Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Legend of Marilyn Monroe
A documentary about the life and career of the ultimate all-time sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, narrated by director John Huston (who worked with her on "The Misfits"). Included are interviews with friends, cast and crew who worked with her and others who knew her, clips from her films and some scenes that were cut from her earliest movies and not seen for many years.
Lana Turner
Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget (1937). She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). During the early 1940s she established herself as a leading actress in such films as Johnny Eager (1941), Ziegfeld Girl (1941) and Somewhere I'll Find You (1942), and her reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her performance in the film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Her popularity continued through the 1950s, in such films as The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Peyton Place (1957), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
In 1958, her daughter, Cheryl Crane, stabbed Turner's lover Johnny Stompanato to death. A coroner's inquest brought considerable media attention to Turner and concluded that Crane had acted in self defense. Turner's next film, Imitation of Life (1959), proved to be one of the greatest successes of her career, but from the early 1960s, her roles were fewer. She gained recognition near the end of her career with a recurring guest role in the television series Falcon Crest during 1982 and 1983.
Turner made her final television appearance in 1991, and died from throat cancer in 1995.
Early life
Born Julia Jean Turner in Wallace, Idaho, she was the daughter of John Virgil Madison Turner, a miner from Hohenwald, Tennessee, and Mildred Frances Cowan, a sixteen-year-old Arkansas native. A common and often repeated error is to add the given names of her mother Mildred Frances to her birth name. These names she used when she converted to Catholicism.Until her film career took off, she was known to family and friends as "Judy". Hard times eventually forced the family to re-locate to San Francisco, where her parents soon separated.
On December 14, 1930, her father won some money at a traveling craps game, stuffed his winnings in his left sock, and headed for home. He was later found dead on the corner of Minnesota and Mariposa Streets, on the edge of Potrero Hill and the Dogpatch District in San Francisco, his left shoe and sock missing. The robbery and murder were never solved. Soon after, her mother developed health problems and was advised by her doctor to move to a drier climate. With her ten-year-old daughter, she moved to Los Angeles in 1931.
Mildred and Lana were very poor, and Turner was sometimes separated from her mother, living with friends or acquaintances so that the family could save money. Her mother worked as a beautician to support them. After Turner was discovered, her mother became the overseer of Turner's career.
Film career
in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
Turner earned the nickname "The Sweater Girl" from her form-fitting attire in a scene in They Won't Forget. According to her daughter, this was a nickname Turner detested throughout her entire career. In late 1937, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $100 a week, and graduated from high school in between takes. Her first starring role for MGM was scheduled to be an adaption of The Sea-Wolf, co-starring Clark Gable, but the project was eventually canned. Instead, she was assigned opposite teen idol Mickey Rooney in the Andy Hardy film Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). It was this appearance that made Louis B. Mayer convinced that Turner could be the next Jean Harlow, a sex symbol who died six months before Turner's arrival at MGM.
Mayer turned her into a glamorous star, mostly popular among college boys, and gave her the leads in several teen-oriented films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, such as Dramatic School (1938), These Glamour Girls (1939) and Dancing Co-Ed (1939). In early 1940, she was also set to star in a remake of Our Dancing Daughters, but the film was never made. From the beginning of her career, Turner stood her ground on her beliefs and was one of the few actresses at MGM to go against Mayer's wishes.
Turner reached the height of her fame in the 1940s and 1950s. During World War II, Turner became a popular pin-up girl due to her popularity in such films such as Ziegfeld Girl (1941), Johnny Eager (1942), and four films with Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer's "king of the lot," Clark Gable. The Turner-Gable films' successes were only heightened by gossip-column rumors about a relationship between the two. Turner even had a B-17 Flying Fortress—the Tempest Turner—named after her. Following the canned The Sea Wolf project, Turner and Gable were set to star in The Uniform in December 1940. Turner was eventually replaced by Rosalind Russell and the film was released as They Met in Bombay (1941).
Meanwhile, Turner was receiving much publicity for her personal life, and her career was one of the very few to be furthered by this. MGM boosted this by changing the title of her latest film to Slightly Dangerous (1943).
