I would not have figured this out. I had a different image, in my mind, of how O’Connell looked—probably from appearances she made on television much later in her career, in the 1970s.
Yet here is an additional picture of O’Connell, which shows that Mr. Green is clearly right.
The picture is of O’Connell with Stan Freberg and Bobby Troup. The IMDB website says the picture is from a 1953 television appearance.
Helen O’Connell passed away in 1993, at 73.
My thanks to Mr. Green for his e-mail.
(Image copyright: mptvimages.com)
(Image copyright: mptvimages.com)