Other notable roles include "Slaughter," with Jim Brown, the Sam Peckinpah television film "The Battle of Cable Hogue" and "The Poseidon Adventure" in which she played Linda Rogo, Ernest Borgnine's character's wife. The more it went on, the more he drank and the worse it got. Girls! with Elvis Presley, which she only agreed to do because she was promised to a Montgomery Clift movie if she did it. Around this time, Stevens found difficulty in being taken seriously after being labeled as a sexpot. Her given roles tended to appease this stereotype by exposing her beauty and often required the removal of her clothing at some point. Girls! Jerry Lewis and Stella Stevens stared in The Nutty Professor in 1963 Credit: Rex Features But they split in 1956 in acrimonious circumstances and did not She also directed several films, the documentary "An American Heroine," which never got distribution, and "The Ranch." Doctor Jerry and Mister Love. There was never enough we could do for him. I do; the first director I worked with was Frank Tashlin [Say One For Me]. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our. Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! In an interview in 1994, Stevens said that she worried that she didnt succeed in bringing out the best in her directors and that her ambitions changed. (with Elvis Presley) and The Poseidon Adventure, Stella Stevens was known for her voluptuous curves, platinum blonde locks, and shimmering eyes. It turned into John Cassavetes Too Late Blues, with Bobby Darrin. Erik Pedersen contributed to this report. He could touch youa little smile on his face or a wink of an eye. Girls! She went on to play Jerry Lewis dream girl in The Nutty Professor which was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2004 and the lippy wife of Ernest Borgnine in The Poseidon Adventure, the star-packed pic about the wreck of a luxury liner that was among the biggest hits of 1972 and helped fuel that decades disaster-movie trend. And if you ask me, I do believe thats why the film still holds up after all those years. Girls! I saw (Bob Hope) at 83 cracking jokes and having fun. Actress Stella Stevens appears at a Sterns Department Store in New York on Jan. 8, 1968. We want to hear from you! Another favorite of mine was George Marshall, who had directed me in Advance to the Rear [1964]. Stevens estate said she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. and with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, has died at the age of 84, family The Clift picture didnt pan out either, at least with her promised co-star. Photo by Silver Screen You then appeared with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor (1963). (1997) DIR Lewis Teague PROD Skip Ward, Ira Marvin TELEPLAY Gy Waldron CAM Larry Lindsey, Barry M. Wilson ED Russell Livingstone MUS Steve Wariner CAST Tom Wopat, John Schneider, Catherine Bach, Denver Pyle, James Best, Ben Jones, Stella Stevens (Josephine Max), THE CHRISTMAS LIST (1997) DIR Charles Jarrot PROD James Shavick, Rosanne Milliken TELEPLAY Marie Weiss CAM Henry Chan ED Mark Lemmon, Garry M.B. Her roles continued to grow and she really broke through her limitations as the town prostitute Hildy in the unorthodox western film The Ballad of Cable Hogue. Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and 70s comedies perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewiss affection in The Nutty The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol. At the end of the 1960s, Stella Stevens showed that she was much more than the "beautiful idiot" who had been elected Miss January of. Desperate to impress her, he concocts a potion to transform himself into a charismatic hunk. Average Retirement Savings By Age: Are You Normal? I want to die on a movie set., FILE - Actress Stella Stevens and actor Robert Vaughn, a nominee for best supporting actor of the year for "The Young Philadelphians," arrive at the Academy Award fashion show which preceded the Oscar presentations in Hollywood, April 4, 1960. It was a miserable six days of filming, she said, due to the temper of director Norman Taurog, though she said Presley was nice. Girls! Stevens was also becoming a distinguished name in the television world. Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift, she said. Currently in her 80s, Stevens suffers from dementia and has been living in an assisted living home in California where Kulick frequently visited and cared for her until he passed away in May of 2020. Stevens also was a popular guest on talk shows, making about a half-dozen appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, along with those hosted by the likes of Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, Vicki Lawrence, David Frost and Alan Thicke. He did a good picture, though. Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and '70s comedies perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewis' affection in The Nutty Professor, has died, aged 84. I almost begged him to make a movie where I could work with her, but it didnt happen. Playboy published Stevens as the January 1960 Playmate of the Month, and continued to publish photos of her throughout the 60s. Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she Throughout the 80s she took part in some recurring roles on Santa Barbara, Burkes Law, General Hospital, Night Court, and Murder She Wrote. Thats what he taught me. Stevens estate said she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. She was 84. "Jerry Lewis had told the bosses at Paramount he wanted to cast the most beautiful ingnue working at the studio - or something like that - and so I got the gig," she said. Jerry Lewis and Stella Stevens in. To be honest, as agonizing as it was, it was a lot of fun. All Rights Reserved. She said the support she got from other teams was 'overwhelming. She was 84. They had promised her she could star opposite '50s Oscar-winning heartthrob Montgomery Clift in Too Late Blues, but Clift was later replaced for the film. Born on October 1, 1938, in Yazoo City, MS, Stevens was also a steady presence on television, appearing in dozens of TV movies and guest-starring in more than 40 series. It was a very exciting time.". Stevens' second husband and partner of 37 years, rock guitarist Bob Kulick, died in May 2020. "He had me doing a lot of layouts with photographers - indoors, outdoors, here and there - being seen in different places, going to the best restaurants, meeting with wonderful actors and directors those were the golden years of Hollywood. He had me doing a lot of layouts with photographers indoors, outdoors, here and there being seen in different places, going to the best restaurants, meeting with wonderful actors and directors those were the golden years of Hollywood. Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and 70s comedies perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewiss affection in The Nutty Professor, has died. Mel Torm, Skip Ward, Michael Dante, Robert Jones, Kathleen Freeman, A TOWN CALLED BASTARD (1971) DIR Robert Parrish PROD S. Benjamin Fisz SCR Richard Aubrey, S. Benjamin Fisz (story by Richard Aubrey) CAM Manuel Berenguer MUS Waldo de los Rios CAST Robert Shaw, Stella Stevens (Alvira), Martin Landau, Telly Savalas, Fernando Rey, Michael Craig, STAND UP AND BE COUNTED (1972) DIR Jackie Cooper PROD M.J. Frankovich SCR Bernard Slade CAM Fred J. Koenekamp ED Harold F. Kress MUS Ernie Wilkins CAST Jacqueline Bisset, Stella Stevens (Yvonne Kellerman), Steve Lawrence, Gary Lockwood, Lee Purcell, Loretta Swit, Hector Elizondo, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Nancy Walker, Kathleen Freeman, Jackie Cooper, Jessica Rains, SLAUGHTER (1972) DIR Jack Starrett PROD Monroe Sachson SCR Mark Hanna, Don Williams CAM Rosalio Solano ED Renn Reynolds MUS Luchi De Jess CAST Jim Brown, Stella Stevens (Ann), Rip Torn, Cameron