After the war, Turner's career continued successfully with the release, in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), which co-starred John Garfield. As claimed in a documentary, Turner did not get along with him and when she found he was her male lead, she responded: "Couldn't they at least hire someone attractive?" The now-classic film noir marked a turning point in her career, and it marked Turner's first femme fatale role.Reviews of the film, and in particular, Turner's performance, were glowing, with a critic of The New York Times writing it was "the role of her career." While not exactly giving up her pin-up credentials, Turner established herself as a skilled actress. The Postman Always Rings Twice was thus a turning point in her career. Turner commented on this:
- "I finally got tired of making movies where all I did was walk across the screen and look pretty. I got a big chance to do some real acting in The Postman Always Rings Twice, and I'm not going to slip back if I can help it. I tried to persuade the studio to give me something different. But every time I went into my argument about how bad a picture was they'd say, 'well, it's making a fortune.' That licked me."
Later that year, Turner headlined Cass Timberlane, a role that Jennifer Jones, Vivien Leigh and Virginia Grey were previously considered for. As of early 1946, Turner was set for the role, but schedules with Green Dolphin Street almost prohibited her from taking the role, and by late 1946, she was almost recast.Production of Cass Timberlane was very exhausting for Turner, as it was shot in between retakes of Green Dolphin Street. Nevertheless, she took the female lead in Homecoming (1948) in August 1947, only moments after finishing Cass Timberlane. She was the studio's first choice for the role, but they were reluctant to offer her the part, considering her overbooked schedule. Paired again with Clark Gable in Homecoming, their chemistry projected on the screen was well received by the audience, and they were nicknamed "the team that generates steam". By this period, Turner achieved the milestone of her film career, and was not only MGM's most popular star, but also one of the ten best paid women in the United States.
In 1948, Turner appeared in her first Technicolor film, appearing as Lady de Winter in The Three Musketeers, opposite Gene Kelly, Van Heflin and June Allyson. In November 1947, she agreed to do the film, thereby giving up an unfinished film project called Bedeviled. However, in January 1948 it was reported that she had withdrawn from the film. Initially, Louis B. Mayer gave her permission for doing so because of her schedule,but she was later that month put on suspension. Eventually, Turner agreed to make the film, but did not start production until March due to having to lose weight. In 1949, she was to headline A Life of Her Own (1950). The project was shelved for several months, and Turner insisted in December 1949 that she had nothing to do with it, saying: "Everybody agrees that the script is still a pile of junk. I'm anxious to get started. By the time this one comes out, it will be almost three years since I was last on the screen, in The Three Musketeers. I don't think it's healthy to stay off the screen that long."
in Mr. Imperium (1951)
Turner's career recovered briefly after she appeared in the hugely successful big-screen adaptation of Grace Metalious's best-selling novel, Peyton Place (1957), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Another few box-office failures followed (Another Time, Another Place (1958), for example) when the 1958 scandal surrounding her daughter's killing of Stompanato threatened to derail her career completely.
In the trail of the related negative publicity, Turner accepted the lead role in Ross Hunter's remake of Imitation of Life (1959) under the direction of Douglas Sirk. Universal Studios capitalized on her new-found notoriety; the result was one of the biggest hits of the year, as well as the biggest hit of Turner's career: she owned 50% of the earnings of the picture and for only the first year of the film's career she earned 11 million $. Critics and audiences couldn't help noticing that the plots of both Peyton Place and Imitation of Life had borrowed heavily from Turner's private life. Each film depicted the troubled, complicated relationship between a single mother and her teenage daughter.
She made her last film at MGM starring with Bob Hope in Bachelor in Paradise (1961). Other highlights of this era include two Hunter productions (for whom she did Imitation of Life), Portrait in Black (1960) and Madame X (1966), which proved to be her last major starring role.
Personal life
Lana Turner in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941).
Turner was married eight times to seven different husbands:
- Bandleader Artie Shaw (1940). Married only four months, Turner was 19 when she and Shaw eloped on their first date. The sudden marriage was highly publicized, and there was even talks of MGM releasing her from her contract. She later referred to their stormy and verbally abusive relationship as "my college education".
- Actor-restaurateur Joseph Stephen Crane (1942–1943, 1943–1944). Turner and Crane's first marriage was annulled after she discovered that Crane's previous divorce had not yet been finalized. After a brief separation (during which Crane attempted suicide), they re-married to provide for their newborn daughter, Cheryl.
