MARILYN MAXWELL - FOUR YEAR RELATIONSHIP WITH BOB HOPE - CALLED "MRS. BOB HOPE"

MARILYN MAXWELL
(Marvel Marilyn Maxwell)

August 2 1921 - March 20, 1972

Marilyn Maxwell was a nightclub singer who jump started her career by performing with the OSO to entertain the troops during World War II, became a pin-up girl, and moved into acting in films. She was often the foil for the comedian, be it Bob Hope, Red Skelton, or Jerry Lewis, and deterred comparisons of herself with Marilyn Monroe by saying that she was the blonde with the clothes on.  She was thought of as a "B-picture" actress though her credits run from 1942 to 1971 and include television appearances. 

IMDB FULL MARILYN MAXWELL CREDITS

Called "Mrs. Bob Hope" on the movie lot because they were together so much, according to author Richard Zoglin, their affair lasted four years, and Marilyn may've wanted to marry Bob but you know, Bob never did get around to marrying any of his "Other" women. Marilyn was married three times, according to IMdb, the film database, to MGM actor John Conte, a marriage that lasted two years from 1944 to 1946, then to restaurateur Anders McIntyre, which lasted a bit more than one year from 1950 - 1951, and finally  to writer/producer Jerry Davis, with whom she had a son, Matthew, in 1956.  They were married from 1954 - 1960.

Marilyn and Bob made one film together "The Lemon Drop Kid" in which the now classic Christmas song, Silver Bells, was sung by Bob and Marilyn in 1951.  Seems to me that for some of their relationship they were both married.


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Video added June 2021  From Swing Fever, a film. song One Girl and Two Boys

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OBITUARY FOR MARILYN MAXWELL 

 

Marilyn Maxwell died fairly young of a heart attack. Honorary pallbearers at her funeral in Beverly Hills included Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Jack Benny. You could say that she was well appreciated, even well loved, by the entertainment community.

Was Marilyn Bob Hope's Mistress?

A long term affair with a married man helps qualify her for the title, even if she was married some of the time herself.  Even though it would seem that she had husbands and her own earned income and a career to keep up.  He was far richer than she, and it would seem far more married.