Connie StevensConnie Stevens (born August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. She was born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia in Brooklyn, New York, a daughter of musician Teddy Stevens and singer Eleanor McGinley. The real name of her father is Peter Ingolia, and Connie adopted his stage name of Stevens as hers. Her parents were divorced and she lived with grandparents. At age eight, she started attending Catholic boarding schools. Coming from a musical family, she formed a singing group called The Foremost, the other three vocalists went on to fame as The Lettermen. In 1953, Stevens moved to Los Angeles with her father. When she was sixteen, she started another singing group, The Three Debs. She enrolled at a professional school, sang professionally and appeared in local repertory theater. Stevens then started working as a movie extra. After appearing in four B movies, Jerry Lewis saw her in Dragstrip Riot and cast her in Rock-A-Bye-Baby. Soon after that, she signed a contract with Warner Bros. She played Cricket Blake in the popular Television detective series Hawaiian Eye from 1959 to 1962, a role that made her famous, and she starred in Warner Bros. feature motion pictures like Susan Slade. Her first album was titled Conchetta (1958). She had minor hits with the songs Blame It On My Youth, Looking For A Boy, and Spring Is Here. After making several appearances on the Warner Bros. hit TV series 77 Sunset Strip, she recorded the hit novelty song Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb, a duet with one of the shows stars, Edd Burns. She also recorded the number 1 hit single Sixteen Reasons (1961). Other releases were Why'd You Wanna Make Me Cry?, Mr. Songwriter, and Now That You've Gone. Stevens felt she should be given a raise in 1962, and during the dispute with the studio she was placed on suspension. She was also angered over being denied a chance to audition for the lead in the upcoming Warner Bros. musical My Fair Lady. The differences between her and Warner Bros. were patched up long enough, however, for her to star as Wendy Conway in the TV sitcom Wendy And Me (1964)-(1965) with George Burns, who also produced the show. She also worked in summer stock, and she starred in the Broadway production of Neil Simon's Star Spangled Girl with Tony Perkins. Connie Stevens has had two husbands, actor James Stacy (married 1963-divorced 1967) and singer Eddie Fisher (married 1967-divorced 1969). She is the mother of actress Joely Fisher and actress Tricia Leigh Fisher. In the 1970s, Stevens started singing the Ace Is The Place theme song on Ace Hardware TV commercials in Southern California, was a guest on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast a few times, had a regular role on the 1986 TV series Rowdies and appeared numerous times on the Bob Hope USO specials, including his Christmas Show from the Persian Gulf (1988). Among her charitable works, she founded the Windfeather project to award scholarships to Native American Indians. In 1991, Stevens received the Lady of Humanities Award from Shriners Hospital and the Humanitarian of the Year Award by the Sons of Italy in Washington, DC. Stevens developed her own cosmetic skin care product line, Forever Spring, and in the 1990s opened the Connie Stevens Garden Sanctuary Day Spa in Los Angeles. In 1994, she issued her first recording in several years, Tradition: A Family at Christmas, along with her two daughters. She has also made nightclub appearances and headlined in major Las Vegas showrooms. Connie Stevens has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6249 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, and she has a star on the Star Walk in Palm Springs. This page about Connie Stevens includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about Connie Stevens News stories about Connie Stevens External links for Connie Stevens Videos for Connie Stevens Wikis about Connie Stevens Discussion Groups about Connie Stevens Blogs about Connie Stevens Images of Connie Stevens |
