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Chili Williams

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Marian Uhlman[1] (née Sorenson; December 16, 1921 – October 17, 2003), known as Chili Williams or the Polka Dot Girl, was an American pin-up model and actress. A photograph of her wearing a polka-dot two-piece bathing suit appeared in Life magazine in 1943 and became one of the most popular pin-up photographs of World War II. Following the popularity of her pin-up photographs, she also appeared in approximately 20 motion pictures between 1944 and 1952.

Chili Williams
Williams in Life magazine, 1943
Born
Marian Sorenson

(1921-12-16)December 16, 1921
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 2003(2003-10-17) (aged 81)
Garden Grove, California, U.S.
EducationMarshall High School
Occupation(s)Pin-up model, actress
Years active1943–1953

Early years

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Williams was born Marian Sorenson in 1921 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[1] Her mother was Norwegian and her father Danish.[2] She graduated from Marshall High School.[1] After graduating from high school, she worked as a stenographer and model for a fur store in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[3] She also posed for photographs, one of which was seen by New York glamor artist Earl Moran.[3]

Modeling and acting career

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The Polka Dot Girl

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In June 1943, Marian Sorenson moved to New York City and joined Harry Conover's modeling agency.[3] Conover gave Sorenson the name "Chili Williams".[2] Conover had come up with the name previously and was waiting for the right girl.[4]

Williams was photographed in 1943 wearing a polka dot two-piece bathing suit in the surf at Fire Island near the South Shore of Long Island in New York. Conover sent one of the photographs to Life magazine for its "Pictures to the Editor" column. Life published the photograph in its September 27, 1943, issue, along with Conover's letter stating: "This picture shows Miss Chili Williams, my newest Cover Girl ... This is one of her first pictures."[5]

In issues that followed, Life published letters from soldiers asking for copies of the photograph.[6] Finally, Life published a full-page copy of the famous photograph in its November 22, 1943, issue. The magazine noted that, since the photograph first appeared in the September 27 issue, Williams "has become the No. 1 pin-up girl of the U. S. armed forces."[7]

Syndicated newspaper columnist Earl Wilson wrote in December 1943 that "the picture that caused all this rumpus" showed Williams "popping prominently out of a pair of polka dot bathing pants and a form-fitting polka dot bra."[4] Wilson noted that, while others had been described as the No. 1 Pin-Up Girl, Williams was "the No 1 No. 1 Pin-Up Girl."[4] He joked that the editors of Life "hate cheesecake like poison", but bowed to the demand for more Chili Williams.[4]

By August 1944, Williams received "a record-breaking deluge of over 100,000 requests for her picture."[8] Among the letters was an official communication from the crew of the submarine USS Trigger asking her to accept the title of "Trigger Girl".[7] The Trigger was sunk in 1945 after being bombed by a Japanese aircraft.[9]

During the height of her popularity in late 1943, Williams was seen dining regularly with South American playboy and billionaire Jorge Guinle. The pair were regulars at the Stork Club, El Morocco, and the swing clubs of 52nd Street.[4]

 
Williams in camouflage series

In 1944, the Army Engineers hired Williams to pose for a series of photographs to be used for training lectures on the use of camouflage.[10] The Army stated in an official release that, by using images of Williams, "vital principles are impressed in the minds of camouflage students in a most effective manner."[8]

In 1947 Herman Talmadge made her an honorary lieutenant colonel when she made an appearance in the Georgia Assembly during a debate.[11]

In 1948, Williams was the grand marshal of a parade in San Mateo, California, while riding on a polka-dotted horse.[12]

In 1969, The Baltimore Sun wrote:

Undoubtedly, the two most famous pin-up pictures of the war (the war) were the one of Betty Grable looking back over her shoulder at the camera, and the one of Chili Williams in a two-piece polka dot bathing suit. By today's standards the pictures were puritanical. But though unrevealing, they were sexy in a way that today's Playboy type pinup will never be. The fold-out bunnies were objects and Betty and Chili were people.[13]

Acting career

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In 1944 Williams had a role in the film Having Wonderful Crime, which the Los Angeles Times noted was her first film.[2] While she acted in multiple films, she was not known for her work in movies.[14]

Family and later years

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Williams's first marriage ended in divorce. She then married John Uhlman, a corporate public-relations representative, in 1954. They operated a dress shop in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the 1950s. She had a daughter, Amy, and a son, Cary. Williams and her husband later moved to Garden Grove, California. Interviewed in 1977 for a "where are they now?" story, she said:

My life is much happier and fulfilled now. The glamor life was fun, but I was never very happy in that business. Otherwise, I haven't changed much. I still wear the same size – 10 or 12 – and I have a few character lines on my face. I wear a bikini at the beach sometimes. I'm always going to the ocean; it's in my blood. I still feel I am the same person in that picture.[15]

Williams died in California in 2003.[1][15]

