Clue Watch: The Three Ms

In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren were collectively known as “the 3 Ms” and in 2008, Jeopardy! even had a clue with that specific tidbit. It came up in the second round and it was the first clue, worth $400: “Jayne Mansfield, Mamie Van Doren & this actress were collectively known as the 3 Ms.” The category was “Presidential Surnames” and no one even took a guess at it!

Now you don’t really need us to tell you which one of those actresses gets the most clue love. What you might not realize, though, is Marilyn Monroe was the answer to 5 clues in 2015 as of this date. With a month to go, she could even get another.

06/25/15 THE WORKING DEAD $200: Surprisingly busy since her 1962 death, she had a good financial report in 2014: $17 million
05/14/15 MOVIES ABOUT WEATHER? $1600: In “Some Like It Hot”, this female sex symbol strums the ukulele
05/08/15 A. MILLER’S TALES $1200: Miller wrote the screenplay for “The Misfits”, the last feature film for both Clark Gable & this actress
03/04/15 REMEMBERING LAUREN BACALL $1200: In “How to Marry a Millionaire”, Lauren, Betty Grable & this gal play models out to snag rich husbands
02/14/15 TELL ‘EM WHAT THEY’VE WON, JOHNNY! $800: You’ve made the winning bid for this star’s “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress, valued at over $1.2 million!

Since the “3 Ms” clue, Jayne Mansfield has appeared in two clues and they included a picture of her both times:

3/18/14 CELEBRITY RELATIVES $2000: Pictured here is this buxom blonde actress, the mother of Mariska Hargitay of “Law & Order: SVU”
6/11/10 FACTS & FIGURES $800: Fact: She costarred with Tony Randall in “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?”

Mamie Van Doren, the only surviving M, hasn’t shown up at all since the “3 Ms” clue. According to J-archive, she was only in one other clue in 1989:

12/26/89 AUTOBIOGRAPHIES $300: Of Monique Van Vooren, Mamie Van Doren or Margo Adams, the one who wrote “Playing The Field”

Mamie and Jayne may be DUE FOR A CLUE but odds are that Marilyn will show up before either of them.