior high school, she joins the Jacksonville Little Theatre, where she's discovered by a Warner Brothers talent scout |
| Summer 46 | WWII hero-turned-actor Audie Leon Murphy sees her on the cover of Coronet magazine and tells his mentor, actor James Cagney, about it. Cagney calls the magazine and gets her address. Audie then asks her to dinner, and they fall in love immediately. |
| June 47 | gets engaged to Murphy. She and Audie promise her parents that they'll defer marriage for two full years. |
| goes to Hollywood with her parents, who buy a ranch there |
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| May 48 | takes her first driving lesson |
| she and Audie advertise for Lane’s cedar hope chests |
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| June 48 | is in Rome filming Prince of Foxes while her sweetheart, Audie Murphy, goes to Europe to revisit the battlefields "where he got all those decorations." The press expects them to “patch up with each other abroad.” |
| 4 August 48 | receives a diamond engagement ring from Audie, and her parents announce the two will be married in December. He's 24; she's 19. |
| October 48 | writes from Rome, where she's filming Prince of Foxes, that she will be home by Christmas to marry |
| Early 49 | returns ill from Italy where she filmed Prince of Foxes |
| January 49 | she and Audie finally get away on their Texas honeymoon. "First delay was caused by her flu attack, then Audie caught it from her. Now they can rhyme moon with spoon until February 1st, when she has to report to Paramount for After Midnight." |
| 8 February 49 | marries Murphy at the Christ Memorial Unity Church in North Hollywood. Among the well-wishers following the ceremony are fellow actresses Vanessa Brown, Mary Hatcher, and Ann Blyth. |
| ? | both get the flu during their honeymoon |
| June 49 | the press reports: "Audie Murphy thinks his little Hendrix honey is Wanda-ful!" |
| Murphy wants her to give up filming and move with him to Texas. He has terrible nightmares from his war experiences and always has his gun with him. Sometimes he holds her at gunpoint. |
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| September 49 | while on location filming for Sierra in Cedar City, Utah, the Murphys deny rumors of a separation |
| the Murphys admit that their marriage is fizzling partly because they've got Hollywood and the public for in-laws |
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| faces Audie's passion horse racing and for making big-money bets on long shots. Eventually he gambles away all of her savings. |
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| Mid-October 49 | as a morale builder, she buys herself two cocktail dresses, two suits, and four sports ensembles, with shoes, purses, hats and lingerie to match. After Sierra is finished, she will head for Jacksonville, Florida, where her folks are vacationing. |
| 14 April 50 | receives a divorce in Los Angeles on the grounds of mental cruelty |
| 30 October 49 | denies reports that her marriage is breaking up. She's confident they can work things out. |
| 16 February 50 | Audie moves out of their small apartment and leaves for Texas |
| 17 February 50 | files for divorce in Hollywood after 13 months of marriage on grounds of mental cruelty |
| 14 April 50 | wins a divorce from Audie. Trembling and near collapse, she blames it on Audie's "constant criticism." |
| May 50 | she and her mother are getting on each other's nerves |
| June 50 | is a twosome with Bob Neal at the Mocambo |
| September 50 | is squired by actors Tony Curtis and Johnny Sands, but those who know her well wouldn't be surprised if she reconciles with Audie Murphy |
| her first public social appearance since her separation from Audie is with Neils Larsen |
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| is with her mother in Mexico City. Her mother was always against the marriage to Audie and preferred actor Robert Stack as her son-in-law. |
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| is reported entering "the race for Bob Stack to the consternation of starlet Claudette Thornton, who already thought she was the winner" |
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| November 50 | can’t get the playwright of the Broadway show she was slated for to make changes in the script, so her name won’t be twinkling from the marquees as a junior Katherine Cornell |
| says: “Why are people trying to get me married off? Just the other day there was a report that I was going to marry Bob Sterling. Why, I had only one date with him.” |
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| January 51 | scorches over the report that she’s leaving Hollywood for a career as a New York TV star. "It’s a million miles away from the truth," she claims. “I did only one live TV show and when I got through I was shaking like a leaf.” |
| March 51 | hides the scars from her marriage to Audie with a lot of dates. Recent escorts include Nils Larson, Robert Stack, Bob Calhoun, Bob Boyle, and Don McConnell. |
| ? | attends the premiere of Operation Pacific with Bob Boyle |
| April 51 | visits her pal Robert Boyle at Universal-International |
| 19 / 20 April 51 | the decree becomes final. Murphy immediately marries Pamela Archer, former airline hostess from Dallas, Texas. |
| April 51 | her escort is Bob Boyle |
| May 51 | makes no bones about telling people that she scooted to New York for “heartache” reasons when Audie Murphy married Pamela Archer |
