American big band singer and actress, born 23 April 1921 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA, died 19 February 2007 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was married to Lou Busch from 1943 to 1950 .
Her daughter, Amanda Mayo, was born in 1959. Amanda has a brother, Andrew Mayo.
Was singing with Hal Kemp s band at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles in 1941 when she was spotted by a talent scout from Columbia Pictures.
Performed in over 1,200 performances as Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific" over a three-year period and never missed a performance.
Upon her death, she was cremated.
She took the surname of Blair upon entering acting in honor of Blair County, PA which is where her birthplace of Altoona is located.
She was a lifelong Republican and a strong supporter of Ronald Reagan.
She was always given the star billing when her films were shown in her home town of Altoona, PA regardless of whether the role was major or minor.
Her only child is actress Heather Blair.
Earned two Bachelors Degrees from West Virginia State College. One was in Biology and one was in Psychology.
It was at her father Abel and her uncle Russells draft into WW2 that they discovered the family surname had been changed from Blarel to Blair when Abel and Russell were young children. Her uncle Russell was thought to be skipping his draft call when they figured out the discrepancy. The surname was changed from the original French in order to sound more English.
Is of French, Irish and Bohemian (Czech) Ancestry.
Her second cousin is Jean-Franois Blarel, the Ambassador of France to Vietnam.
Last name, Blarel, was changed to Blair by her grandmother. Her grandmother got the name "Blair" because that was the name of the street that they lived on in Pennsylvania.
Left Detroit, Michigan during the Detroit Riots in 1967. Moved to San Francisco, California.
One of her roommates in San Francisco was Janis Joplin.
Lived next door to Iggy Pop - (real name: James Osterberg).
Mother-in-law of Thomas A. Wilson.
All I got were princess parts. A girl gets tired of being a princess,all of the time. .
