Nancy Guild was a talented movie and television actress who was a contract player at 20th Century-Fox from 1946 to 1949. Her unique surname, which rhymes with "wild", became a memorable catchphrase in the public's eye after she was signed to a seven-year contract at the studio. Initially, the studio bosses envisioned her playing demure, ladylike roles, which became a hallmark of her early career.
Guild made her debut as a nightclub chanteuse in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Somewhere in the Night (1946),a film that was heavily marketed with newspaper ads bearing the catchy "Nancy Guild Rhymes with Wild" slogan. She followed this up with the Philip Marlowe picture The Brasher Doubloon (1947),based on Raymond Chandler's novel "The High Window".
In 1947, Guild married fellow 20th Century-Fox contract player Chuck Russell, with whom she co-starred in the Dan Dailey musical Give My Regards to Broadway (1948). The couple divorced in 1950, and Guild went on to appear in a range of films, including Black Magic (1949) with Orson Welles, and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951).
In 1951, Guild married the successful Broadway impresario Ernest H. Martin, who had produced several notable shows, including Guys and Dolls (1955),The Sound of Music (1965),and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). The couple remained together until their divorce in 1975.
Guild made a few television appearances, including an episode of Robert Montgomery Presents (1950),before retiring from the screen in 1955. She returned to acting in 1971, appearing in Otto Preminger's Such Good Friends (1971),her final film appearance.
Guild was married three times and had three daughters. She passed away on August 16, 1999, at the age of 73, leaving behind her three daughters and three granddaughters.