| July 51 | is reported having dated Robert Boyle before her divorce from Murphy was final; there are rumors they may marry |
| her escort at the Mocambo is good-looking Captain Fred White of the Army Air Corps. The two met some time ago when she flew to Texas for a personal appearance. |
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| August 51 | is a twosome at Ciro’s with oilman Vic Rothschild |
| December 51 | is gay again since meeting newcomer Robert Arthur |
| is seen at the Encore Room with Howard Leeds |
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| May 52 | is seen at the Encore Room with John Hudson |
| is courted by Bob Brenner, a New York network brain |
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| July 52 | the press tells that "Eddie Fisher has it bad for her" |
| it’s serious between her and Bob Brunson. They are at the Encore Room again. |
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| August 52 | columnist Harrison Carroll reports: “When Bob Arthur started house-hunting with Wanda Hendrix, everyone thought they were honeymoon cottage-shopping. T’ain’t so. ‘Sure, we’re doing a lot of dating,’ he smiled. ‘And I’m helping her find a house, but there’s no marriage in the immediate future. I’m very fond of her. I’ve known her eight years.’” |
| November 52 | as soon as she finishes Posse, the Theater Guild is paging her in New York to look at the script for Picnic, which would be her first Broadway play. Her new romantic interest is Eddie Fisher, "who used to go with Jack Benny’s daughter." |
| December 52 | it looks like love between her and singer Eddie Fisher |
| it’s a toss-up whether she or Janice Rule get the co-starring role with Ralph Meeker in the new Broadway show Picnic |
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| January 53 | her escort at the Tallyho is Bob Brunson |
| April 53 | is seen at the Bantam Cock with Guy Harrison |
| May 53 | has completely recovered from the stomach ailment that plagued her for several years. Columnist Erskine Johnson reports that "a new, radiant, gorgeous Wanda, pounds slimmer in the right places, is the result." |
| August 53 | her first big romance since Audie is singer Jerry Lazar. Lazar talks about matrimony. |
| September 53 | is seen at the Mocambo with her boyfriend, "singing fool Jerry Lazar" |
| her boyfriend, Jerry Lazar, auditions for the Broadway production of Kismet with Alfred Drake. She met him while doing “A Tale of Two Cities” on TV. |
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| October 53 | denies reports she will wed Lazar. Wanda says she's "still on the shelf romantically." |
| November 53 | is seeing a lot of singer Jerry Lazar, whom she met while doing a television show |
| is seen at Ciro’s with Jim Stack. Columnist Harrison Carroll calls her on reports that she may wed Robert Stack’s wealthy brother. “We are not engaged,” she says, “but we are going steady, and I must say that, of all the men I have ever met, Jim is the most wonderful.” It is very possible, she declares, that she will join six other couples at a house party soon to be held at the Stack home at Lake Tahoe to celebrate Robert Stack’s birthday on February 13. |
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| December 53 | seen with actor Gene Shacove at the Tallyho |
| 26 June 54 | marries wealthy sportsman James Langford Stack, Jr., in a lavish garden ceremony attended by more than 400 society and movie colony guests in Hollywood. Her bridesmaid is ex-husband Audie Murphy's cousin. They repeat their vows to Dr. Ernest Holmes of the Science of Mind Church in a brief ritual at the Bel Air mansion of the bridegroom's mother, Mrs. Betzi Stack. Stack's the brother of actor Robert Stack and son of a wealthy pioneer Los Angeles family. He was married to Margaret Boulton, daughter of English author and playwright Guy Boulton. He's 38; she's 26. |
| ? | will quit the movies |
| July 54 | the Stacks honeymoon at the family home on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe |
| August 54 | now that she’s Mrs. Jim Stack, her new expensive gold rags wardrobe has movie gals gasping |
| August 55 | changes her mind about film retirement and has her husband's okay to return to the sound stage |
| 24 January 56 | is matron of honor at the wedding of Bob Stack and Rosemarie Bowe |
| August 57 | is serious about resuming her career and looks beautiful in her new very blonde hair |
| December 57 | returns to acting co-starring with John Smith in TV's "Telephone Time" |
| May 58 | the Stacks separate |
| 14 August 58 | collapses in her attorney's office during a long-distance call with her estranged husband. She asks about reconciliation, but Stack refuses discuss it. She is taken to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. |
| 29 August 58 | a legal notice in a Reno newspaper discloses that Stack secretly filed divorce action against his wife in Washoe County on August 15. The suit charges her with extreme cruelty. |
| September 58 | files a countercomplaint charging Stack with extreme cruelty and asks for a cash settlement of $15,000 for "rehabilitation of herself in the entertainment field as an actress." The complaint also asks $2,500 monthly alimony, $3,000 for travel expenses for her and divorce trial witnesses, $3,000 for a proper wardrobe, $10,000 for living accommodations, and $2,000 for special dental services. |
| 30 October 58 | wins an uncontested divorce from Stack in Reno, Nevada. She is to receive $1,100 monthly for the next 10 years if she does not remarry, plus $12,000 in cash and attorneys' fees, and $3,500 for the payment of outstanding bills. She does not have to appear in court because Stack does. |
