I wouldnt say that. 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. and The Secret of My Success. Girls! Stevens modelled for Playboy multiple times and was Playmate of the Month in January 1960. Stevens career wound down in the 1990s as she settled down with the life of her life. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. I didnt want to do the movie, and I was treated pretty badly. Photo WebJerry Lewis and Stella Stevens at an event for The Nutty Professor (1996) People Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens. So thats three classics [laughs]. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. "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. For two seasons in the early 80s, she starred in the primetime soap Flamingo Road and later had recurring roles in Santa Barbara and General Hospital. (with Elvis Presley) and The Poseidon Adventure, Stella Stevens was known for her voluptuous curves, platinum blonde locks, and shimmering eyes. On set, Stevens also felt bored as all she was expected to do was stand around and look beautiful, and she was constantly yelled at by director Norman Taurog. Stevens worked in television, too, on series such as Murder She Wrote and Magnum, P.I. He was probably a different kind of director than you were used to? Later the studio dropped her, but she was signed by Paramount. Stevens' second husband and partner of 37 years, rock guitarist Bob Kulick, died in May 2020. Girls! [1962] your first introduction to a major audience? Girls! Do you think it affected the film? and with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, has died at the age of 84, family members say. Hollywood casting agent Marvin Paige, film-wise my partner in crime for many years, had introduced me to Ms. Stevens in 2006 when this interview was conducted at her Beverly Hills home. Also, we had Ronald Neame as our director. Stevens estate said The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol. She also directed several films, the documentary "An American Heroine," which never got distribution, and "The Ranch." 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. Stella Stevens on why Jerry Lewis snubbed her (Dean!) Very important. Girls! She was the OG of strong Hollywood women.. It was a very exciting time.. It was a very exciting time. Her many other film credits include The Silencers, The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Sol Madrid, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows! Famed for her appearances in The Nutty Professor (with Jerry Lewis), Girls! The competition is tough, young people replace older generations of actors, and even they have to wait and see what their chances will be like in the near future. 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. Girls!, died today in Los Angeles after a Maybe this adulation was only one-sided. It turned into John Cassavetes Too Late Blues, with Bobby Darrin. She was photographed wherever she went and rapidly became an icon known as one of the most photographed women in the world. Her candid photographs were so impressive that she began professionally modeling to coincide with her acting career. WebSteve Lawrence (* 8. While I truly wish I could have done more for her toward the latter years of her career and shared in her frustration as she so wanted to make the leap from a triple threat American icon to producer her wish, never realized, was to have three original Western scripts produced. The Clift picture didn't pan out either, at least with her promised co-star. 1 of 534. He was a great comedy director who could make anything funny. So, no matter how tough the work was, we did absolutely everything we could. But it was a very bad experience for me. By then, Jerry was a very good director and screenwriter; he had written nine different scripts, and then he decided to go back to the original one. Desperate to impress her, he concocts a potion to transform himself into a charismatic hunk. I saw (Bob Hope) at 83 cracking jokes and having fun. He just taught me how to direct a movie, and cinematographer Walt Kelley taught me all about lighting. Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. 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. Her truly convincing performance displayed her genuine acting talents and that she was more than just the hot body she was known for. 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. I said then that I never wanted to quit. Girls! Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 1938 as Estelle Caro Eggleston, she wed electrician Noble Herman Stevens at 16 and gave birth to her first and only child Andrew. 