', Death toll keeps rising in Greece's deadliest train crash. And the money that he made, he gave it all to his favorite charity. 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. For me, it all started when I did Lil Abner [1959]. 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. What sounds like a fantasy to most women was actually a severe disappointment to the actress. He pondered and said, Dont knock success, Stella. And the film with Montgomery Clift I was promised to do, that turned out to be Too Late Blueswith Bobby Darin [and directed by John Cassavetes]. + Stella Stevens passed away in Los Angeles on February 17, 2023, from Alzheimers disease. She was an amazing animal lover, horse wrangler, rock and roller, so ahead of her time and so much more than a sex symbol which her adoring fans admired her for and understood. Girls! She also directed a pair of films: The Ranch (1989) and The American Heroine (1979). Its very simple. Girls!, died today in Los Angeles after a long battle with Alzheimers disease. 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. He was sort of my mentor, and later, he introduced me to Jerry Lewis. How did this all start for you? I want to be like this man. Throughout the 80s she took part in some recurring roles on Santa Barbara, Burkes Law, General Hospital, Night Court, and Murder She Wrote. 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. Stella Stevens, the actress best known for her roles in The Nutty Professor and The Poseidon Adventure and starring opposite Elvis Presley in Girls! Did you learn anything from him on the set of Too Late Blues? But it was a very bad experience for me. BACK. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. I want to be like this man. Girls! with Elvis Presley, which she only agreed to do because she was promised to a Montgomery Clift movie if she did it. 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. Plan your weekend with our picks for the best events, restaurant and movie reviews, TV shows and more. In 2017, shed say that her favorite director that she worked with was Vincente Minnelli on The Courtship of Eddies Father, from 1963. 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. I want to go on forever. Stella Stevens, who starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! 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. Girls! Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift, she said. Desperate to impress her, he concocts a potion to transform himself into a charismatic hunk. Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-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 "Li'l Abner" her big break. "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 The Secret of My Success. Free But in spite of that rough start, I did OK.. Girls! I do; the first director I worked with was Frank Tashlin [Say One For Me]. Stevens also appeared in Lil Abner that year. Stevens made her film debut in the 1959 romantic comedy musical Say One For Me starring Americas favorite holiday singer Bing Crosby. Actress Stella Stevens appears at a Sterns Department Store in New York on Jan. 8, 1968. How important has that film been in your career? Girls! Titles The Nutty Professor. However, Stevens was beginning to showcase her true acting skills. Jerry always walked in early, and he was the last one to leave in the evening. Girls! 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 Professor, has died. Fortunately for me, it was only six days work. 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 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 said the support she got from other teams was 'overwhelming. 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: 27 in Playboys 100 Sexiest Stars Of The 20th Century.. 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. I was a divorced mom with a toddler by the time I was 17. I want to go on forever. Also, we had Ronald Neame as our director. Well, he was nice; he was someone you could talk to. I said then that I never wanted to quit. First, I didnt want to do this film, but I was under contract to Hal Wallis to do one more film. Fortunately for Stevens, the torment only lasted for the short six days she needed to be there. 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. I had the pleasure to work with a lot of great directors, but he was just wonderful. I said then that I never wanted to quit. But if Im correct, directing has always been a passion of yours. Actress Stella Stevens and son, Andy, at the Memphis airport in June 1961. But for me, Jerry Lewis was very important when we were shooting The Nutty Professor. When we started working on that film, I told Jerry that Frank Tashlin had been teaching me how to be a director. Home. Stella Stevens, who starred alongside Elvis Presley in Girls! LOS ANGELES -- 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. "We all tried to make the characters he had created in the script special, wonderful, unique - and if you ask me, I do believe that's why the film still holds up after all those years.". He was a great comedy director who could make anything funny. Later the studio dropped her, but she was signed by Paramount. Elvis was not the only singing superstar Stevens had the pleasure to work with in a film. 