| November 58 | is a new twosome with disc jockey George Sanders |
| 3 November 58 | receives a divorce and a large financial settlement in Reno, charging her husband with cruelty. She is provided with $1,100 a month for ten years, provided she does not marry within that period. |
| December 58 | dates Mike Dante, Lana Turner's ex-beau |
| c. 59 | returns to acting after her divorce from Stack |
| January 59 | she and George Drucker are a new twosome |
| October 59 | is seen at the Crescendo with Johnny Grant |
| is a surprise twosome with bit player Kem Dibbs at the Thalians meeting to map plans for the October 16 benefit |
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| November 59 | her escort at the Bob Neal-Moon Mullen party for Jack Ellis is Hedy Lamarr’s ex-date, Bill Dugger, who flew in from Dallas |
| February 60 | is a ringsider with newspaperman Matt Helreich at the opening of Connie Francis and Frank Gorshin at the Cloister |
| March 60 | tosses a 70th birthday party for her father at Joe Kirkwood, Jr.’s, Celebrity Room. Her date this evening is Kirkwood. |
| April 60 | sues the Insurance Company of North America in Reno Nevada, seeking damages for a ranch mink coat valued at $4,000 and a black diamond mink stole worth $1,500 that were stolen in January 1959 |
| August 60 | is the date of Charles Minzer at the Sportsmen's Lodge |
| December 60 | is seen around with West Coast haberdasher Cy Devore |
| January 61 | is seen out with Edson Stroll |
| has an on-again-off-again romance with actor Grant Williams |
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| February 61 | the press tells that she used to go with Universal-International actor Ward Ramsey. "Ramsey is now serious with Wendy Long, a cosmetician." |
| June 63 | will make her comeback as Glenn Ford’s wife in The Peter Hurkos Story. “Hurkos is Glenn’s closest confidant these days and an expert in extrasensory perception.” |
| Early December 63 | is booked for the halftime show at the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the Atlantic City Sea Gulls program at the Memorial Auditorium in Lowell |
| December 66 | advertises for new In-Sink-Erator Invincible 77 garbage disposers |
| March 67 | attends hypnotist Pat Collins' opening at P. J.'s with Bob Hildman |
| May 67 | attends agent Kitty Jones' housewarming with Kirk Raymond |
| September 67 | a Studio City resident, she is appointed official hostess for Mayor Sam Yorty's economic development board. She will assist members of the board in an effort to relocate more eastern industry in the Valley. |
| December 68 | her 77-year-old father, Mack Hendrix, is home from the hospital after serious surgery |
| April 69 | attends the reception at the Westwood Ward Chapel of LDS Church when her North Hollywood friend Phoebe Ashe, mother of eight, is named “California’s Mother of the Year.” “Wanda Hendrix, motion picture personality and longtime family friend, read a letter written by Mrs. Ashe’s son Gregory, who now resides in Oregon with his wife and two children.” |
| 7 June 69 | marries Italian financier and oil company executive Steve La Monte in a single-ring ceremony at a plush suite of the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's his first and her third marriage. He's 34; she lists her age on the marriage license as 33. La Monte of Sherman Oaks is an executive with Twentieth Century Oil Company of Beverly Hills. |
| 4 June 71 | weeping, she attends Audie Murphy's memorial service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood. The press tells: “About 75 persons attend the services. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery next Monday with military services. The man with Miss Hendrix is unidentified.” |
| August 71 | she and Ray Danton will star in the upcoming Mystic Mountain Massacre |
| Late 74 | some time after the death of Audie Murphy, she announces that she will collaborate with author Douglas Warren on an autobiography |
| 79 | becomes seriously ill |
| La Monte divorces her |
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| 1 February 81 | as Dixie Wanda Hendrix, she dies at age 52 of pneumonia in Burbank, California. She is survived by her mother, Mary Eliza Bailey Hendrix, and extended family in California and Florida. |
| is interred at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, Court of Remembrance/Sanctuary of Light, 4349 |
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| Sources: Nevada State Journal, Waterloo Sunday Courier, Pottstown Mercury, Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Valley Morning Star, Indiana Evening Gazette, The Sheboygan Press, The Herald-Press, Joplin Globe, Syracuse Herald-Journal, The Daily Register, The Monessen Daily Independent, The Lima News, The Era, Mansfield News-Journal, The Holland Evening Sentinel, The Frederick Post, The Independent Record, Chronicle-Telegram, Tri-City Herald, Oshkosh Northwestern, Reno Evening Gazette, The Vidette-Messenger, Newark Advocate, The Zanesville Signal, The Daily Register, Pasadena Star-News, San Fernando Valley Living, The Long Beach Press-Telegram, New Castle News, San Fernando Valley Living, Hollywood Players: The Forties by James Robert Parish, Made in Heaven by Victoria Houseman, Silver Screen, Motion Picture, Movie Story, Movieland, Screen World, www.Findagrave.com, www.Ancestry.com | |
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| Links: Filmography Find A Grave | |