Jinx Falkenburg (Jinx Falkenburg)
Actress. Born as Eugenia Lincoln Falkenburg in Barcelona, Spain, to Eugene L. Falkenburg, an engineer, and his wife, Marguerite “Mickey” Crooks Falkenburg, an accomplished amateur tennis player. Her Mother gave her the nickname Jinx, thinking the name would bring her good luck, the name stuck with her throughout her life. Receiving her first media attention at age two when the New York Sun ran a full-page picture and story of her exploits as a baby swimmer. A revolution in Chile caused the family to return to the United States and the family moved to Los Angeles, California. She attended Hollywood High School, at the age of 16 she began to pursue a career in acting and modeling. In 1937 her modeling career took off when she met celebrity fashion photographer Paul Hesse, whose Sunset Strip studio was a gathering place for advertising moguls and motion picture industry celebrities. He took her picture for the August 1937 cover of The American Magazine, triggering similar offers from other publications. Her biggest breakthrough as a model came in 1940 when she was picked by New York-based Liebmann Brewery, maker of Rheingold Beer, to be the first “Miss Rheingold.” Jinx eventually wound up on over 200 magazine covers and in some 1,500 commercial advertisements in the 1930s and 1940s. She was considered to be one of the most beautiful women of that era. After Al Jolson offered her a role in his upcoming Broadway show Hold On to Your Hats, that opened in January 1940, Hollywood also came calling, mostly B-films, among them were Two Latins from Manhattan, Sweetheart of the Fleet, Laugh Your Blues Away, She Has What It Takes, Two Senoritas From Chicago, and Nine Girls. The biggest hit was Cover Girl, where she played a cameo part of herself. She is best remembered as the co-host of the television show, “Preview” in 1949, and the first radio breakfast show, “Tex And Jinx” in the 1940s, which later moved to television as, “Closeup” from 1957 to 1958. She co-hosted these programs with her husband, John Reagan ‘Tex’ McCrary, with whom she was married in June 1945 until his death, they would have two sons together. During World War II she entertained the Allied troops, which earned her the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal. In 1951 a biography of her entitled, “Jinx” was released. Jinx informally retired from broadcasting in 1958 and continued to live in Manhasset. In 1962, she and McCrary anchored 16 weeks of coverage of the Billy Graham Crusade for Christianity. In the 1980s, she and McCrary were separated, however they never divorced. For her contribution to the television industry, Jinx Falkenburg has a star on the Hollywood Blvd. Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine St. Jinx died at the age of 84 at North Shore Hospital in Manhasset. (bio by: Shock) Family links: Spouse: John Reagan McCrary (1910 – 2003)* *Calculated relationship
Born
- January, 21, 1919
- Spain
Died
- August, 08, 2003
- USA
Other
- Cremated