Mitchell, Don Gordon, Marlene Clark, Robert Phillips, Marion Brash, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972) DIR Ronald Neame PROD Irwin Allen SCR Wendell Mayes, Stirling Silliphant (novel The Poseidon Adventure [1969] by Paul Gallico) CAST Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens (Linda Rogo), Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Pamela Sue Martin, Arthur OConnell, ARNOLD (1973) DIR Georg Fenady PROD Andrew J. Fenady SCR Jameson Brewer, John Fenton Murray CAM William B. Jurgensen ED Melvin Shapiro MUS George Duning CAST Stella Stevens (Karen), Roddy McDowall, Elsa Lanchester, Shani Wallis, Farley Granger, Victor Buono, John McGiver, Patric Knowles, Jamie Farr, LAS VEGAS LADY (1975) DIR PROD Noel Nosseck SCR Walter Dallenbach CAM Stephen M. Katz ED Robert Gordon MUS Alan Silvestri CAST Stella Stevens (Lucky), Stuart Whitman, George DiCenzo, Lynne Moody, Linda Scruggs, Joseph Della Sorte, Hank Robinson, Andrew Stevens, Tony Bill, CLEOPATRA JONES AND THE CASINO OF GOLD (1975) DIR Chuck Bail PROD William Tennant, Run Run Shaw SCR William Tennant (characters created by Max Julien) CAM Alan Hume ED Willy Kemplen MUS Dominic Frontiere CAST Tamara Dobson, Stella Stevens (Bianca Javin / Dragon Lady), Ni Tien, Norman Fell, Albert Popwell, Caro Kenyetta, Shen Chan, NICKELODEON (1976) DIR Peter Bogdanovich PROD Frank Marshall, Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler SCR Peter Bogdanovich, W.D. Girls!, 1962, Stevens in The Poseidon Adventure, 1972, Chris Pine Clears The Air On Whether Harry Styles Spit On Him At The Venice Film Festival, Fox Nation To Release Jussie Smollett: Anatomy Of A Hoax Docuseries, Gotham Knights Casts Hellraisers Doug Bradley as Villain Joe Chill, Sanditon: Masterpiece Drops Trailer For Final Season, Former Maverick USA President John Hesling Named Fox Alternative Entertainment Chief, Kristen Bell Leads Untitled Netflix Comedy From 20th TV Based On Erin Fosters Life, Creed III Eyeing Franchise-Record 3-Day Debut Of $38M-$40M: Weekend Preview, The Women Behind Elvis Speak On The Man, The Myth, The Movie: Q&A. Press Esc to cancel. It was the first thing he had ever done for television in color. She was 84. Just relax, let it come out, and it would look fine on screen, he told me. But if Im correct, directing has always been a passion of yours. Titles The Nutty Professor. Titles The Nutty Professor. We all tried to make the characters he had created in the script special, wonderful, unique and if you ask me, I do believe thats why the film still holds up after all those years.. She started acting and modeling during her time at Memphis State University and made her film debut in a minor role in the Bing Crosby musical Say One for Me in 1959, but she considered Lil Abner her big break. A former Playboy centerfold from January 1960, Stevens was modeling in her hometown of Memphis when she was discovered and given a screen test by 20th Century Fox. Photo by John Springer Collection/Corbis via Getty Images - Image courtesy gettyimages.com. Basically, everybody was helping me to teach me to make a film back then. I want to be like this man. Isnt that something? He pondered and said, Dont knock success, Stella. And the film with Montgomery Clift I was promised to do, that turned out to be Too Late Blueswith Bobby Darin [and directed by John Cassavetes]. Free shipping for many products! Girls! Reportedly, Stevens came to regret her association with Playboy, finding the sexpot label confining. Home. And when he was 81, I worked with him one more time on an episode of the TV series Hec Ramsey [1972]. Because if it did, it doesnt show. Stevens also played one half of a newlywed couple on The Poseidon Adventure, a shipwreck movie that became one of the biggest blockbusters of 1972. I really liked it. 27 in Playboys 100 Sexiest Stars Of The 20th Century.. Although she played a minor part, she nevertheless won the Golden Globe award for New Star Of The Year-Female, which then led to bigger roles. At Columbia Pictures, she'd appear in "The Secret of My Success," "The Silencers," with Dean Martin, and "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows," as a nun opposite Rosalind Russell. Stevens worked steadily in television in the 1970s and 80s, appearing in the pilots for Wonder Woman, Hart to Hart and The Love Boat and in series like Night Court, Murder She Wrote and Magnum, P.I.. Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and '70s comedies who is perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewis affection in The Nutty Professor, has died. South ED Edward A. Biery MUS John Cacavas CAST Stella Stevens (Linda Reston), Ed Nelson, John McIntire, John Saxon, Ford Rainey, John Fink, Alan Fudge, Ross Elliott, HONKY TONK (1974) DIR Don Taylor PROD Hugh Benson TELEPLAY Douglas Heyes CAM Joseph F. Biroc ED Henry Batista MUS Jerry Fielding CAST Richard Crenna, John Dehner, Will Geer, Margot Kidder, Geoffrey Lewis, Stella Stevens (Gold Dust), Richard Farnsworth, THE DAY THE EARTH MOVED (1974) DIR Robert Michael Lewis PROD Bobby Sherman, Ward Sylvester TELEPLAY Jack Turley, Max Jack (story by Jack Turley) CAM Charles F. Wheeler ED John F. Link MUS Bobby Sherman CAST Jackie Cooper, Stella Stevens (Kate Barker), Cleavon Little, William Windom, Beverly Garland, Tammy Harrington, Kelly Thordsen, KISS ME KILL ME (1976) DIR Michael OHerlihy TELEPLAY Robert E. Thompson CAM Meredith M. Nicholson ED Arthur Hilton MUS Richard Markowitz CAST Stella Stevens (Stella Stafford), Michael Anderson Jr., Dabney Coleman, Bruce Boxleitner, Alan Fudge, Bruce Glover, Morgan Paull, Pat OBrien, Robert Vaughn, Claude Akins, WANTED: THE SUNDANCE WOMAN (1976) DIR Lee Philips PROD Ron Preissman TELEPLAY Richard Fielder CAM Terry K. Meade ED Samuel E. Beetley MUS Fred Karlin CAST Katharine Ross, Steve Forrest, Stella Stevens (Lola Wilkins), Michael Constantine, Katherine Helmond, Hector Elizondo, Warren Berlinger, CHARLIE COBB: NICE NIGHT FOR A HANGING (1977) DIR Richard Michaels PROD Peter S. Fischer TELEPLAY Peter S. Fischer (story by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link) CAM Andrew Jackson ED Howard Deane MUS Mike Post, Pete Carpenter CAST Clu Gulager, Ralph Bellamy, Blair Brown, Christopher Connelly, George Furth, Pernell Roberts, Stella Stevens (Martha McVea), Josh Taylor, Ted Chapman, MURDER IN PEYTON PLACE (1977) DIR Bruce Kessler PROD Peter Katz TELEPLAY Richard De Roy (novel by Grace Metalious) CAM Gert Andersen ED Bud S. Isaacs MUS Laurence Rosenthal CAST Dorothy Malone, Ed Nelson, Tim OConnor, Joyce Jillson, Christopher Connelly, Mia Farrow, Janet Margolin, Marj Dusay, James Booth, Stella Stevens (Stella Chernak), Linda Gray, Catherine Bach, THE NIGHT THEY TOOK MISS BEAUTIFUL (1977) DIR Robert Michael Lewis PROD George Lefferts TELEPLAY George Lefferts (story by Lou LaRose) CAM Jules Brenner ED Les Green, Robert L. Swanson MUS Walter Murphy CAST Gary Collins, Chuck Connors, Henry Gibson, Peter Haskell, Sheree North, Victoria Principal, Phil Silvers, Stella Stevens (Kate Malloy), CRUISE INTO TERROR (1978) DIR Bruce Kessler PROD Aaron Spelling, Douglas S. Cramer TELEPLAY Michael Braverman CAM Archie R. Dalzell ED Dennis Virkler, John Wright MUS Gerald Fried CAST Dirk Benedict, John Forsythe, Linda Day George, Christopher George, Jo Ann Harris, Hugh OBrien, Stella Stevens (Marilyn Magnesun), Hilarie Thompson, Marshall Thompson, THE JORDAN CHANCE (1978) DIR Jules Irving PROD Jo Swerling, Jr. TELEPLAY Stephen J. Cannell (story by Stephen J. Cannell, Roy Huggins) CAM Enzo A. Martinelli, Leonard J. Stevens, who had directed me in Advance to the Rear [ 1964 ] labeled... York on Jan. 8, 1968 Playboys 100 Sexiest Stars of stella stevens and jerry lewis 20th Century a sexpot film back then gettyimages.com... After a long illness fine on Screen, he concocts a potion to transform into. 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