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Connie Stevens has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6249 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, and she has a star on the Star Walk in Palm Springs. Mamie Van Doren has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. She has also made nightclub appearances and headlined in major Las Vegas showrooms. "The Web is the perfect place for an appreciation of Hollywood Glamour. Take a look at it through my eyes, kids!". In 1994, she issued her first recording in several years, Tradition: A Family at Christmas, along with her two daughters. Included at her long, detailed site are photos, stories and anecdotes about Hollywood and her career, and an articulate and opinionated political weblog. Stevens developed her own cosmetic skin care product line, Forever Spring, and in the 1990s opened the Connie Stevens Garden Sanctuary Day Spa in Los Angeles. You can read about Mamie Van Doren and her past exploits at her very own website, where "the first authentic sex-kitten in cyberspace" gives one of the most intimate looks at a celebrity's personal life on the Internet. In 1991, Stevens received the Lady of Humanities Award from Shriners Hospital and the Humanitarian of the Year Award by the Sons of Italy in Washington, DC. She has written about this and discussed it in interviews. Among her charitable works, she founded the Windfeather project to award scholarships to Native American Indians. Starting at age sixty, she has had plastic surgery to maintain a youthful appearance. In the 1970s, Stevens started singing the Ace Is The Place theme song on Ace Hardware TV commercials in Southern California, was a guest on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast a few times, had a regular role on the 1986 TV series Rowdies and appeared numerous times on the Bob Hope USO specials, including his Christmas Show from the Persian Gulf (1988). In 1987, she wrote her autobiography, with Art Aveilhe, titled Playing the Field: My Story, published by GP Putnams, New York. She is the mother of actress Joely Fisher and actress Tricia Leigh Fisher. She did a nightclub act in Las Vegas in the 1970s. Connie Stevens has had two husbands, actor James Stacy (married 1963-divorced 1967) and singer Eddie Fisher (married 1967-divorced 1969). Her appearances on TV have include The Jack Benny Show, Fantasy Island and L.A. Law. She also worked in summer stock, and she starred in the Broadway production of Neil Simon's Star Spangled Girl with Tony Perkins. In addition to USO shows, she visited hospitals, including the wards of amputees and burn victims that many other celebrities stayed away from. were patched up long enough, however, for her to star as Wendy Conway in the TV sitcom Wendy And Me (1964)-(1965) with George Burns, who also produced the show. troops in Vietnam, for three months in 1968 and again in 1970. The differences between her and Warner Bros. During the Vietnam War she did tours for U.S. musical My Fair Lady. She performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dames at Sea at the Drury Lane Theatre, Chicago, and did shows such as Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter and The Tender Trap at the Arlington Park Theatre. She was also angered over being denied a chance to audition for the lead in the upcoming Warner Bros. She also developed a nightclub act and did a lot of theatre work. Stevens felt she should be given a raise in 1962, and during the dispute with the studio she was placed on suspension. In 1964, Van Doren was at the Whisky A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood when The Beatles were at the club, and a drunk George Harrison accidentally threw his drink on her when he was really trying to throw it on some bothersome journalists. Songwriter, and Now That You've Gone. In 1963, she posed twice for Playboy to promote her movie Three Nuts In Search of a Bolt (1964). Other releases were Why'd You Wanna Make Me Cry?, Mr. Some of her later movies were foreign and independent productions, such as The Blonde from Buenos Aires (1961), The Candidate (1964), The Navy vs the Night Monsters (1966) and Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968), which was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who used another name, fearing the movie would ruin his reputation. She also recorded the number 1 hit single Sixteen Reasons (1961). Van Doren was now a free agent and had to struggle to find work. hit TV series 77 Sunset Strip, she recorded the hit novelty song Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb, a duet with one of the shows stars, Edd Burns. In 1959, Universal chose not to exercise the option in her contract. After making several appearances on the Warner Bros. Besides the casting decisions at Universal, a problem with her career was poor management. She had minor hits with the songs Blame It On My Youth, Looking For A Boy, and Spring Is Here. They are largely unknown to