Here are the new data points:
- 1954 voter registration information was found by Robert Friedrichs for a Lee A. Merlin, a registered Democrat. The document shows that Merlin was residing at 1937 Grace Avenue, an apartment building three blocks north of Hollywood Blvd. and four blocks west of Vine.
- An April 6, 1954 Albuqerque Journal article headlined "Animated Billboard Really Catches Eyes" mentions that "twenty-year-old model Lee Merlin" is among a bevy of models and actresses participating in a unique billboard stunt on Los Angeles's Sunset Strip.The living billboard gimmick is described by the Journal as featuring eight young women in bathing suits next to a miniature swimming pool waving to motorists below while signage behind them promotes the Hotel Sahara in Las Vegas. The only other woman named in the article is a Vegas dancer named Cynthia Blair. The man who came up with the design concept is reported to be Irvin Stone and the man who constructed it is reported in the article to be Jack Canaan. No records could be found for any of these people. The article claims that Merlin was spotted by a movie producer after the billboard went up and was signed for a "movie role." Unfortunately, there is no evidence that Merlin ever appeared in a film or television program.
- Two new (to us) photographs of Ms. Merlin--presumably in Las Vegas--have popped up on the Internet. We present them below.
Lastly, fans of Michael Mann's early 1960s-set police drama Crime Story probably won't remember this, but in one of the later episodes, the famous photograph of Lee Merlin shows up in the background of the bar frequented by the detectives.
