Dolores Fuller at Brian's Drive-In Theater

biography

Born Dolores Eble in South Bend, Indiana, in 1923, Dolores Fuller is best known for her association with director Ed Wood and as one of the stars of the 1953 film Glen or Glenda. However, she has enjoyed a lengthy and varied career in show business. After her the end of her first marriage, which lasted 14 years and produced two children, Fuller began going on casting calls for early television. By the time Fuller met Ed Wood in 1952, she was already firmly established as a television personality. She was the 'Gustinette Girl' on Queen for a Day, where she appeared five days per week in a featured appearance advertising Maribou slippers. Also, Fuller worked as a model for Westwood Knitting Mills, Evans/Picone, and others. Chiefly, perhaps, was her regular job on NBC's The Dinah Shore Show which required work every Monday and Wednesday, then aired live on Friday nights.

Early 1950s glamour photo of Dolores Fuller

Before starring in Ed Wood's productions, Fuller had appeared in a few movies, such as Girls in the Night (1953; with Joyce Holden and Harvey Lembeck), directed by B-movie legend Jack Arnold. She was also featured in the low-budget cult classic Mesa of Lost Women (1953; with Jackie Coogan and Lyle Talbot).

the films of dolores fuller

Mesa of Lost Women (1953)

Leggy shot of Dolores Fuller as one of the Lost Women

Glen or Glenda (1953)

Fuller with Ed Wood in Glen or Glenda

Jail Bait (1954)

LEFT: With Theodora Thurman and Herbert Rawlinson in a tense scene. RIGHT: Publicity still

later years

After appearing in Ed Wood's movies Glen or Glenda (1953; with Bela Lugosi and Edward D. Wood Jr.), Jail Bait (1954; with Steve Reeves and Lyle Talbot), and Bride of the Monster (1955; with Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson), Fuller left Wood and went on to a more successful career in show business, but not the movies. Rather, she became a songwriter and has co-written songs with Nelson Riddle, Peggy Lee, and Duane Eddy, to name a few. She also co-wrote at least 20 songs for Elvis Presley's 1960s features, including songs from Spinout, Clambake, and Paradise, Hawaiian Style. Later in her music career, she became a manager for such singers as Tanya Tucker. Sadly, Dolores Fuller passed away on May 9, 2011, from natural causes. She is survived by her husband, her son, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

dolores fuller films available from movies unlimited

The Ed Wood Box [DVD] DVD
Six-disc boxed set includes "Glen or Glenda?," "Jail Bait," "Bride of the Monster," "Plan 9 from Outer Space," "Night of the Ghouls," and "The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr."
Glen Or Glenda? [DVD](1952) DVD
Writer/director Ed Wood pseudonymously starred in this transvestite/sex-change docudrama that was his most autobiographical film. Will Glen's fiancee let him wear her angora sweater? Hear scientist-narrator Bela Lugosi warn viewers to "bevare of the big green dragon that sits on your doorstep," see daffy dream sequences, and learn the inner turmoil of men who wear "pink satin undies." With Dolores Fuller, Lyle Talbot. AKA: "I Led Two Lives." 67 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono; scene access.
Mesa Of Lost Women [DVD](1953) DVD
A feast for bad movie buffs, as Jackie (Uncle Fester) Coogan plays the mad Dr. Arana, whose experiments on a Mexican mountain result in giant tarantulas, killer dwarves, and savage "spider women." Wallopin' websnappers! Look for stars like Dolores Fuller ("Glen or Glenda"), George Barrows ("Robot Monster") and Angelo Rossitto. From Ron Ormond. 69 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; theatrical trailer.
Femme Fatale Collection [DVD] DVD
Three-disc set includes "Mesa of Lost Women," "Devil Girl from Mars," and "The Astounding She-Monster."
Jail Bait [DVD](1954) DVD
A hard-as-nails gangster film, Ed Wood-style. A hood on the lam shoots his partner, then forces the guy's surgeon-father to change his face. The stars include Lyle Talbot, Dolores Fuller, Timothy Farrell and a young Steve Reeves; don't miss the "hilarious" blackface minstrel sequence! 75 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono; scene access.
The Bela Lugosi Box: 15 Frightful Films [DVD] DVD
The seductively evil horror king Bela Lugosi appears in 15 chiller classics in this five-disc set. The silent soaper "The Midnight Girl" (1925) features a pre-Dracula Lugosi as the suave and shady patron of a Russian opera singer (Lila Lee) newly come to America. Also includes "White Zombie," "The Death Kiss," "Chandu on the Magic Island," "The Return of Chandu," "The Mysterious Mr. Wong," "The Dark Eyes of London (The Human Monster)," "The Devil Bat," "The Corpse Vanishes," "Bowery at Midnight," "The Ape Man," "Scared to Death" (1947), "Glen or Glenda?," "Bride of the Monster," and "Plan 9 from Outer Space"; also features the short documentary tribute "100 Years of Horror: Bela Lugosi," hosted by Christopher Lee.
Bride Of The Monster (B&W/Color Versions) [DVD](1955) DVD
Wood and Lugosi team up again in this tale of a mad scientist out to create a race of "atomic super-giants." See Tor Johnson as Lobo, Lugosi's mute lab assistant! See Bela wrestle with an obvious rubber octopus! See Tor wrestle with Bela's platform-heeled stand-in! "He tampered in God's domain!" With Tony McCoy, Loretta King. Includes both the original black-and-white and the newly colorized versions. 68 min. Soundtrack: English; featurette; interviews; theatrical trailers.
The Ironbound Vampire [DVD](1997) DVD
Ed Wood stock company members Conrad Brooks and Dolores Fuller return to the screen together for the first time since "Bride of the Monster" in this tale of a former cop-turned-writer seeking a vampire in a strange sub-city of Newark. Centering his investigation around a World War I veteran linked to the bloodsucker, he quickly enters a world of unthinkable terror. Deana Enoches, Richard Matyskiel, Suzanne Lenore co-star. 59 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; bloopers; outtakes; featurette. Plays All Regions.
Dimension In Fear [DVD](1998) DVD
Filmed in and around Las Vegas, this psycho killer thriller from cult fave Ted V. Mikels ("10 Violent Women") tells of a female TV weather reporter who encounters a serial murderer while on her way to an assignment in the mountains. Taken captive, a local detective must find her before it's too late. The forecast: bloody! Nicole West, Liz Renay and Dolores Fuller star. Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
Ted V. Mikels Signature Collection [DVD] DVD
Limited to 1,000 copies and featuring a numbered collector's card signed by Ted V. Mikels, this six-disc set of his greatest films includes "Girl in Gold Boots," "Blood Orgy of the She-Devils," "The Corpse Grinders," "The Doll Squad," "10 Violent Women," and "The Corpse Grinders II."