later generations, though some have gained a following for their high camp value. Her first album was titled Conchetta (1958). But many of the productions she starred in were low-budget B-movies. feature motion pictures like Susan Slade. Some of her more noteworthy movies include Teacher's Pet (1958) at Paramount, Born Reckless (1958) at Warner Bros., and High School Confidential! (1958) at MGM. She played Cricket Blake in the popular Television detective series Hawaiian Eye from 1959 to 1962, a role that made her famous, and she starred in Warner Bros. In her tell-all autobiography, she acknowledged numerous affairs, including ones with Clark Gable and Joe Namath. Soon after that, she signed a contract with Warner Bros. Her on-again off-again engagement to baseball player Bo Belinsky broke off for good in 1964. After appearing in four B movies, Jerry Lewis saw her in Dragstrip Riot and cast her in Rock-A-Bye-Baby. She and Anthony had one son, Perry Ray Anthony (born March 18, 1956). Stevens then started working as a movie extra. Van Doren has had five husbands, sportswear manufacturer Jack Newman (married 1950-divorced 1950), bandleader, composer and actor Ray Anthony (married 1955-divorced 1961), baseball player Lee Meyers (married 1966-divorced 1967), businessman Ross McClintock (married 1972-divorced 1973) and actor Thomas Dixon (married 1979-present). She enrolled at a professional school, sang professionally and appeared in local repertory theater. But while Monroe did 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. When she was sixteen, she started another singing group, The Three Debs. Marilyn, Mamie and Jayne Mansfield were known as the "Three M's," and Van Doren achieved legendary status as being the sole survivor. In 1953, Stevens moved to Los Angeles with her father. While she and the other blonde bombshells did not attain the same level of superstar status as Monroe, Van Doren did become one of the leading sex symbols of the day. Coming from a musical family, she formed a singing group called The Foremost, the other three vocalists went on to fame as The Lettermen. She became identified with this rebellious style, and made some Rock records. At age eight, she started attending Catholic boarding schools. She also appeared in some of the first movies to feature Rock & Roll music. Her parents were divorced and she lived with grandparents. Van Doren starred as the "bad girl" archetype in several teenage cult movies of the 1950s. The real name of her father is Peter Ingolia, and Connie adopted his stage name of Stevens as hers. In Yankee Pasha (1954) starring Tony Curtis and Rhonda Fleming, she played a slave girl, Lilith. She was born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia in Brooklyn, New York, a daughter of musician Teddy Stevens and singer Eleanor McGinley. She then made The All American (1953), playing Susie Ward, a girl from the other side of the tracks who is the man-trap at a campus beer joint. Connie Stevens (born August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Her first movie for Universal was Forbidden (1953), playing a singer. It has been said that because the day she was signed was also the day President Eisenhower was inaugurated, the studio decided to give her the name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie Eisenhower, and Van Doren because it sounds Dutch. The studio had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe, the reigning sex symbol of the era. On January 20, 1953, she signed a contract with Universal. While appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase production of Come Back, Little Sheba, she was seen by Phil Benjamin, a casting director at Universal International. She studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his musicals, then decided she was too good for the chorus line and should have dramatic training. She was a showgirl in New York in Monte Proser's nightclub version of Billion Dollar Baby. She then began working on the stage. I look barely old enough to drive.". About her appearance in that one, Van Doren has said, "If you blinked you would miss me. She did a few more bit parts in movies at RKO, including His Kind of Woman (1951) starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and Vincent Price. But it turned out that he was abusive, so she quickly got out of the marriage. She was briefly married at seventeen, when she and first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa Barbara. The following year, 