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.. But even on TV, I had a classic role in the series Bonanza [1959-1973], playing a silent mute, in a segment called Silent Thunder [1960], which was directed by Robert Altman. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. in 1963. Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! It was a very exciting time.". Girls! Maybe that was an exaggeration, but I know he did a lot of rewriting. Girls! Well, he was nice; he was someone you could talk to. (1962) DIR Norman Taurog PROD Hal B. Wallis SCR Edward Anhalt, Allan Weiss (story by Allan Weiss) CAM Loyal Griggs ED Stanley E. Johnson MUS Joseph J. Lilley CAST Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens (Robin Gantner), Jeremy Slate, Lionel Goodwin, Benson Fong, Robert Strauss, Guy Lee, THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIES FATHER (1963) DIR Vincente Minnelli PROD Joe Pasternak SCR John Gay (novel by Mark Toby) CAM Milton Kasner ED Adrienne Fazan MUS George Stoll CAST Glenn Ford, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens (Dollye Daly), Roberta Sherwood, Ron Howard, Jerry Van Dyke, Clint Howard, Andrew Stevens, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963) DIR Jerry Lewis PROD Ernest D. Glucksman SCR Jerry Lewis, Bill Richmond CAM W. Wallace Kelley ED John Woodcock MUS Walter Scharf CAST Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens (Stella Purdy), Del Moore, Kathleen Freeman, Med Flory, Norman Alden, Howard Morris, Seymour Cassel, Richard Kiel, Francine York, ADVANCE TO THE REAR (1964) DIR George Marshall PROD Ted Richmond SCR William Bowers, Samuel A. Peeples (story by Jack Schaefer; novel by William Chamberlain) CAM Milton R. Krasner ED Archie Marshek MUS Randy Sparks CAST Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens (Martha Lou Williams), Melvyn Douglas, Jim Backus, Joan Blondell, Andrew Pine, Alan Hale Jr., Britt Ekland, Hal Needham, SYNANON (1965) DIR PROD Richard Quine SCR S. Lee Pogostin, Ian Bernard (story by S. Lee Pogostin, Barry Oringer) CAM Harry Stradling, Jr. ED David Wages MUS Neal Hefti CAST Edmond OBrien, Chuck Connors, Stella Stevens (Joaney Adamic), Alex Cord, Richard Conte, Eartha Kitt, Alejando Rey, THE SECET OF MY SUCCESS (1965) DIR SCR Andrew L. Stone PROD Andrew L. Stone, Virginia Stone CAM Davis Boulton ED Noreen Ackland MUS Roland Shaw CAST Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens (Violet Lawson), Honor Blackman, James Booth, Lionel Jeffries, Richard Vernon, THE SILENCERS (1966) DIR Phil Karlson PROD Irving Allen SCR Oscar Saul (novel by Donald Hamilton) CAM Burnett Guffey ED Charles Nelson MUS Elmer Bernstein CAST Dean Martin, Stella Stevens (Gail Hendricks), Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur OConnell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Cyd Charisse, RAGE (1966) DIR PROD Gilberto Gazcn SCR Gilberto Gazcn, Teddi Sherman, Fernando Mndez (story by Gilberto Gazcn, Jess Velsquez, Guillermano Hernndez) CAM Rosalo Solano ED Carlos Savage, Walter Thompson MUS Gustavo Csar Carrin CAST Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens (Perla), David Reysono, Armando Silvestre, Ariadna Welter, Dacia Gonzlez, Pancho Crdova, HOW TO SAVE A MARRIAGE AND RUIN YOUR LIFE (1968) DIR Fielder Cook PROD Stanley Shapiro SCR Stanley Shapiro, Nate Monaster CAM Lee Garmes ED Philip W. Anderson MUS Michel Legrand CAST Dean Martin, Stella Stevens (Carol Corman), Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Betty Field, Jack Albertson, Katharine Bard, SOL MADRID (1968) DIR Brian G. Hutton PROD Elliott Kastner, Hall Bartlett SCR David Karp (novel by Robert Wilder) CAM Fred J. Koenekamp ED John McSweeney, Jr. MUS Lalo Schifrin CAST David McCallum, Stella Stevens (Stacey Woodward), Telly Savalas, Rip Torn, Ricardo Montalban, Pat Hingle, Paul Lukas, Michael Ansara, WHERE ANGELSO GO TROUBLE FOLLOWS! The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol, Stevens told FilmTalk in 2017. 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. 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. And the money that he made, he gave it all to his favorite charity. She was 84. Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she If anyone would have given me a job to direct, I think I could have done it. Girls! with Elvis Presley, which she only agreed to do because she was promised to a Montgomery Clift movie if she did it. Stella Stevens was married to Noble Herman Stephens. She wound up under contract with Paramount and then Columbia through the 60s, starring opposite such big names as Presley in Girls! How did this all start for you? and with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, has died at the age of 84, family Jerry Lewis. Stella Stevens had a son with her ex-husband, Noble. She retired in 2010. 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