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Mamie Van Doren
1931-
at Brian's Drive-In Theater
Updated 3/29/2008.
biography
Born Joan Olander in a small farming community in South Dakota in 1931, Mamie Van Doren's family relocated to California in the early 1940s. While in her teens, Van Doren entered a few beauty contests and did a bit of modeling. After working as a band singer, Van Doren landed a contract with Universal-International in 1953.
In 1955, Van Doren married handsome bandleader Ray Anthony, and the couple had a son, born in 1956. That same year, Van Doren left Universal; the studio had never given her the breakthrough role she deserved, so she freelanced in films produced by a variety of studios, including Warner Bros. and MGM. Although she snagged roles in a few memorable "A" films such as Teacher's Pet (1958), "B" films allowed Van Doren to shine in highly dimensional roles that showcased her acting and singing talents. Of the three blonde bombshells of the 1950s (Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van Doren), Van Doren had perhaps the widest acting range, excelling at playing bad girls. Perhaps her best-known film is the 1957 Warner Bros. release Untamed Youth. In the late 1950s, Van Doren starred in a string of drive-in quickies and sexploitation films. Producer Albert Zugsmith featured her in seven films, including The Beat Generation (1958), The Big Operator (1959), and in Sex Kittens Go to College (1960).
the films of mamie van doren
All American (1953)
From All American. LEFT: Beautiful still of Mamie Van Doren. CENTER: With Tony Curtis. RIGHT: With Richard Long
Yankee Pasha (1954)
Campy promotional photo from Universal's Yankee Pasha
Ain't Misbehavin' (1955)
From Ain't Misbehavin'
Star in the Dust (1956)
From the Universal-International westsern Star in the Dust with Leif Erickson
The Girl in Black Stockings (1957)
With Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, and Marie Windsor in the film noir serial killer thriller The Girl in Black Stockings
Untamed Youth (1957)
Publicity photo from Untamed Youth
Born Reckless (1958)
Van Doren sings a number in the Warner Bros. western Born Reckless
High School Confidental (1958)
Scene from the B-movie-star-studded MGM release High School Confidential. See the filmography section below for this film's impressive cast listing
Teacher's Pet (1958)
From Paramount's romantic comedy Teacher's Pet with Clark Gable
The Big Operator (1959)
From The Big Operator with Steve Cochran and Mel Torme
Girls Town (1959)
From Albert Zugsmith's teen torment flick Girls Town, released by MGM. LEFT: With Norman Grabowski, Dick Contino, and Mel Torme. RIGHT: As Silver Morgan, Mamie leaves Girls Town at the end of the picture
Guns, Girls, and Gangsters (1959)
As the troubled Vi Victor in Guns, Girls, and Gangsters. The photo on the right also features Gerald Mohr
College Confidential (1960)
LEFT: Promotional shot from College Confidential. RIGHT: Professor Steve Allen gets an eyeful of coed Mamie Van Doren while Jayne Meadows looks on
The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960)
Mickey Rooney as the Devil oogles Mamie Van Doren in Albert Zugsmith's comedy The Private Lives of Adam and Eve, released by Universal-International
Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)
From Albert Zugsmith's comedy Sex Kittens Go to College, released by Allied Artists. LEFT: Van Doren as Dr. Mathilda West. CENTER: With Tuesday Weld. RIGHT: With Norman Grabowski and Martin Milner
The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (1966)
The low-budget science fiction flick The Navy vs. the Night Monsters sports an impressive cast. LEFT: With Anthony Eisley, Walter Sande, and Edward Faulkner. RIGHT: With Anthony Eisley, Phillip Terry, and Edward Faulkner
mamie van doren today
While Van Doren's film career was in high gear in the 1950s, the 1960s would not be so promising. The death of Mamie Van Doren's friend and rival, Marilyn Monroe, on August 5, 1962, signaled the end of the blonde bombshell era. Van Doren's film career began to suffer, much like that of Jayne Mansfield. Nonetheless, of the three Hollywood blond bombshells---Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van Doren---only Van Doren has survived, because she didn't travel down the same road to destruction. By the mid 1960s, Mamie Van Doren was no longer playing bad girls, as those roles had vanished with the onset of the sexual revolution in the US. Afterward, roles then offered to her were not worthy of her talents, for the most part. Although her film career hit the skids, Van Doren remained very active in show business, with a nightclub act, a tour of Vietnam, and dozens of pictorials in men's magazines of the era.
Van Doren had an off-again, on-again relationship with baseball pitcher Bo Belinsky, who acted in the low-budget flick C'mon, Let's Live a Little. Belinsky passed away in November 2001
In the 1980s, Van Doren renewed her career, taking on acting roles and hosting a videotape series for Rhino Home Video called Teenage Theater. In 1987 she published her autobiography, Playing the Field, an entertaining and highly recommended read. In the text she pulls no punches and even rates her lovers, including Warren Beatty, Steve Cochran, Eddie Fisher, Rock Hudson (!), Steve McQueen, Joe Namath, Burt Reynolds, and Johnny Rivers, to name a few. Unfortunately, Playing the Field is currently out of print. Today, she's making waves with her fun and scandalous official web site. And she still looks terrific today.