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painter of the glamorous "Varga Girls." His painting of Van Doren was on the July cover of Esquire. Her line of dialogue consisted of one word, "Look!" Though production of the movie was in 1949 and 1950, it was not released until 1957. She lunched with him and he gave her a bit part in Jet Pilot at RKO, which was her motion picture debut. While doing the Miss Palm Springs contest, she was discovered by Howard Hughes. In the summer of 1949, at age sixteen, she won the titles "Miss Eight Ball" and "Miss Palm Springs.". She also sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered beauty contests. The following year she had a bit part on an early television show. In early 1946, Joan went to work as an usherette at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. In May 1942, they moved to Los Angeles. In 1939, the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa. Her mother named her after Joan Crawford. She is of Swedish ancestry. She 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). Mamie Van Doren (born February 6, 1931) is a American actress and sex symbol. For, to be glamorous, to be beautiful, is to be doomed eventually to be disappointed.". Our profession is perhaps the most competitive in the world. As young women we were told that we were infinitely desirable and beautiful, only to discover that there was always someone coming up behind who was more desirable and beautiful. "There is a history of calamitous and violent deaths among the glamorous girls that boggles the mind and chills the blood, especially if you're one of the few survivors.. "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.". And endure I have.". My hope was to endure. "I came to Hollywood determined to follow in Jean Harlow's footsteps, but I was determined not to die young. Without my brain, I don't think the rest of me would be too hot.". "My best asset is my brain. Van Graaf. Mrs. Slackers (2002) (Screen Gems, Sony) .. Rita. The Vegas Connection (1999) (Pacific Films) .. Debbie Stockwell. Free Ride (1986) (Galaxy International Pictures) .. That Girl from Boston (1975) (Moonstone Films). aka The Arizona Kid. Girlfriend .. I Fratelli di Arizona (1971) Italian .. Moana. Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968) (Filmgroup Production) .. Miss Hathaway. You've Got to be Smart (1967) (Producers Releasing Organization) .. Boots Malone. Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966) (Woolner Brothers) .. Nora Hall. The Navy vs the Night Monsters (1966) (Real Art) .. Samantha Ashley. The Candidate (1964) (Cosmat Production) .. aka The Wild, Wild West (USA). Olivia .. Freddy und das Lied der Prärie (1964) German .. Saxie Symbol. Three Nuts In Search of a Bolt (1964) (Adrian Weiss Productions) .. The Blonde from Buenos Aires (1961) (Argentinian Films). Sally Blake. College Confidential (1960) (Univeral) .. Evie Simms. The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1961) (Universal) .. Mathilda West. Dr. Sex Kittens Go to College (1960) (Allied Artists) .. Mary Gibson. The Big Operator (1959) (MGM) .. Carol Hudson. Vice Raid (1959) (United Artists) .. Silver Morgan. Girls Town (1959) (MGM) .. Mary Gibson. The Big Operator (1959) (MGM) .. aka This Rebel Age. Georgia Altera .. The Beat Generation (1959) (MGM) .. Vi Victor. Guns, Girls, and Gangsters (1959) (United Artists) .. Gwen Dulaine. High School Confidential! (1958) (MGM) .. aka The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina. Sabrina .. Le Bellissime gambe di Sabrina (1958) Italian (Cinecittā Studios) .. Jackie Adams. Born Reckless (1958) (Warner Bros.) .. Peggy DeFore. Teacher's Pet (1958) (Paramount) .. Penny Lowe. Untamed Youth (1957) (Warner Bros.) .. Harriet Ames. The Girl in Black Stockings (1957) (United Artists) .. Ellen Ballard. Star in the Dust (1956) (Universal) .. Irma Bean. Running Wild (1955) (Universal) .. Birdie Snyder. The Second Greatest Sex (1955) (Universal) .. Jackie. Ain't Misbehavin' (1955) (Universal) .. Bunky Hilstrom. Cpl. Francis Joins the WACS (1954) (Universal) .. Lilith. Yankee Pasha (1954) (Universal) .. Hawaiian Nights (1954) (Universal). Susie Ward. The All American (1953) (Universal) .. Singer (uncredited). Forbidden (1953) (Universal) .. Blonde in theatre (credited as Joan Olander). Footlight Varieties (1951) (RKO) .. (credited as Joan Olander). Two Tickets to Broadway (1951) (RKO) .. Lodge guest at bar (uncredited). His Kind of Woman (1951) (RKO) .. WAF. Jet Pilot (Production: 1949-1950) (Released: 1957) (RKO) .. |