Was he one of your favorite co-stars? 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. 27 in Playboys 100 Sexiest Stars Of The 20th Century.. 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. He did a good picture, though. So thats three classics [laughs]. She wound up under contract with Paramount and then Columbia through the 60s, starring opposite such big names as Presley in Girls! Get our latest storiesin the feed of your favorite networks. Girls!, died today in Los Angeles after a long battle with Alzheimers disease. Stella Stevens, born as Estelle Eggleston in the small town of Yazoo City, Mississippi on October 1st, 1938, was the daughter of insurance salesman Thomas and nurse Dovey Eggleston. Fortunately for Stevens, the torment only lasted for the short six days she needed to be there. 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. Jerry Lewis and Stella Stevens in The Nutty Professor (1996) People Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens. Girls! Titles The Nutty Professor. Public records show Stevens has owned the house since 1965. Stella ironically had co-starred with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor (and reportedly had an affair with the comic. In 1983, Stevens began a long-term relationship with rock guitarist Bob Kulick; for many years they shared Stevens Beverly Hills home. Maybe this adulation was only one-sided. "She is finally reunited with Bob today. (with Elvis Presley) and The Poseidon Adventure, Stella Stevens was known for her voluptuous curves, platinum blonde locks, and shimmering eyes. He once told me, The best way to direct is to pick the right actors for the role and let them do what they want. He thought that typecasting was the best way to go. She was 84. 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 shipping for many products! and The Secret of My Success. "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. and Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, passed away at the age of 84 in Los Angeles on Friday, February 17. "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. Later the studio dropped her, but she was signed by Paramount. Girls! Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! (AP Photo, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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 also appeared in such hit shows as Bonanza and Ben Casey in the 60s through Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Police Story, Hart to Hart, Newhart, Magnum, P.I., Night Court, The Commish, Arli$$, Silk Stalkings and Murder, She Wrote. She was 84. 2023 Deadline Hollywood, LLC. Titles The Nutty Professor. Girls! and with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor as well as in disaster film The Poseidon Adventure, died Friday in Los Angeles. Photo BACK. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our. 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. Girls! Girls! Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and '70s comedies who is perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewiss affection in The Nutty Professor, died Friday. Stevens estate 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. Reportedly, Stevens came to regret her association with Playboy, finding the sexpot label confining. (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! I want to be like this man. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. I want to go on forever. Stevens estate said she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. However, to this day, shes still best remembered as one of the most delightful comediennes of her heyday. Home. WebJerry Lewis. Stevens estate said she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. Free I want to die on a movie set.. I didnt want to do the movie, and I was treated pretty badly. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. 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. A female figure from westerns. It was a very exciting time.". Stella and Andrew kept their last name, but changed the spelling to Stevens. Stella first became interested in acting and modeling while a student at Memphis State College, and there she realized her destiny was to be a star. Girls! Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! We did start another film together in Mexico [Sol Madrid, 1968], with John as my co-star, but he got hepatitis and was replaced by Rip Torn. I do; the first director I worked with was Frank Tashlin [Say One For Me]. Signup for Breaking News Alerts & Newsletters. He was a writer-director, and thats who I liked to work witha writer-director. 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. "Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift," she said. 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. It was a miserable six days of filming, she said, due to the temper of director Norman Taurog, though she said Presley was nice. in 1963. He was so wonderful, amazing and talented, a delightful man with a great sense of humor. Stevens' estate said she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness. And if you ask me, I do believe thats why the film still holds up after all those years. 