Foxy Lady

Lynn Bari was awarded more than her share of beauty and pin-up titles during World War II. The one that especially pleased her was “The Perpetual Pin-up Girl” bestowed by Darryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century Fox to make up for the fact that they hadn’t given her the recognition she deserved. Lynn was, in fact, one of Fox’s more popular stars. With 8,825 fan letters addressed to Lynn arriving in one week, she was, at one point, second only to Betty Grable.

A title that Lynn disliked most was “Queen of the B’s” which was inherited from her best friend, Claire Trevor. Lynn explained, “It really limited my chances for advancement to lead roles in major pictures.” “The Woo Woo Girl” was another she found demeaning, but “The Girl With the Million Dollar Figure” proved rewarding, as she subsequently received many offers to pay her for endorsing clothing, soap, and beauty products.

There have been many versions of the year of Lynn Bari’s birth. She said it was December 18, 1919, and once, when mentioned to be appearing in 1959’s Pillow Talk, Lynn admitted to forty. Most publicity generated by Fox indicated 1920, but 1913, 1915, and 1917 have also been printed, with the last of these, 1917, being the most likely.

"I seem to be a woman always with a gun in her purse. I'm terrified of guns. I go from one set to the other shooting people and stealing husbands!"

"I guess the top brass thought I was a lady Hugh Herbert, but the audiences, the public, continue to remember me, and what greater accolade can an actress get?"

Lynn Bari (18th December 1917 – 20th November 1989), eternal B-movie villainess and singer, one-time Mrs Sid Luft, and largely forgotten today.

Foxy Lady: The Authorized Biography of Lynn Bari by Jeff Gordon.