Mary McCarty (September 27, 1923 – April 3, 1980) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and comedian, perhaps best known for her role as nurse Clara "Starch" Willoughby on the television series ''

Trapper John, M.D. ''Trapper John, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series and spin-off of the film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970). Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, Californ ...

Early years

McCarty was born in

Winfield, Kansas Winfield is a city and county seat of Cowley County, Kansas, United States. It is situated along the Walnut River in South Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,777. It is home to Southwestern College. Hi ...

in September 1923, but grew up in Los Angeles after her parents divorced and she and her mother went to live with her great-grandmother.

Career

McCarty's versatility as a performer was highlighted in a review in the September 11, 1948, issue of the trade publication ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''. Reviewer Bill Riley described McCarty as "a versatile, pretty young Ethel Merman-to-be, who can sing a novelty or a torch song, dance a turn ... or act a sketch with the best of them." McCarty began appearing in musical revues in Los Angeles when she was 5 years old. As a youngster, she performed with other child actresses, including

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple;While Temple occasionally used "Jane" as a middle name, her birth certificate reads "Shirley Temple". Her birth certificate was altered to prolong her babyhood shortly after she signed with Fox in ...

and

Jane Withers Jane Withers (April 12, 1926 – August 7, 2021) was an American actress and children's radio show host. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list for ...

. Her first screen credit came in ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm''. By 1934 she had appeared in approximately 75 films. Her films as an adult included ''

The French Line ''The French Line'' is a 1953 American musical film starring Jane Russell made by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Edmund Grainger, with Howard Hughes as executive producer. The screenplay was by Mary Loos and Richard ...

'' (1953), '' All That Jazz'' (1979), and ''

Somebody Killed Her Husband ''Somebody Killed Her Husband'' is a 1978 American comedy–mystery film directed by Lamont Johnson and written by Reginald Rose. It starred Farrah Fawcett and Jeff Bridges. Also in the cast were John Wood, Tammy Grimes and John Glover. Plot T ...

'' (1978). In the era of

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early ...

, McCarty starred in the comedy ''The Redhead'' (1952), and she was a regular on the variety show ''This Is Broadway'' (1949). On television, in addition to portraying nurse Clara Willoughby on ''Trapper John, M.D.'' (1979), McCarty was a regular on the variety series '' Admiral Broadway Revue'' (1949) and ''

The Arthur Murray Party ''The Arthur Murray Party'' is an American television variety show which ran from July 1950 until September 1960. The show was hosted by famous dancers Arthur Murray, Arthur and Kathryn Murray, and was basically one long advertisement for their c ...

'' (1950). (1950). McCarty's Broadway credits included ''

Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the orig ...

'' (1977), ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' (1975), ''Irene'' (1973), ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a Musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on t ...

'' (1971), ''A Rainy Day in Newark'' (1963), ''Bless You All'' (1950), ''

Miss Liberty ''Miss Liberty'' is a 1949 Broadway musical with a book by Robert E. Sherwood and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It is based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') in 1886. The score includes the song ...

'' (1949), ''Small Wonder'' (1948), and ''Sleepy Hollow'' (1938). She replaced Ethel Merman as the star of the national touring company of ''Gypsy''. Her appearances in regional theatrical productions included ''

Panama Hattie ''Panama Hattie'' is a 1940 American musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. The musical is about a nightclub owner, Hattie Maloney, who lives in the Panama Canal Zone and ends up dealing with ...

'' in St. Louis, Missouri. She performed in stage revues as a child. At age 10 she sang in six languages and was "quite an accomplished dancer as well." As an adult, she performed in night clubs, including the Mocambo in West Hollywood, California, the Chase Club in St. Louis, Missouri, and the

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

in Las Vegas, Nevada. McCarty's other professional activities included choreographing a production of ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...

'' in Israel and teaching at the

Herbert Berghof Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...

Personal life

McCarty never married. According to biographer and historian William J. Mann, McCarty was the life partner of actress

Margaret Lindsay Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive. She was noted for her supporting work in successf ...

. On April 3, 1980, Lindsay found McCarty dead on the floor of her home in

West Los Angeles West Los Angeles is an area within the city of Los Angeles, California. The residential and commercial neighborhood is divided by the Interstate 405 freeway, and each side is sometimes treated as a distinct neighborhood, mapped differently by di ...

. She was 56. The cause of death remained undetermined after an autopsy, with results of a toxicology awaited.

Recognition

In 1977, McCarty was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. The ...

for her work in ''

''. As for ''

'', her role would be supplanted with

Madge Sinclair Madge Dorita Sinclair CD (née Walters; April 28, 1938 – December 20, 1995) was a Jamaican actress best known for her roles in ''Cornbread, Earl and Me'' (1975), ''Convoy'' (1978), ''Coming to America'' (1988), ''Trapper John, M.D.'' (1980– ...

as Nurse Ernestine Shoup.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarty, Mary 1923 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American actresses American child actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American radio actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Kansas 20th-century American women singers 20th-century comedians 20th-century American singers American LGBT actors