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. Stella Stevens on why Jerry Lewis snubbed her (Dean!) The more it went on, the more he drank and the worse it got. 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.. THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963) DIR Jerry Lewis PROD Ernest D. Glucksman SCR Jerry Lewis, Bill Richmond CAM W. Wallace Kelley ED John Titles The Nutty Professor. Actress Stella Stevens and son, Andy, at the Memphis airport in June 1961. He had me doing a lot of layouts with photographersindoors, outdoors, here and therebeing seen in different places, going to the best restaurants, meeting with wonderful actors and directors those were the golden years of Hollywood. Girls! Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she 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. 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. Girls! Absolutely, I was really convinced his working method served a purpose, and I hoped to work with him againand with Gena Rowlands too [married to Cassavetes from 1954 until his death in 1989, she appeared in nine films directed by him]. and with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor, has died at the age of 84, family members say. She was 84. She was 84. 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 couple had one son together named Andrew Stevens (who would grow up to became a successful writer/director/producer) before they divorced in 1957. Goodwin, Stephen Cragg TELEPLAY Mark Rodgers (story by Mark Rodgers, Larry Cohen) CAM Robert Steadman ED Ronald J. Fagan MUS John Cavacas CAST Stella Stevens (Lt. Janet Alexander), Debbie Allen, Hector Elizondo, Amy Steel, Rosanna DeSoto, Gregg Henry, Yaphet Kotto, AMAZONS (1984) DIR Maul Michael Glaser PROD Stuart Cohen TELEPLAY David Solomon (story by David Solomon, Guerdon Trueblood) CAM Dean Cundey ED Patrick Kennedy MUS Basil Poledouris CAST Tamara Dobson, Jack Scalia, Stella Stevens (Kathryn Lundquist), Madeleine Stowe, Jennifer Warren, William Schallert, Nicholas Pryor, NO MANS LAND (1984) DIR Rod Holcomb PROD Rod Holcomb, Christopher Nelson TELEPLAY Juanita Bartlett CAM Ted Voightlander ED Seymour Masters MUS Mike Post, Pete Carpenter CAST Stella Stevens (Nellie Wilder), Robert Webber, Buck Taylor, Janis Paige, John Rhys-Davies, Jeremy Ross, Marc Alaimo, Wil Albert, Frank Bonner, A MASTERPIECE OF MURDER (1986) DIR Charles S. Dubin PROD Terry Morse, Jr. TELEPLAY Andrew J. Fenady, Terry Nation CAM Laszlo George ED Art Seid MUS Richard Markowitz CAST Bob Hope, Don Ameche, Jayne Meadows, Claudia Christian, Yvonne De Carlo, Anne Francis, Kevin McCarthy, Clive Revill, Stella Stevens (Della Vance / Deb Potts), Jamie Farr, Louise Sorel, THE HISTORY OF WHITE PEOPLE IN AMERICA: VOLUME II (1986) DIR Harry Shearer TELEPLAY Martin Mull, Allen Rucker ED John Axness MUS Wendy Mull CAST Martin Mull, Mary Kay Place, Fred Willard, Eileen Brennan, Harry Shearer, Stella Stevens, TALES FROM THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS: A TABLE AT CIROS (1987) DIR Leon Ichaso TELEPLAY Budd Schulberg, Stan H. Silverman (story by Budd Schulberg) CAM Newton Thomas Sigel ED Ed Rothkowitz MUS Dick Hyman CAST Darren McGavin, Lois Chiles, Kenneth McMillan, Stella Stevens (Mimi Carteret), Steven Bauer, Kim Myers, Sherilyn Fenn, FATAL CONFESSION: A FATHER DOWLING MYSTERY (1987) DIR Christopher Hibler PROD Peter Katz TELEPLAY Donald E. Westlake (based upon characters from The Father Dowling Mystery Books by Ralph McInerny) CAM Rick Anderson ED Ruth Foster MUS Bruce Babcock, Artie Kane CAST Tom Bosley, Tracy Nelson, Robert Prescott, Mary Wickes, Susan Blakely, Leslie Nielsen, Stella Stevens (Katherine St. Urban), MAN AGAINST THE MOB (1988) DIR Steven Hilliard Stern TELEPLAY David J. Kinghorn, John Rester Zodrow CAM Dennis C. Lewiston ED Barrett Taylor MUS Artie Kane CAST George Peppard, Kathryn Harrold, Max Gail, Barry Corbin, Fredric Lehne, Norman Alden, Stella Stevens (Joey Day), Cheryl Anderson, JAKE SPANNER, PRIVATE EYE (1989) DIR Lee H. Katzin PROD John Vinnedge, Syd Vinnedge TELEPLAY Andrew J. Fenady (novel by L.A. Morse) CAM Hctor R. Figueroa ED Dann Cahn MUS Jimmie Haskell CAST Robert Mitchum, Ernest Borgnine, John Mitchum, Richard Yniguez, James Mitchum, Dick Van Patten, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Edie Adams, Terry Moore, Sheree North, Clive Revill, Stella Stevens (Sandra Summers), Edy Williams, ATTACK OF THE 5 2 WOMEN (1994) DIR Julie Brown, Richard Wenk PROD J. Marina Muhlfriedel, Peter Manoogian TELEPLAY Julie Brown, Charlie Coffey CAM Rex Nicholson ED Debra Chiate MUS Christopher Tyng CAST Julie Brown, Newell Alexander, Lisa Arch, Priscilla Barnes, Vicki Lawrence, Dick Miller, Stella Stevens (Lawanda), SUBLIMINAL SEDUCTION (1996) DIR PROD Andrew Stevens TELEPLAY Karen Kelly CAM Gary Graver ED Peter Basinski MUS Terry Plumeri CAST Ian Ziering, Katherine Kelly Lang, Dee Wallace, Andrew Stevens, Larry Manetti, Kim Morgan Greene, Stella Stevens (Mrs. Beecham), THE DUKES OF HAZZARD: REUNION! One for Me ] be there feed of your favorite networks great sense of humor Memphis. 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