Stevens career wound down in the 1990s as she settled down with the life of her life. How important has that film been in your career? I want to die on a movie set. 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. Stella Stevens was married to Noble Herman Stephens. 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. 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. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our. Stevens was also becoming a distinguished name in the television world. Fortunately for me, it was only six days work. February 17, 2023 10:58am Stella Stevens Stella Stevens, the actress best known for her roles in The Nutty Professor and The Poseidon Adventure and starring 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. Titles The Nutty Professor. WebJerry Lewis. Girls! and with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor as well as in disaster film The Poseidon Adventure, died Friday in Los Angeles. 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 She won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Newcomer for her first film, 1959s Say One for Me, which starred Bing Crosby and Debbie Reynolds. Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift, she said. Stella Stevens, who starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! 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 I want to go on forever. He was a writer-director, and thats who I liked to work witha writer-director. Ms. Stevens, do you remember the early start of your career in movies? Anyone who knew himwhich is nearly the entire motion picture industryhas great memories and wonderful stories to tell about him. If anyone would have given me a job to direct, I think I could have done it. In 2017, shed say that her favorite director that she worked with was Vincente Minnelli on The Courtship of Eddies Father, from 1963. 1 of 534. Stevens' talents excelled not only through acting alongside superstars that included the King of Rock 'n Roll, but also in comedy, directing, producing, and writing. After she starred in the school play Bus Stop she began to attract a great deal of attention and her career was officially launched. Stevens won a Golden Globe for her 1959 film debut as a chorus girl in Say One for Me, which also starred Bing Crosby and Debbie Reynolds. I saw (Bob Hope) at 83 cracking jokes and having fun. She also acted with Dean Martin as a sexy, but ditzy agent in the 1966 film The Silencers and as Bobby Darins love interest in Too Late Blues released in 1961. Girls! Was it fun to do a disaster movie like this? Since I wasnt too fond of the film myself, I asked him why he did this kind of movies. We want to hear from you! 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. "The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol," Stevens told FilmTalk in 2017. I did the best I could with the tools I had and the opportunities given me, she was once quoted as saying. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Stevens worked steadily in television, also appearing in Hart to Hart, The Love Boat and Wonder Woman, where she played a Nazi judo champ who thought she could take on Lynda Carter's titular heroine. She was 84. May ED Carroll Sax MUS Raoul Kraushaar, Minette Allton CAST Barbara Feldon, Lance Kerwin, Stacey Nelkin, Carmine Caridi, Christopher Ciampa, Olivia Cole, Stella Stevens (Sherry Malik), Fritz Weaver, Billy Dee Williams, TWIRL (1981) DIR Gus Trikonis PROD Gabriel Grunfeld TELEPLAY Bernard M. Kahn (story by Gabriel Grunfeld, Ken Vrana) CAM Gil Hubbs ED John A. Barton, Thomas Fries MUS Jimmie Haskell CAST Stella Stevens (Carolyn Moore), Charles Haid, Erin Moran, Lisa Whelchel, Edd Byrnes, Sharon Spelman, Matthew Tobin, Heather Locklear, WOMEN OF SAN QUENTIN (1983) DIR William A. Graham PROD R.W. 1 of 534. 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. 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. 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 was married to Noble Herman Stephens. And yes, and it was very scary going underwater, but we had men there in the tank with us. She was 84. Stella Stevens had a son with her ex-husband, Noble. Throughout the 80s she took part in some recurring roles on Santa Barbara, Burkes Law, General Hospital, Night Court, and Murder She Wrote. Jerry Lewis and Stella Stevens in The Nutty Professor (1996) People Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens. Soon after, she won the New Star Golden Globe, was named Playboys Playmate of the Month and got a contract with Paramount Pictures, leading to film work and Girls! A A. 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. Isnt that something? At Columbia Pictures, shed appear in The Secret of My Success, The Silencers, with Dean Martin, and Where Angels Go Trouble Follows, as a nun opposite Rosalind Russell. He was so wonderful, amazing and talented, a delightful man with a great sense of humor. Never push anything and hope that everything will be perfect. Stella Stevens in a bikini, circa 1960. I think its a good film; I like it. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but I know he did a lot of rewriting. 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. 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. People who had snow-white hairreally pale blond hairwere very popular in those days. (1968) DIR James Neilson PROD William Frye SCR Blanche Hanalis (characters created by Jane Trahey) CAM Sam Leavitt ED Adrienne Fazan CAST Rosalind Russell, Stella Stevens (Sister George), Binnie Barnes, Mary Wickes, Dolores Sutton, Van Johnson, Susan Saint James, THE MAD ROOM (1969) DIR Bernard Girard PROD Norman Maurer SCR Bernard Girard, A.Z. I also like Ride the High Country [1962] and The Wild Bunch [1969] a lot. To be honest, as agonizing as it was, it was a lot of fun. 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.". Girls! Girls! (1962) with Elvis Presleyincidentally, all co-stars mentioned here died prematurelybefore she was cast to appear in The Nutty Professor (1963). He was a great comedy director who could make anything funny. All Rights Reserved. WebSteve Lawrence (* 8. Also, we had Ronald Neame as our director. Girls! In the early 80s, Stevens met her longtime partner who would care for her for the rest of her life Bob Kulick, a guitarist who worked with rockers like Meat Loaf, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and KISS. Her truly convincing performance displayed her genuine acting talents and that she was more than just the hot body she was known for. Girls! with Elvis Presley, which she only agreed to do because she was promised to a Montgomery Clift movie if she did it. Girls! 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. THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963) DIR Jerry Lewis PROD Ernest D. Glucksman SCR Jerry Lewis, Bill Richmond CAM W. Wallace Kelley ED John By subscribing, I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. In Girls! And if you ask me, I do believe thats why the film still holds up after all those years. Girls! If he wanted you in his film, he would tell you everything you wanted to hear. He just taught me how to direct a movie, and cinematographer Walt Kelley taught me all about lighting. 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. Its very simple. Desperate to impress her, he concocts a potion to transform himself into a charismatic hunk. I said then that I never wanted to quit. 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. First, I didnt want to do this film, but I was under contract to Hal Wallis to do one more film. 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. I said then that I never wanted to quit. She was 84. Titles The Nutty Professor. He took me to the dailiesI saw the best and the worst, the takes, the outtakes, all of themand whenever I watched him at work, I could ask him anything, and hed take the time to answer me and explain everything. 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 Playboy did as much harm as it helped. Well, he was nice; he was someone you could talk to. (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. 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. America Is Trying to Electrify. South ED Larry Lester MUS Pete Rugolo CAST Raymond Burr, Ted Shackelford, James Canning, Jeannie Fitzsimmons, John McIntire, Peter Haskell, Stella Stevens (Verna Stewart), FRIENDSHIPS, SECRETS AND LIES (1979) DIR Marlene Laird, Ann Zane Shanks PROD Jacqueline Babbin TELEPLAY Joanna Crawford (novel by Babs H. Deal) CAM Michael D. Margulies ED Diane Adler MUS Angela Morley CAST Cathryn Damon, Shelley Fabares, Sondra Locke, Tina Louise, Paula Prentiss, Stella Stevens (Edyth), Loretta Swit, Fran Bennett, MAKE ME AN OFFER (1980) DIR Jerry Paris PROD Carter DeHaven TELEPLAY Pamela Chais CAM Donald M. Morgan ED John F. Link, Tom Stevens MUS Ralph Burns CAST Susan Blakely, Patrick ONeal, John Rubinstein, Bruce Bauer, Carole Cook, Stella Stevens (Deidre Price), Walter Brooke, CHILDREN OF DIVORCE (1980) DIR TELEPLAY Joanna Lee PROD Charles B. Fitzsimmons CAM Harry J. Girls! 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. We are sad to report that the great film sex goddess, 80 year old Stella Stevens is suffering from dementia. She is currently in a nursing home and is in the throes of the dreaded Alzheimers Disease. Stella ironically had co-starred with Jerry Lewis in The Nutty Professor (and reportedly had an affair with the comic. 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]. The more it went on, the more he drank and the worse it got. Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she In one of her most memorable roles, 1963 sci-fi comedy The Nutty Professor, Stevens played a student of Jerry Lewis' socially awkward university lecturer. 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. Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! 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. 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!