Wanda Perry

Biography

Wanda Perry was born Helen Beuscher in Brooklyn, New York, on July 24, 1917, and grew up to be a remarkably beautiful young woman. When she was sixteen, she was named "Miss New York City," and was offered a movie contract by showman Earl Carroll. Helen moved to Hollywood with her parents Wanda and Carl Beuscher. She took her mother's maiden name, Wanda Perry, and appeared in films as a showgirl, an Earl Carroll Girl, a Goldwyn Girl, a dancer in "George White's 1935 Scandals," a fashion model, an extra, a bit player and a stand-in for Lucille Ball. Before World War Two, she married a handsome dentist, Dr. Irving Browne, and they had two children, Charles and Joyce, who live in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively. Her second husband was Bob Milton, an attractive Olympic swimmer who swam with Johnny Weissmuller, who became "Tarzan." Bob's sister, Beth Belden, was an original Ziegfeld Girl on Broadway. The couple shared careers in a fascinating dimension of the film business. For many years Bob was a movie extra, a dancer and a stand-in for Don Ameche. They once had lunch with Henry Fonda. Their son, Robbie, lives in Mammoth Lakes, California, a well-known ski resort.