生于墨西哥奇瓦瓦市，父亲是爱尔兰人，母亲是墨西哥人，少年时代移居美国，青年时任拳师维生。1936年入电影界，50年代以《萨巴达万岁》和《梵谷传》分获第25、29届奥斯卡最男配角金像奖，1964年以《希腊人左巴》获奥斯卡最男主角金像奖提名，这亦是他电影生涯顶峰。1972年出了自传《最初的...
Petite, attractive Mari Blanchard rarely managed get the lucky breaks. The daughter of an oil tycoon and a psychotherapist, she suffered from severe poliomyelitis from the age of nine, which denied her a hoped-for dancing career. For several years, she worked hard to rehabilitate her limbs from paralysis, swimming and later even performing on the trapeze at Cole Brothers Circus. At the urging of her parents, she then attended the University of Southern California from where she graduated with a degree in international law. This was not to lead to a career, either. Sometime in the late 1940's, she joined the Conover Agency as an advertising model and, at the same time, was promoted by famed cartoonist and writer Al Capp, becoming the inspiration for one of his "L'il Abner" characters.
