Norman Taurog, a screen veteran, as you say, he screamed his lungs out at me all the time, so it was a very embarrassing and humiliating time. Stevens passing was confirmed to Deadline by her son, actor-producer Andrew Stevens, and her longtime friend John OBrien. She was 84. She was 84. 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.. Titles The Nutty Professor. I saw (Bob Hope) at 83 cracking jokes and having fun. With The Nutty Professor (1963) as a major highlight of her long career, the 78-year-old blonde kept on acting for many years in supporting roles and various genres. 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 She was 84. Soon after, she won the New Star Golden Globe, was named Playboy's Playmate of the Month and got a contract with Paramount Pictures, leading to film work and "Girls! 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.. It turned into John Cassavetes Too Late Blues, with Bobby Darrin. 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. 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 "Li'l Abner" her big break. 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. Stella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and 70s comedies perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewis's affection in "The Nutty Professor," has died. Stella Stevens, Hollywood Bombshell Who Yearned for More, Dies at 84 She starred alongside the likes of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis. Stella Stevens was married to Noble Herman Stephens. He was so wonderful, amazing and talented, a delightful man with a great sense of humor. She continued to guest star in many of the top 1970s series such as Police Story, Magnum P.I., Wonder Woman, Fantasy Island, Banacek, and The Love Boat just to name a few. The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol. But he knew where I was, he knew where and how to reach me, so I guess if he wanted me in one of his other films, he would have picked up the phone and call me. 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. 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 It became a classic film, and for me, my part became a classic role until this day, and I would also add the role of Linda Rogo in The Poseidon Adventure [1972]. Mel Torm, Skip Ward, Michael Dante, Robert Evans, Hugh O'Brian, Buddy Bregman, Warren Beatty and Jerry Lewis: Divorce: Noble Herman Stephens: Net Worth: $10 Million: Salary: $400k: Eye Color: Blue: Hair Color: Blonde: It was a miserable six days of filming, she said, due to the temper of director Norman Taurog, though she said Presley was nice. If anyone would have given me a job to direct, I think I could have done 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. And he never overacted; he always was a bit underplaying. Strictly's Rachel Stevens opens up about split from husband after 12 years of marriage, Estelle Colored Glass has the most Instagrammable drinkware for your home. So thats three classics [laughs]. Later that same year, she played the mistress Appassionata von Climax in the musical film Lil Abner. You will be redirected back to your article in, Elvis Presley and Stevens in Girls! She starred alongside the likes of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis. But she wanted to direct and write, and she felt held back by industry sexism. Stella Stevens with Jerry Lewis in a publicity photo for one of her best-known films, The Nutty Professor (1963). Photofest Girls!, Dean Martin in How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life, Bobby Darin in Too Late Blues, Chuck Conners in Synanon and Glenn Ford in The Courtship of Eddies Father, ADvance to the Rear and Rage. There was never enough we could do for him. 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. How important has that film been in your career? Was Girls! Other notable roles include Slaughter, with Jim Brown, the Sam Peckinpah television film The Ballad of Cable Hogue and The Poseidon Adventure in which she played Linda Rogo, Ernest Borgnines characters wife. Girls!. Fortunately for Stevens, the torment only lasted for the short six days she needed to be there. Very important. The more it went on, the more he drank and the worse it got. In 2017, she'd say that her favorite director that she worked with was Vincente Minnelli on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," from 1963. 27 in Playboys 100 Sexiest Stars Of The 20th Century.. 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. 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. So through the movie, everything that went on, Jerry let me watch him at work and observe as much as I wanted. In an interview in 1994, Stevens said that she worried that she didn't succeed in bringing out the best in her directors and that her ambitions changed. During this interview, Ms. Stevens talked enthusiastically about new projects she was working on as a director and hoped to get them financed, but as it turned out, thats always a question markanytime, anywhere. 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. 