Marjorie Lord was an actress whose biggest role came as she replaced Jean Hagen on the popular 1950s television show "Make Room for Daddy."
Lord stepped in after Jean Hagen abruptly quit the show in 1956. Hagen had played the wife of leading character Danny Williams. After she quit, Hagen's character was the first ever to be killed off a family sitcom.
Lord first appeared as the nurse whom Danny Williams — played by actor Danny Thomas — hired to care for his children. By the end of her first season on the show, Lord's character was married to Thomas'.
In 1958, Lord wrote a column in the Los Angeles Times explaining how she worked with Thomas and how happy she was to hold a prominent role on the show.
"Through the encouragement of Danny, director Sheldon Leonard and the rest of the cast and crew, I gradually found myself expressing opinions — and being listened to," Lord wrote.
The show ended in 1964, but returned in 1971 under the title "Make Room for Grandaddy." Lord played in all 21 episodes of the remake.
Born in San Francisco in 1918, Lord first appeared on Broadway in 1934. She performed in numerous films throughout the 1930s and 1940s, including "Sherlock Holmes in Washington" in 1943 and "The Lost Volcano" in 1950.
In the 1950s, she appeared as a guest star on many different television shows until starting on "Make Room For Daddy" in 1957.
Lord had been married three times and had two children. Her daughter, Anne Archer, is an actress.
In 2004 Lord published her memoir, "A Dance and A Hug," which she sold on her website.
Lord died Nov. 28, 2015 at her home in Beverly Hills. She was 97.
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