Filmography

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Film Year Role Notes
Heavenly Days[16] 1944 Office worker uncredited
Girl Rush 1944 Girl[17]: 176  uncredited
The Falcon in Hollywood 1944 Beautiful blonde[18] uncredited
Having Wonderful Crime 1945 Blonde in polka dots[19][17]: 167 
Wonder Man[20] 1945 Goldwyn girl[17]: 585  uncredited
George White's Scandals[21] 1945 Showgirl uncredited
Johnny Angel 1945 Redhead[22] uncredited
Copacabana 1947 Copa girl with Sobel[17]: 92 
Gas House Kids Go West 1947 Nan Crowley[17]: 167 
Heartaches 1947 Sally – Morton's secretary[17]: 196 
Assigned to Danger 1948 Secretary[23] uncredited
Raw Deal 1948 Marcy[24][17]: 393 
My Dream Is Yours 1949 Fan club president[17]: 329  uncredited
Kill the Umpire 1950 Chorus girl[25] uncredited
Where the Sidewalk Ends 1950 Teddy[26] uncredited
Frenchie 1950 Dealer[25] uncredited
The Las Vegas Story[27] 1952 Guest uncredited
A Girl in Every Port[28] 1952 Car hop uncredited
The Lusty Men 1952 Bit part[29] uncredited
Captive Women 1952 Second captive[30]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Trudi Hahn (October 27, 2003). "'40s pinup Marian Uhlman dies". Star Tribune. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c Schallert, Edwin (May 28, 1944). "No. 1 Pin-up Girl Tries Film Career". Los Angeles Times. Vol. 63. pp. 1, 6.
  3. ^ a b c "Chili Williams, No. 1 Glamor Girl, Comes Home From N.Y. Triumph". Minneapolis Morning Tribune. December 4, 1943. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e Earl Wilson (December 12, 1943). "Chili Williams – The People's Choice: Beautiful Blonde Model Is No. 1 Pin-Up Girl by Popular Demand". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. The Everyday Magazine, p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Harry Conover (September 27, 1943). "Cover Girl". Time Inc.
  6. ^ "Letters To The Editor". Life. October 18, 1943. pp. 4–6.
  7. ^ a b "Chili Williams: Her picture reprinted by request". Life. November 22, 1943. p. 40.
  8. ^ a b "Speaking of Pictures . . . Chili Williams Working for the Army". Life. April 10, 1944. p. 12.
  9. ^ Bauer, K. Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990: Major Combatants. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 271–273. ISBN 0-313-26202-0.
  10. ^ Stewart, Jude (2015). Patternalia : an unconventional history of polka dots, stripes, plaid, camouflage, & other graphic patterns. New York: Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-63286-108-5.
  11. ^ Barnwell, Katherine (March 6, 1947). Solons reach accord on No. 1 pin-up girl. Vol. 79. The Atlanta Constitution.
  12. ^ "Mistake Triggered Discovery". The Times and Post. July 25, 1969. p. 11A – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Notes and Comment". The Baltimore Sun. September 4, 1969. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ time life (1975). Life goes to the movies. New York: Time-Life Books.
  15. ^ a b Jane Sims Podesta (September 21, 1977). "Former newsmakers; where are they now – Marian (Chili Williams) Uhlman, former pinup girl". The Minneapolis Star. p. 21A – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Clavicle Cramp Suffered By Chili Williams's Pal". The Cincinnati Enquirer. June 27, 1944. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h Fetrow, Alan G. (1994). Feature films, 1940–1949: a United States filmography. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland and Company. ISBN 978-0-89950-914-3.
  18. ^ Reid, John Howard (2009). Mystery, suspense, film noir and detective movies on DVD: a guide to the best in cinema thrills. [Morrisville, NC]: Lulu Books. ISBN 978-0-557-12223-3.
  19. ^ Brown, Byron (September 30, 1945). "Comedies on Three Local Screens". Sunday Journal and Star).
  20. ^ "Is City New Beauty Capital?". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. May 6, 1956. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "'George White' Picks the Chorus". Shamokin News-Dispatch. January 5, 1946. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "No Excuse Needed". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. April 22, 1945. p. C7 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ The Hollywood Reporter Press (1950). Motion picture production encyclopedia: 1950. Media History Digital Library. Hollywood: The Hollywood Reporter Press. p. 187.
  24. ^ Corey, Melinda (1992). A cast of thousands: a compendium of who played what in film. New York: Facts On File. p. 982. ISBN 978-0-8160-2429-2 – via Internet Archive.
  25. ^ a b "Chili Williams". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  26. ^ Los Angeles Times. Vol. 69. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC. January 21, 1950.
  27. ^ "Hollywood Off Screen". Chicago Tribune. September 30, 1951. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ John L. Scott (February 10, 1952). "King Lear Groucho Still Rules With Raised Brow, Barbed Wit". Los Angeles Times. p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ Parish, James Robert (1980). The Forties gals. Westport, Conn.: Arlington House. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-87000-428-5.
  30. ^ "Captive Women". Variety. Vol. 188, no. 4. October 1, 1952.
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