- Millionaire socialite Henry J. Topping Jr. (1948–1952). A brother of Dan Topping, owner of the New York Yankees, and a grandson of tin-plate magnate Daniel G. Reid, "Bob" Topping proposed to Turner at the 21 Club in Los Angeles by dropping a diamond ring into her martini. Although worth millions when they married—the ceremony occurred three days after Topping was divorced from his third wife, actress Arline Judge, who had been previously married to his brother Dan—Topping suffered heavy financial losses due to poor investments and excessive gambling. The couple's marriage resulted in a church trial for the officiant because the marriage took place less than a year after Topping's divorce from Judge.
- Actor Lex Barker (1953–1957), whom she divorced. In a book written by Cheryl Crane, Crane claimed that he repeatedly molested and raped her, and that it was after she told her mother this that they divorced.
- Rancher Frederick "Fred" May (1960–1962), who was a member of the May department-store family.
- Robert P. Eaton (1965–1969);. A movie producer, he went on to write The Body Brokers, a behind-the-scenes look at the Hollywood movie world, featuring a character named Marla Jordan, based on Turner.
- Nightclub hypnotist Ronald Pellar, also known as Ronald Dante or Dr. Dante (1969–1972). The couple met in 1969 in a Los Angeles discotheque and married that same year. After about six months of marriage, Pellar disappeared a few days after Turner had written a $35,000 check to him to help him in an investment; he used the money for other purposes. In addition, she later accused him of stealing $100,000 worth of jewelry.
The Stompanato killing
Turner met Johnny Stompanato during the spring of 1957, shortly after ending her marriage to Barker. At first, Turner was susceptible to Stompanato's good looks and prowess as a lover, but after she discovered his ties to the Los Angeles underworld (in particular, his association with gangster Mickey Cohen), she tried to break off the affair out of fear of bad publicity. Stompanato was not easily deterred, however, and over the course of the following year, they carried on a relationship filled with violent arguments, physical abuse and repeated reconciliations.In the fall of 1957, Stompanato followed Turner to England where she was filming Another Time, Another Place (1958) costarring Sean Connery. Fearful that Turner was having an affair with Connery, Stompanato stormed onto the set brandishing a gun. Connery managed to land a single punch to Stompanato's jaw and took away his gun. Stompanato was soon deported by Scotland Yard for the incident.
Lana Turner's former home in Beverly Hills where Johnny Stompanato was killed in 1958.
Many theories abound as to what happened afterward, but it appears the teenager stabbed Stompanato, killing him. The case quickly became a media sensation. It was later deemed a justifiable homicide at a coroner's inquest, at which Turner provided dramatic testimony. Some observers have said her testimony that day was the acting performance of her life.
Later life
In the 1970s and 1980s, Turner appeared in several television roles, most notably as a guest star for several episodes on the series Falcon Crest as Jaqueline Perrault, but the majority of her final decade was spent out of the public eye.She died at the age of 74 in 1995 of complications from throat cancer, which was diagnosed in 1992 and which she had been battling ever since, at her home in Century City, Los Angeles, California. She was, until her death, a very heavy smoker.
Turner was survived by Cheryl Crane, her only child, and Crane's life partner Joyce "Josh" LeRoy, whom she said she accepted "as a second daughter". They inherited some of Turner's sizable estate, built through shrewd real estate holdings and investments. However, the majority of her estate was left to her maid, Carmen Lopez Cruz.
For her contribution to the motion-picture industry, Turner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6241 Hollywood Boulevard.
In the 1983, Turner suffered a heart attack but recovered. In the mid-1990s, Turner became a Born-Again Christian.
In literature
Turner is the subject of the poem "Lana Turner has collapsed" by the poet Frank O'Hara.Turner and Stompanato appear as minor characters in James Ellroy's novel L.A. Confidential.
In music
Turner appears mentioned on the rap section of Madonna's "Vogue" next to stars from the Golden Age era of Hollywood like Bette Davis or Marilyn Monroe.Filmography
Friday, February 11, 2011
Mamie Van Doren
Mamie Van Doren (born February 6, 1931) is an American actress, American singer and sex symbol.
