Mary Hartline, the high-energy platinum-blond entertainer who became one of network television’s earliest stars on the children’s show “Super Circus,” died on Aug. 12 at her home in Hillsboro, Ill. She was 92. The death was confirmed by the Hough & Sons Funeral Home in Hillsboro. “Super Circus,” a live Sunday afternoon series on ABC, began in early 1949, when the television industry was still laying its coaxial cables. Ms. Hartline was a striking presence with her long, wavy hair, her majorette-style costumes — including her signature uniform, with musical notes on the thigh-high hemline — and white tasseled boots. Ms. Hartline, often called television’s first sex symbol (a lot of fathers, it seems, were watching, alongside their offspring), was a master of promotion.

Source: New York Times August 19, 2020 21:45 UTC