Lyn Wilde, one-half of an MGM sister act in the 1940s, dies at 93


Lyn Wilde, one-half of the blond sister act that confused characters in such 1940s MGM comedies as Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble and Twice Blessed, has died. She was 93.

Wilde died Sept. 11 at a hospice in Michigan City, Ind., her family announced.

Lyn and her sister Lee, contract players at MGM, also appeared in Presenting Lily Mars (1943), starring Judy Garland, and Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), with Van Heflin. Away from the studio, they married real-life brothers.

After the pair appeared in Republic Pictures' Campus Honeymoon (1948) and Look for the Silver Lining (1949) at Warner Bros., Lee retired to raise a family. Lyn then worked on movies including Sheriff of Wichita (1949), Tucson (1949), Show Boat (1951) and The Girl Next Door (1953) before she exited show business.

See photos of the Wilde twins through the years:

Lyn Wilde was born in East St. Louis, Ill., hours after her sister. They sang hymns for a local radio station and performed on a Mississippi riverboat before landing a gig with Ray Noble's orchestra in Chicago. They made their feature debut in Juke Box Jenny (1942) and traveled with Bob Crosby's band.

The sisters confused Mickey Rooney on a train en route to Wainwright College in Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble (1944), then starred in Twice Blessed (1945), a comedy tailored just for them. In that one, the sisters play identical twins who hadn't seen each other since their parents' divorce and then decide to switch families.

After leaving the movies in the 1950s, Lyn worked as a stage director for the Miss Indiana Pageant and as a judge in Miss America preliminary contests throughout the state, her family noted.

Her sister preceded her in death. Survivors include her children James and Lee Ann and grandchildren Jamee, McKenzie, Carter and Nicole.

Read more: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016


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