Van Doren was born Joan Lucille Olander in Rowena, South Dakota, the daughter of Warner Carl Olander (March 30, 1908 – June 4, 1992) and Lucille Harriet Bennett (January 21, 1912 – August 27, 1995). She is of three-quarters Swedish ancestry; the remainder is mixed English and German. Her mother named her after Joan Crawford. In 1939, the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa. In May 1942, they moved to Los Angeles.
In early 1946, Joan began working as an usher at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The following year, she had a bit part on an early television show. She also sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered beauty contests. Van Doren was married for a brief time at seventeen. She and first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa Barbara. The marriage dissolved quickly, upon her discovery of his abusive nature. In the summer of 1949, at age 18, she won the titles "Miss Eight Ball" and "Miss Palm Springs". She was also engaged to marry legendary boxer Jack Dempsey, but broke off the engagement when she signed her first contract with Universal.
Joan was discovered by famed producer Howard Hughes on the night she was crowned Miss Palm Springs. The pair dated for several years. Hughes launched her career by placing her in several RKO films.
Early career
Hughes provided Van Doren with a bit part in Jet Pilot at RKO, which was her motion picture debut. Her line of dialogue consisted of one word, "Look!" and she appears uncredited in the film. Though production of the movie was from 1949 to 1953 (delays by Hughes), it was not released until 1957. The following year, 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painter of the glamorous "Vargas Girls." His painting of Van Doren was on the July cover of Esquire.Van Doren did a few more bit parts in movies at RKO, including His Kind of Woman (1951) starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and Vincent Price. About her appearance in that one, Van Doren has said, "If you blinked you would miss me. I look barely old enough to drive."
Van Doren then began working on the stage. She was a showgirl in New York in Monte Proser's nightclub version of Billion Dollar Baby. Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his musicals, then decided she was too good for the chorus line and should have dramatic training. She studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. While appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase production of Come Back, Little Sheba, Van Doren was seen by Phil Benjamin, a casting director at Universal International.
Career
On January 20, 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal Studios. The studio had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the same kind of success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe, the reigning sex symbol of the era. Van Doren, whose signing day coincided with the inauguration of President Eisenhower, was given the first name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie Eisenhower. Other Van Dorens, who were unrelated to Mamie, were a prominent and noted family of American intellectuals; these Van Dorens included two Pulitzer Prize winning brothers, Carl (biographer) and Mark (poet), and Mark's wife Dorothy, an academic and historian. Mark and Dorothy's son, Charles Van Doren, made front page news both by winning $129,000 on a television game show in 1957, then admitting in 1959 that the program was rigged. The publicity around this scandal kept the name 'Van Doren' in the newspapers and tabloids.Van Doren's first movie for Universal was Forbidden, playing a singer. She then made All-American (1953), playing her first starring role as Susie Ward, a wayward girl who is the man-trap at a campus beer joint. This film also starred Tony Curtis. In Yankee Pasha starring Jeff Chandler and Rhonda Fleming, she played a slave girl, Lilith. In 1956 she played opposite a pre-fame Clint Eastwood in Star in the Dust.
Van Doren starred in several bad girl movies that later became cult films. She also appeared in some of the first movies to feature Rock & Roll music and became identified with this rebellious style, and made some rock records. In the film Untamed Youth in 1957, she was the first woman to sing rock and roll in a Hollywood musical (Eddie Cochran did the music for the film). This film was later featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000's "Untamed Youth" (1990).
Some of Van Doren's more noteworthy movies include Teacher's Pet (1958) at Paramount, Born Reckless (1958) at Warner Bros., High School Confidential (1958), and The Beat Generation (1959), the latter two at MGM. But Van Doren was just as well known for her provocative roles. She was in prison for Girls Town (1959), which provoked censors with a shower scene where audiences could see Van Doren's naked back. As Eve in The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960) she wore only fig leaves, and in other films, like The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (1959), Sex Kittens Go to College (1960) and Vice Raid (1960) audiences were clued in as to the nature of the films from the titles.
