Larri Thomas (January 23, 1932 – October 20, 2013) was an American actress and dancer. She began her career by participating in a string of television commercials and eventually signed a contract with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. The network put on her shows including ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'' and ''

The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. She became one of the six

Goldwyn Girls The Goldwyn Girls were a musical stock company of female dancers employed by Samuel Goldwyn. Famous actresses, dancers, and models whose career included a stint in the Goldwyn Girls include Lucille Ball, Virginia Bruce, Claire Dodd, Paulette Go ...

picked by

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...

to go on tour for the movie ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'', in which she makes a brief appearance. She was also in the movies ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'' and '' Island of Love''. She was the stand-in for Julie Andrews in some flying sequences in ''Mary Poppins'' and also her stand-in in ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

''. She also appeared in movies and television with Dean Martin.

Personal life

Writer Lida Larrimore Thomas was her mother. Her 1951 novel ''The Lovely Duckling'' was written about Larri's childhood on the family farm in

Wayne, Pennsylvania Wayne is an unincorporated community centered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the wealthiest areas ...

. In December 1955, she married

John Bromfield John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American actor and commercial fisherman. Early years Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion at Saint Mar ...

, star of the syndicated

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

Sheriff of Cochise ''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode runs ...

'', from whom she was divorced in 1959. In 1972, she managed to acquire one of her biggest roles, as Henrietta Hippo on the television show ''

New Zoo Revue ''New Zoo Revue'' is an American half-hour children's television show that ran in first-run syndication from 1972 to 1977. Concept The 196-episode musical comedy-format show conveyed the concepts of cooperation and guidance for living in contempor ...

''. Later, Thomas was married to Bruce Hoy and participated in a number of charity benefits, such as the Professional Dancers Society. In 1960 it was reported that she was in a relationship with baseball player/manager Leo Durocher.

Death

She died on October 20, 2013, due to natural causes, in her Van Nuys home. She was 81 years old. Her husband, Bruce Hoy died on January 31, 2014.

Filmography

*''

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

'' .... Woman #1 (1 episode, 1993) ::"Christmas of the Van Damned" (1993) TV Episode .... Woman #1 *''

Earth Girls Are Easy ''Earth Girls Are Easy'' is a 1988 American science fiction musical romantic comedy film that was produced by Tony Garnett, Duncan Henderson, and Terrence E. McNally and was directed by Julien Temple. The film stars Geena Davis, Julie Brown, C ...

'' (1988) .... Curl Up and Dye Dancer *'' In God We Tru$t'' (1980) *''New Zoo Revue'' (1972) TV Series .... Henrietta Hippo (unknown episodes) *'' Frankie and Johnny'' (1966) (uncredited) .... Earl Barton dancer *''

The Silencers ''The Silencers'' is the title of a 1962 spy novel by Donald Hamilton, the fourth in a series of books featuring assassin Matt Helm. Plot summary When a female agent in Mexico is killed before Helm can complete his mission to extract her, he f ...

'' (1966) (uncredited) .... Specialty Dancer *''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the ...

'' .... Regular (3 episodes, 1965) ::Episode dated October 28, 1965 TV Episode (uncredited) .... Regular ::Episode dated September 23, 1965 TV Episode (uncredited) .... Regular ::Episode dated September 16, 1965 TV Episode (uncredited) .... Regular *''

'' (1965) .... Stand-in for Julie Andrews *''

The Doctors and The Nurses ''The Nurses'' is a serialized primetime medical drama that was broadcast in the United States on CBS from September 27, 1962, to May 11, 1965. For the third and final season, the title was expanded to ''The Doctors and the Nurses'' and it ran un ...

'' The Prisoner: Part 1 (1964) TV Episode (as Lorie Thomas) .... Helen Walsh *''

'' (1964) (uncredited) .... Woman in Carriage & Stand-in for Julie Andrews *'' Robin and the 7 Hoods'' (1964) (uncredited) .... Dancer *''Island of Love'' (1963) (uncredited) *''His Model Wife'' (1962) (TV) (as Lorrie Thomas) *''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

'' (1962) (uncredited) .... High School Girl *''The Beat Generation'' (1959) (uncredited) *'' Ask Any Girl'' (1959) (uncredited) *''

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse ''Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on the Columbia Broadcasting System between 1958 and 1960. Three of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s televisio ...

'' .... Miss Hairdo (1 episode, 1959) ::"Lucy Wants a Career" (1959) TV Episode .... Miss Hairdo *''

'' .... Sharon Moore (1 episode, 1958) *''Rough Buck'' (1958) TV Episode .... Sharon Moore *'' South Pacific'' (1958) (uncredited) .... Nurse in Thanksgiving show *'' Curucu, Beast of the Amazon'' (1956) .... Vivian, the dancer * ''

'' (1955), Goldwyn Girl, as one of the Hot Box Girls (uncredited) *'' Love Me or Leave Me'' (1955) (uncredited) .... Chorus girl *'' Ring of Fear'' (1954) as a Strong Woman - talking part *'' House of Wax'' (1953) (uncredited) as a can-can girl *''Where's Raymond'' - TV Series (1953-1954)..... Dancer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Larri 1932 births 2013 deaths Actresses from Pennsylvania American film actresses American television actresses People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Accidental deaths from falls 20th-century American actresses Accidental deaths in California American female dancers Dancers from Pennsylvania 21st-century American women