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 Free In Girls! Stevens died from Alzheimers disease at a long-term care A few years ago, I got him a good bottle of Dom Prignon for his birthday, and he used to come to some of those venture fan club luncheons to sign pictureslike pictures of him on the set, pointing his finger when were all looking while hes telling us how to climb up the Christmas tree. She also directed a pair of films: The Ranch (1989) and The American Heroine (1979). Mel Torm, Skip Ward, Michael Dante, Robert 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. I want to go on forever. Stevens estate said she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. ", Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff, King asks Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move out of Frogmore so Prince Andrew can move in, Biden Mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene With 1 Simple Hand Gesture, A Nebraska high-school cheerleader competed on her own after the rest of her squad quit. + Stella Stevens passed away in Los Angeles on February 17, 2023, from Alzheimers disease. Beginning at 20th Century Fox, she soon moved to Paramount to appear in Lil Abner (1959), where she signed a five-year contract which marked the beginning of her screen career. Richter CAM Lszl Kovcs ED William Carruth MUS Richard Hazard CAST Ryan ONeal, Burt Reynolds, Tatum ONeal, Brian Keith, Stella Stevens (Marty Reeves), John Ritter, Jane Hitchcock, Jack Perkins, Brion James, Priscilla Pointer, Frank Marshall, Harry Carey Jr., M. Emmet Walsh, Griffin ONeal, Patricia ONeal, MISTER DEATHMAN (1977) DIR Michael D. Moore PROD Raymond R. Homer SCR Emmett Murphy (original story by David Broadnax) CAM Hans Khle, Jr. ED Elka Bijker, Herbert Taschner CAST David Broadnax, Stella Stevens (Liz), Arthur Brauss, Lena Farugia, Brian OShaughnessy, Ian Hamilton, Len Sparrowhawk, Bill Curry, THE MANITOU (1978) DIR PROD William Girdler SCR William Girlder, Jon Cedar, Thomas Pope (novel by Graham Masterton) CAM Michel Hugo ED Bub Asman MUS Lalo Schifrin CAST Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Stella Stevens (Amelia Crusoe), Jon Cedar, Ann Sothern, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, WACKO (1982) DIR PROD Greydon Clark SCR Dana Olsen, Jim Kouf, David Greenwalt, Michael Spound CAM Nicholas Josef von Sternberg ED Earl Watson, Curtis Burch MUS Arthur Kempel CAST Joe Don Baker, Stella Stevens (Mrs. She was 84. 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. 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.. "The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol," Stevens told FilmTalk in 2017. BACK. She was signed by 20th Century Fox after they discovered her performing at her college in Memphis, Tennessee. Just relax, let it come out, and it would look fine on screen, he told me. (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! What about Elvis Presley, did he support you in any way? Jerry Lewis. and Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, passed away at the age of 84 in Los Angeles on Friday, February 17. Stevens lost some of her confidence as she was convinced her character was rejected because Laurel was the prettier girl. She had a major arc in Ben Casey as a woman who awakens from a 13-year coma and has a brief fling with Vince Edwards title doctor. By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. WebFind many great new & used options and get the best deals for Jerry Lewis as The Hutty Professor movie ad 1963 Stella Stevens LK at the best online prices at eBay! But Im glad I did The Poseidon Adventure. It had a lot of potential, we all saw that. 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. She was 84. 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. Stella Stevens was a popular Hollywood actress of the 1960s and '70s who starred in such hit movies as the Jerry Lewis comedy "The Nutty Professor" and the disaster film "The Poseidon Adventure." Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she married at 16 and gave birth to her first and only child, actor/producer Andrew Stevens in 1955 when she was 17, and divorced two years later. and with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, has died at the age of 84, family members say. 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. Next came The Nutty Professor as Lewis student, Stella Purdy, who he is infatuated with. Erik Pedersen contributed to this report. in 1960. Thats already more than a decade ago; we were all quite a bit younger then, and Marvin was still alive and well. Her truly convincing performance displayed her genuine acting talents and that she was more than just the hot body she was known for. Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. But it was a very bad experience for me. 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By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy same year, she played mistress! A worldwide sex symbol then, and her longtime friend John OBrien Paramount basically made me worldwide... She went and rapidly became an icon known as one of the most photographed women in musical! Had been teaching me how to be there also directed a pair of films: the (. Been teaching me how to be there anything from him on the set Too!

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