The beautiful smile of beloved sitcom mom Marjorie Lord hid a devastating past filled with hellish abuse!
Marjorie, who died in Beverly Hills on Nov. 28 at age 97, was best known for playing Danny Thomas’ TV wife Kathy on “Make Room For Daddy.”
But her real life wasn’t all wacky antics and laugh lines!
Her first husband, John Archer — father to her Oscar-nominated daughter, Anne, 68 — was a cheating, wife-beating alcoholic.
In her autobiography, “A Dance and a Hug,” Marjorie bared her marriage nightmare, recalling her husband’s violent explosion when they clashed over Anne and her brother, Gregg.
She wrote: “He shoves me in the bathroom, quickly locks the door and starts slapping me on the head and face.
“I try to defend myself, but I am not equal to his strength.”
Marjorie suffered Archer’s savage behavior for years. Adding insult to injury, he often left her alone in California while he worked on Broadway in New York — and bedded other women. E
ventually, she had enough.They divorced in 1953, after 12 tumultuous years together.
Marjorie soon found solace playing Thomas’ TV bride on the series — later retitled “The Danny Thomas Show,” which ran from 1957 until 1964.
But even her acting success took a toll!
“I had a terrible image problem as Danny’s wife,” she revealed in a 1979 interview.
“When I came up for other shows, the networks were afraid I was too identified with him. It was very disappointing. Very aggravating.”
Marjorie went on to marry two more times.
“I think she had the best parties of her life in the past two years,” said daughter Anne.
“She had family and friends around her nonstop for all the last years!”
