Mary McCarty (September 27, 1923 – April 3, 1980) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and comedian, perhaps best known for her role as nurse Clara "Starch" Willoughby on the television series Trapper John, M.D.
McCarty was born in Winfield, Kansas in September 1923,[1] but grew up in Los Angeles after her parents divorced and she and her mother went to live with her great-grandmother.
Reviewer Bill Riley described McCarty as "a versatile, pretty young Ethel Merman-to-be, who can sing a novelty or a torch song, dance a turn ... or act a sketch with the best of them.
McCarty's Broadway credits included Anna Christie (1977), Chicago (1975), Irene (1973), Follies (1971), A Rainy Day in Newark (1963), Bless You All (1950), Miss Liberty (1949), Small Wonder (1948), and Sleepy Hollow (1938).
[13] McCarty's other professional activities included choreographing a production of Man of La Mancha in Israel and teaching at the Herbert Berghof Studio.