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Bobbi Shaw
1942-
Updated 4/13/2009.
biography
American International always cast plenty of female pulchritude in the beach party films, but one of the most beautiful actresses to work at AIP is Bobbi Shaw. She made just a few films during her all-too-brief film career; Shaw is a fixture in the final four AIP beach party films, including Pajama Party, Beach Blanket Bingo, How To Stuff a Wild Bikini, and Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, along with a handful of other AIP releases.
AIP photo of Bobbi Shaw from 1964
Shaw was often teamed with comedian Buster Keaton, particularly in Pajama Party and How To Stuff a Wild Bikini. Keaton was originally cast in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, but he was suffering from lung cancer, so comedian Benny Rubin filled in instead. After the release of The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini in 1966, Shaw retired from the screen.
the films of bobbi shaw
From AIP's Pajama Party. LEFT and CENTER A: Buster Keaton as Chief Rotten Eagle and Bobbi Shaw as Helga. CENTER B and CENTER C: Nice cheesecake promotional photos. RIGHT: Shaw with Jesse White
Ski Party (1965)
From AIP's Ski Party. LEFT: Nita (Bobbi Shaw) helps Nora (Dwayne Hickman) and Jane(Frankie Avalon) with their skiing. RIGHT: With Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, and Robert Q. Lewis
bobbi shaw today
Bobbi Shaw is now a respected acting coach and goes by the name Bobbie Shaw-Chance. Some of her pupils include skater-turned-actor Steven Cousins, as well as up-and-coming actors Heather Reagan and Robert Kusserow.
bobbi shaw films available from movies unlimited
Frankie & Annette: M-G-M Movie Legends Collection [DVD] DVD
"Surf's up" in this four-disc boxed set saluting AIP's teen comedy series and seaside sweethearts Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Anthropologist Bob Cummings uses the pair as part of a study of modern mating habits in the original "Beach Party" (1963), with Morey Amsterdam, Dorothy Malone, and Harvey Lembeck as Eric Von Zipper. Annette has her hands full when the Potato Bug, a British pop star who's Frankie's double, arrives at "Bikini Beach" (1964). Don Rickles and Little Stevie Wonder guest star. Gym owner Rickles wants to take over the kids' surf spot, and heiress Luciana Paluzzi wants to woo Frankie from Annette, in "Muscle Beach Party" (1964). Avalon trades his board for slats and joins Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley and James Brown for a "Ski Party" (1965). "Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965) boasts a missing singer, a mermaid, and skydiving surfdogs. Avalon wants to keep pal Hickman away from Funicello while he's on military duty in "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965), with Buster Keaton. Frankie's a moonshine-running hot rodder competing with racer Fabian for Annette's hand in "Fireball 500" (1966). And Fabian and Funicello burn rubber together in "Thunder Alley" (1967). 12 1/2 hrs. total. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English mono.
filmography
bobbi shaw links
The Lively Set
This site features a write-up of Stephen J. McParland's book IT'S PARTY TIME:
A Musical Appreciation of the Beach Party Film Genre; the book contains information on many of the beach party actors from the 1960s and includes
information, trivia, interviews, discussion, film-by-film breakdowns, movie posters, ads, press articles, photographs, and a comprehensive discography.
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This page premiered May 8, 2001.