Many of Van Doren's film roles showcased her ample curves, and her on screen wardrobe usually consisted of tight sweaters, low-cut blouses, form-fitting dresses, and daring (for the era) swimsuits. While she and other blonde bombshell contemporaries as Cleo Moore, Sheree North, Joi Lansing, Greta Thyssen, and Barbara Nichols did not attain the same level of superstar status as Marilyn Monroe, Van Doren did become a very famous star and notable Hollywood sex symbol. Marilyn, Mamie and Jayne Mansfield were known as the "Three M's." But by comparison, where Monroe succeeded in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Mansfield had a big success with Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, (a part that was originally written for Van Doren, who turned it down), Universal stuck Van Doren with Francis the Talking Mule in Francis Joins the WACS.
Film career in decline
As Van Doren's career progressed, many of the productions she starred in were low-budget B-movies. They are largely unknown to later generations, though some have gained a following for their high camp value.In 1959, Universal chose not to renew her contract. Van Doren was now a free agent and had to struggle to find work. Some of her later movies were foreign and independent productions, such as Sex Kittens Go to College (1960), The Blonde from Buenos Aires (1961), The Candidate, The Navy vs the Night Monsters (1966) as well as Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who used the pseudonym 'Derek Thomas' for the film.
Personal life
Van Doren has been married five times: to sportswear manufacturer Jack Newman (married 1950-divorced 1950); to bandleader, composer and actor Ray Anthony (married 1955-divorced 1961); to baseball player Lee Meyers (married 1966-divorced 1967); to businessman Ross McClintock (married 1972-divorced 1973); and to actor Thomas Dixon (married 1979–present).She and Anthony had one son, Perry Ray Anthony (born March 18, 1956).
Van Doren's early 1960s, highly publicized, on-again off-again engagement to baseball player Bo Belinsky ended for good in 1964. She acknowledged numerous affairs in her autobiography, including ones with Clark Gable, Howard Hughes, Johnny Carson, Elvis Presley, Burt Reynolds, Jack Dempsey, Steve McQueen, Johnny Rivers, Robert Evans, Eddie Fisher, Warren Beatty, Tony Curtis, Steve Cochran, and Joe Namath. Claiming fidelity to each lover, she said about Hollywood life, "I don't wear panties anymore – this startles the Hollywood wolves so much they don't know what to pull at, so they leave me alone."
She posed twice for Playboy in 1963 to promote her movie 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt (1964), though she was never a Playmate. By this point in her career, her voluptuous figure measured 38DD-26-36 (self-described in 1997). She said about her curves, "I don't even want to say double-D, because they're even bigger than that."
In 1964, Van Doren was a guest at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood when The Beatles were at the club visiting with Jayne Mansfield, and an inebriated George Harrison accidentally threw his drink on her when trying to throw it on some bothersome journalists.
Van Doren developed a nightclub act and did live theatre. She performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames at Sea at the Drury Lane Theatre, Chicago, and appeared in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and The Tender Trap at the Arlington Park Theatre.
During the Vietnam War, she did tours for U.S. troops in Vietnam for three months in 1968, and again in 1970. In addition to USO shows, she visited hospitals, including the wards of amputees and burn victims that many other celebrities avoided.
Van Doren's guest appearances on television include What's My Line, The Bob Cummings Show, The Jack Benny Show, Fantasy Island, Burke's Law, Vega$, and L.A. Law.
In the 1970s, Van Doren performed a nightclub act in Las Vegas.
Second career in later life
in Los Angeles, 1987
Van Doren's autobiography, Playing the Field (1987), brought much new attention to the veteran sex symbol and proved to be her biggest media splash in over 25 years. Since the book's publication she has often been interviewed and profiled and has occasionally returned to acting. She has consistently denied in interviews ever having breast implants. In 2006, Mamie posed for photographs for Vanity Fair with Pamela Anderson, as part of its annual Hollywood issue.
