Actress Stella Stevens from The Poseidon Adventure and The Nutty Professor passes away at age 84.
The 1960s bombshell passed away following a struggle with Alzheimer’s.
According to EW, Stella Stevens, a famous 1960s actress who shone in films including The Nutty Professor and Too Late Blues, passed away on Friday. She was 84 years old.
According to her son Andrew Stevens, the actress and bombshell passed away after a protracted struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She had been receiving hospice care. Bruce Kulick, a rock guitarist and the brother of Stevens’ late spouse Bob Kulick, also paid tribute to Stevens online.
“My brother’s longtime partner and renowned actress Stella Stevens passed away this morning after a protracted illness. Today she has been reunited with Bob, “Kulick tweeted something. “I enjoy a lot of the movies she starred in. Knowing her personally was incredibly significant to my family and me. Stella, 1938–2023, RIP.”
https://twitter.com/brucekulick/status/1626675668393275392
Stevens, born Estelle Eggleston, had her acting debut as a chorus girl in the 1959 movie Say One for Me. For her performance, along with Angie Dickinson, Tuesday Weld, and Janet Munro, she shared the Most Promising Female Newcomer prize at the 17th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 1960. By serving as Playboy’s January Playmate of the Month, Stevens gained even more notoriety that year. According to her website, the publication later ranked Stevens No. 27 among the 100 Hottest Stars of the 20th Century.
Stevens went on to star in several movies with other superstars, such as Dean Martin in 1966’s The Silencers, Jerry Lewis in 1963’s The Nutty Professor, and Elvis Presley in 1962’s Girls! Girls! Girls!, juggling her acting prowess and her image as a sex symbol. She is well-known for telling the story of her “not-so-good” experience filming Girls! Girls! Girls in an interview with Bright Lights Cinema from 2004.
“Paramount sent me the script to read. He is from Memphis, and I am from Memphis, I reasoned. It was a smart move to pair us up. I thus read the script. I ultimately threw it across the room! Such a piece of s—-. I’m not participating in this, I thought.” Stevens remembered. “I returned to Paramount and apologised for not being a part of it. Young girl, you must participate in this photo shoot or you will be suspended from all employment, including here and elsewhere, and you will be unable to earn a living.”
Said she, “I was of legal age to protest the film company and declare, “You’re not putting me in this piece of s**t and making me the female Elvis Presley dumps for another lady.” It was not the direction I wanted to take my career in.”
In the end, Stevens agreed to take part on the understanding that she would portray an aspiring singer in John Cassavetes’ 1961 film Too Late Blues with Montgomery Clift, who Bobby Darin would subsequently replace.
She has had a remarkable 50-year career in film and television, with credits on The Poseidon Adventure in 1972, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold in 1975, Make Me an Offer in 1980, Pop Star in 2005, as well as various Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Night Court, Murder, She Wrote, Highlander, and other shows. The American Heroine and The Ranch, in which her son Andrew starred, were two more movies that Stevens also directed.
Andrew and Stevens’ three grandkids, Amelia, Aubrey, and Samuel, are left behind. Director Henry Hathaway once remarked that Stevens “was born to be in movies… and to drive guys wild,” according to her website.
Star of “The Nutty Professor,” Stella Stevens, passes away aged 84
Stevens, who collaborated with Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley, received a Golden Globe nomination for “Say One for Me” in 1959.
The lone child of Tom and Estelle Eggleston, Stevens was born Estelle Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi. At age 4, her family relocated to Memphis. She married Herman Stephens in Mississippi when she was 16 years old. After moving to Memphis, the couple had their only child, actor and producer Andrew Stevens, in 1955.
After only a few years of marriage, the couple divorced, and she eventually changed her last name to Stevens since it was simpler to pronounce.
Stevens developed a passion for acting and modelling while she was a student at Memphis State University, which helped launch her career. In 1959, she made her acting debut in the musical comedy “Say One For Me,” which also starred Debbie Reynolds and Bing Crosby. For this performance, she won the 1960 Golden Globe for New Star of the Year.
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