Ilona Hajmássy, known outside of Hungary as Ilona Massey (June 16, 1910 – August 20, 1974However, her date of birth has also been cited as July 5, 1912, and her date of death as August 10 or 12, 1974. This article uses the dates on her gravestone, on the assumption that they are the most accurate.), was a Hungarian-American film, stage, and radio performer.
Early life and career She was born in Budapest, Hungary. Billed as "the new Dietrich", she acted in three films with Nelson Eddy, including Rosalie (1937), and with Lon Chaney Jr. in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) as Baroness Frankenstein. In 1943, she appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies.
In 1947, she starred with Eddy in Northwest Outpost, a musical film composed by Rudolf Friml. In 1949, she starred in Love Happy with the Marx Brothers. She played Madame Egelichi, a femme fatale spy, and her performance inspired Milton Caniff in the creation of his femme fatale spy, Madame Lynx, in the comic strip "Steve Canyon". Caniff hired Massey to pose for him.Pageant May 1953, V8 n11
In 1950, Massey was one of the stars of the NBC spy show Top Secret on radio. In 1952, she began starring in Rendezvous on ABC television. The program was described in a magazine article as "a mystery-drama with plenty of glamour thrown in."
Beginning on November 1, 1954, she hosted DuMont's The Ilona Massey Show, a weekly musical variety show in which she sang songs with guests in a nightclub set, with music provided by the Irving Fields Trio.Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 496. The series ended January 3, 1955, after 10 episodes.
Recognition Massey has a star at 1623 Vine Street on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was dedicated February 8, 1960.
Politics Massey became an American citizen in 1946. She remained strongly anticommunist for what she saw as the destruction of her native country, at one point picketing the United Nations during the 1959 visit of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
Death Massey died of cancer in Bethesda, Maryland, and is buried in Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery near her last husband, Donald Dawson, who had served in the United States Air Force Reserve as a major general.
References
Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1935 Heaven on Earth Operettendiva Fioritta Circus Saran Eine Sängerin 1937 Rosalie Brenda 1939 Balalaika Lydia Pavlovna Marakova 1941 The Great Awakening Anna International Lady Carla Nillson 1942 Invisible Agent Maria Sorenson 1943 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man Baroness Elsa Frankenstein 1946 Holiday in Mexico Countess Toni Karpathy 1947 Northwest Outpost Natalia Alanova 1948 The Plunderers Lin Connor 1949 Love Happy Madame Egelichi 1959 Jet Over the Atlantic Mme. Galli-Cazetti 1967 The Cool Ones Toni Karpathy Uncredited, (final film role)
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