Van Doren and her husband, Thomas, maintain her web site. There, she sells autographed "nipple prints" and home-made short films starring herself, such as A Girl and Her Banana. Her contemporary topless and nude photos, and outspoken political views, have helped create a larger fan base than at any time in her career. Van Doren has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Co-Stars | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Footlight Varieties | Blonde in theater (uncredited) | Jack Paar, Leon Errol | |
| 1951 | His Kind of Woman | Lodge guest at bar (uncredited) | Jane Russell, Robert Mitchum | |
| 1951 | Two Tickets to Broadway | Showgirl (uncredited) | Janet Leigh, Tony Martin, Gloria DeHaven, Ann Miller | |
| 1953 | Forbidden | Singer (uncredited) | Tony Curtis, Joanne Dru | |
| 1953 | All-American | Susie Ward | Tony Curtis, Lori Nelson | First starring role. |
| 1954 | Hawaiian Nights (short subject) | Glamour Girl | Pinky Lee, Lisa Gaye | |
| 1954 | Yankee Pasha | Lilith, Harem Slave | Jeff Chandler, Rhonda Fleming | |
| 1954 | Francis Joins the WACS | Cpl. Bunky Hilstrom | Donald O'Connor, Julie Adams | Fifth in the Francis the Talking Mule series. |
| 1955 | Ain't Misbehavin' | Jackie | Piper Laurie, Rory Calhoun, Jack Carson | |
| 1955 | The Second Greatest Sex | Birdie Snyder | Jeanne Crain, George Nader, Bert Lahr | |
| 1955 | Running Wild | Irma Bean | William Campbell, Keenan Wynn | |
| 1956 | Star in the Dust | Ellen Ballard | John Agar, Richard Boone | |
| 1957 | Untamed Youth | Penny Lowe | Lori Nelson, John Russell | one of her favourite movies. |
| 1957 | The Girl in Black Stockings | Harriet Ames | Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft | |
| 1957 | Jet Pilot | WAF (uncredited) | John Wayne, Janet Leigh | (filmed from 1949–1953) |
| 1958 | Teacher's Pet | Peggy DeFore | Clark Gable, Doris Day, Gig Young | Her part was larger when filmed but was cut before release. |
| 1958 | High School Confidential | Gwen Dulaine | Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore | |
| 1958 | Born Reckless | Jackie Adams | Jeff Richards | |
| 1959 | Guns, Girls, and Gangsters | Vi Victor | Gerard Mohr, Lee Van Cleef, Grant Richards | |
| 1959 | The Beat Generation | Georgia Altera | Steve Cochran, Ray Danton | star Steve Cochran had an affair with her. |
| 1959 | The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina | Sabrina | Antonio Cifariello, Rossana Marini | |
| 1959 | The Big Operator | Mary Gibson | Mickey Rooney, Steve Cochran, Ray Danton | |
| 1959 | Girls Town | Silver Morgan | Mel Torme | considered to be her signature film |
| 1960 | Vice Raid | Carole Hudson | Richard Coogan | |
| 1960 | College Confidential | Sally Blake | Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows | |
| 1960 | Sex Kittens Go to College | Dr. Mathilda West | Tuesday Weld, Mijanou Bardot | |
| 1960 | The Private Lives of Adam and Eve | Evie Simms/Eve | Mickey Rooney | |
| 1961 | The Blonde from Buenos Aires | Unknown | Jean-Pierre Aumont | |
| 1964 | The Candidate | Samantha Ashley | June Wilkinson, Ted Knight | |
| 1964 | The Sheriff Was a Lady | Olivia | Freddy Quinn | Alternative title: In the Wild West |
| 1964 | 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt | Saxie Symbol | Tommy Noonan, Ziva Rodann | co-star Tommy Noonan aslo directed the film |
| 1966 | The Las Vegas Hillbillys | Boots Malone | Jayne Mansfield, Ferlin Husky | starred opposite Jayne Mansfield. This was the only time the two blonde bombshell's appeared together in a film. |
| 1966 | The Navy vs. the Night Monsters | Nora Hall | Anthony Eisley, Billy Gray | |
| 1967 | You've Got to Be Smart | Miss Hathaway | Tom Stern, Roger Perry, Gloria Castillo | |
| 1967 | Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women | Moana | Mary Marr, Paige Lee | |
| 1971 | The Arizona Kid | Girlfriend | Chiquito, Gordon Mitchell | |
| 1975 | That Girl from Boston | George 'Buck' Flower | ||
| 1986 | Free Ride | Debbie Stockwell | Gary Hershberger, Reed Rudy, Dawn Schneider | |
| 1999 | The Vegas Connection | Rita | Ashley F. Brooks, Robert Carradine | |
| 2002 | Slackers | Mrs. Van Graaf | Devon Sawa, Jaime King | cameo role |
Discography
| Year | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Still a Troublemaker" |