Biography
Lynne Forrester is an unfamiliar name to film-goers, but she was an incredibly talented actress, singer, and dancer who -in addition to appearing onscreen- was active onstage. Her father, Ernest, was a Major in the military who immigrated from England. Their family -all of whom were talented pianists- relocated frequently, living in Hawaii, Minnesota, North Dakota, and New York before settling in Des Moines, Iowa. After graduating from Roosevelt High School with the nickname 'Peaches', she studied at the University of Colorado, Grinnell College, and Iowa State College with plans to be an educator. That changed when she did a pinup in The Green Gander, which was a surprise to the students on campus as the magazine had never done pinups.
She took advantage of the publicity and flew to New York where she studied singing with Kurt Rogosinski and Madame Novikova, then working as a secretary for Robert Merrill, a radio host who cast her on his several episodes of KRNT's Radio Theater. After appearing in several stage productions, she left for California where NBC cast her on Musical Comedy Time in the chorus while understudying for one of the stars. Her credits include roles in The French Line (1954), Son of Sinbad (1955), and On the Waterfront (1956), as well as appearances on The Perry Como Show, The Arlene Francis Show, Schlitz Playhouse, and We the People. Her love of the theater pulled her from Hollywood to Texas, where she starred in Kismet, Li'l Abner, and The Women at Casa Mañana. The venue could be described as Texas' Broadway.
It was while at the height of her career that she met Ernst Maerzendorfer, the renowned conductor, while touring in Europe. They were introduced at the Raimund Theatre in Vienna, Austria where Lynne was performing, sharing a passion for music and the theater. They were married on March 13, 1962, and remained married until Ernst death in 2009. She died in Iowa in the 2020s.