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. She was 84. Girls!, starring opposite Presley in 1962, Stevens said she did not like the script, but Paramount told her she was contractually obliged to do it. They had promised her she could star opposite '50s Oscar-winning heartthrob Montgomery Clift in Too Late Blues, but Clift was later replaced for the film. When Stella turned four, the Eggleston family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He did a good picture, though. Never push anything and hope that everything will be perfect. She was modeling in her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, when she was discovered, ultimately leading her to roles in the 1962 music comedy Girls! 1 of 534. Stella Stevens had a son with her ex-husband, Noble. Along with her son, Stevens is survived by three grandchildren. 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, 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. Basically, everybody was helping me to teach me to make a film back then. Consequently, we all tried to make the characters he had created in the script special, wonderful, unique. I wanted to be like my favorite actresses: Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. I was under contract to Paramount in those days. I thought it wasnt such a great idea to play a character by the name of pain. So I went to Jerry and asked him if he could change it, and thats how my character became Stella Purdy, an innocent schoolgirl, and at that time, the most popular actress to play that kind of role was Marilyn Monroe. Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she 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. 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. Mel Torm, Skip Ward, Michael Dante, Robert Born Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol, Stevens told FilmTalk in 2017. Girls! Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. A female figure from westerns. She was 84. She was 84. Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! Stevens also played one half of a newlywed couple on The Poseidon Adventure, a shipwreck movie that became one of the biggest blockbusters of 1972. 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. South ED Edward A. Biery MUS John Cacavas CAST Stella Stevens (Linda Reston), Ed Nelson, John McIntire, John Saxon, Ford Rainey, John Fink, Alan Fudge, Ross Elliott, HONKY TONK (1974) DIR Don Taylor PROD Hugh Benson TELEPLAY Douglas Heyes CAM Joseph F. Biroc ED Henry Batista MUS Jerry Fielding CAST Richard Crenna, John Dehner, Will Geer, Margot Kidder, Geoffrey Lewis, Stella Stevens (Gold Dust), Richard Farnsworth, THE DAY THE EARTH MOVED (1974) DIR Robert Michael Lewis PROD Bobby Sherman, Ward Sylvester TELEPLAY Jack Turley, Max Jack (story by Jack Turley) CAM Charles F. Wheeler ED John F. Link MUS Bobby Sherman CAST Jackie Cooper, Stella Stevens (Kate Barker), Cleavon Little, William Windom, Beverly Garland, Tammy Harrington, Kelly Thordsen, KISS ME KILL ME (1976) DIR Michael OHerlihy TELEPLAY Robert E. Thompson CAM Meredith M. Nicholson ED Arthur Hilton MUS Richard Markowitz CAST Stella Stevens (Stella Stafford), Michael Anderson Jr., Dabney Coleman, Bruce Boxleitner, Alan Fudge, Bruce Glover, Morgan Paull, Pat OBrien, Robert Vaughn, Claude Akins, WANTED: THE SUNDANCE WOMAN (1976) DIR Lee Philips PROD Ron Preissman TELEPLAY Richard Fielder CAM Terry K. Meade ED Samuel E. Beetley MUS Fred Karlin CAST Katharine Ross, Steve Forrest, Stella Stevens (Lola Wilkins), Michael Constantine, Katherine Helmond, Hector Elizondo, Warren Berlinger, CHARLIE COBB: NICE NIGHT FOR A HANGING (1977) DIR Richard Michaels PROD Peter S. Fischer TELEPLAY Peter S. Fischer (story by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link) CAM Andrew Jackson ED Howard Deane MUS Mike Post, Pete Carpenter CAST Clu Gulager, Ralph Bellamy, Blair Brown, Christopher Connelly, George Furth, Pernell Roberts, Stella Stevens (Martha McVea), Josh Taylor, Ted Chapman, MURDER IN PEYTON PLACE (1977) DIR Bruce Kessler PROD Peter Katz TELEPLAY Richard De Roy (novel by Grace Metalious) CAM Gert Andersen ED Bud S. Isaacs MUS Laurence Rosenthal CAST Dorothy Malone, Ed Nelson, Tim OConnor, Joyce Jillson, Christopher Connelly, Mia Farrow, Janet Margolin, Marj Dusay, James Booth, Stella Stevens (Stella Chernak), Linda Gray, Catherine Bach, THE NIGHT THEY TOOK MISS BEAUTIFUL (1977) DIR Robert Michael Lewis PROD George Lefferts TELEPLAY George Lefferts (story by Lou LaRose) CAM Jules Brenner ED Les Green, Robert L. Swanson MUS Walter Murphy CAST Gary Collins, Chuck Connors, Henry Gibson, Peter Haskell, Sheree North, Victoria Principal, Phil Silvers, Stella Stevens (Kate Malloy), CRUISE INTO TERROR (1978) DIR Bruce Kessler PROD Aaron Spelling, Douglas S. Cramer TELEPLAY Michael Braverman CAM Archie R. Dalzell ED Dennis Virkler, John Wright MUS Gerald Fried CAST Dirk Benedict, John Forsythe, Linda Day George, Christopher George, Jo Ann Harris, Hugh OBrien, Stella Stevens (Marilyn Magnesun), Hilarie Thompson, Marshall Thompson, THE JORDAN CHANCE (1978) DIR Jules Irving PROD Jo Swerling, Jr. TELEPLAY Stephen J. Cannell (story by Stephen J. Cannell, Roy Huggins) CAM Enzo A. Martinelli, Leonard J. The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol. She was 84. Hollywood actress Stella Stevens, who co-starred with Elvis Presley in Girls! GIRLS! She was 84. 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