The Best Of The Ray Anthony Show [DVD] DVD
Here are highlights from bandleader Ray Anthony's syndicated variety show that ran during the mid-1950s. Ray welcomes Molly Bee, The King Sisters, Dick Contino, Erin O'Brien, The Belvederes, and Mamie Van Doren (singing!), along with a tribute to "Around the World in 80 Days," a George Gershwin salute, and the sounds of Christmas. 134 min on two discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
Sex Kitten Classics, Vol. 1 [VHS] VHS
Meeeowww, sir, this enticing trailer compilation features three of the screen's sexiest starlets--Mamie Van Doren, Jayne Mansfield and Brigitte Bardot--in "coming attractions" clips from such racy favorites as "Girls Town," "Sex Kittens Go to College," "It Happened in Athens," "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?," "Primitive Love," "School for Love," and others. 60 min.
Teacher's Pet [DVD](1958) DVD
Newspaper editor Clark Gable poses as a student and learns about writing and love from college journalism professor Doris Day in this spry romantic comedy that also features fine support from Gig Young, Mamie Van Doren and Nick Adams. 119 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English.
High School Confidential! [DVD](1958) DVD
This teen exploitation classic stars Russ Tamblyn as an undercover cop posing as a student, out to uncover drug dealer "Mr. A." Sex kitten Mamie Van Doren and Jerry Lee Lewis are joined by Jackie Coogan and a young Michael Landon in a school that is a teacher's nightmare! Produced by B-movie mogul Albert Zugsmith. 85 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby mono.
3 Nuts In Search Of A Bolt [DVD](1964) DVD
The "nuts" are a trio of neurotics who try to save money by sending an actor friend of theirs to a psychiatrist and having him act out the threesome's problems. Wacky comedy stars Mamie Van Doren, Tommy Noonan, Paul Gilbert, Alvy Moore; features Mamie's famous "beer bath" scene. 78 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English mono; biographies; theatrical trailers; interview; photo gallery.
The Sheriff Was A Lady [DVD](1964) DVD
Talk about making a German spectacle out of itself! This European sagebrusher is unlike anything you've ever seen before, a tale of Black Bill (German Elvis-wannabe Freddie Quinn), a singing Teutonic cowpoke in search of his parents' killer, and Anita, the sexy female sheriff searching for those same creeps, who also swiped her father's gold. Mamie Van Doren is also featured. Wow!
Navy vs. The Night Monsters [VHS](1966) VHS
Campy sci-fi classic stars Mamie Van Doren, Anthony Eisley, Billy Gray, Pamela Mason and Bobby Van as inhabitants of a South Pacific naval base under attack by mobile killer trees from the Ice Age. Cheesy plant creatures and the buxom Mamie make this a must-see. AKA: "Monsters of the Night," "The Night Crawlers." 87 min.
Las Vegas Hillbillys [DVD](1966) DVD
Country bumpkin Ferlin Husky lands in Las Vegas, inherits a dilapidated casino and turns it into a moneymaker with help from Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren (what a pair!). With Sonny James, Del Reeves and Richard Kiel. Spawned the sequel "Hillbillys in a Haunted House." 90 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English; scene access.
You've Got To Be Smart [DVD](1967) DVD
This rarity follows L.A. advertising wizard Tom Stern, who is fired from his job and winds up in a small town in Arkansas. Meeting a charismatic kid preacher and his brothers, a light bulb goes on over Stern's head: take them to L.A. and cash in! The pint-sized soul-savers are soon starring on "TV Tabernacle," but how long can the act last with the IRS wondering where all of the tykes' cash is going? With Mamie Van Doren, Gloria Castillo, Roger Perry. 88 min.
Voyage To The Planet Of The Prehistoric Women [DVD](1968) DVD
Film critic Peter Bogdanovich got a crash course in filmmaking when Roger Corman let him add new scenes to a Russian sci-fi epic. Mamie Van Doren plays the queen of a group of cavewomen who greet a group of astronauts that have landed on their world. The gals wear clamshell bikinis, communicate telepathically and worship a pterodactyl! With Mary Mark and Paige Lee. 79 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
Slackers [DVD](2002) DVD
Madcap campus comedy in which longtime college con men Devon Sawa, Jason Segal and Michael Maronna concoct a cheating plan a few months before graduation. When campus creep Jason Schwartzman discovers the scheme, he threatens to turn in the trio unless they hook him up with James King, Sawa's pretty classmate. Also stars Laura Prepon, Cameron Diaz and Gina Gershon in cameos, and '50s screen sexpot Mamie Van Doren. 86 min. Standard and Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby 5.1; Subtitles: English, French; interactive menus.
Slackers(2002) VHS
Madcap campus comedy in which longtime college con men Devon Sawa, Jason Segal and Michael Maronna concoct a cheating plan a few months before graduation. When campus creep Jason Schwartzman discovers the scheme, he threatens to turn in the trio unless they hook him up with James King, Sawa's pretty classmate. Also stars Laura Prepon, Cameron Diaz and Gina Gershon in cameos, and '50s screen sexpot Mamie Van Doren. 86 min.
From Movie Goods
Original and Reproduction Mamie Van Doren Posters and Photos Available From Movie Goods
filmography
This listing does not include Mamie Van Doren's appearances in Rhino's Teenage Theater series:
Slackers (2002)
The Vegas Connection (1999) with Robert Carradine
Free Ride (1986) with Warren Berlinger and Peter DeLuise
That Girl from Boston (1975) with George 'Buck' Flower; directed by Matt Cimber
The Arizona Kid (1971) with Gordon Mitchell
You've Got to Be Smart (1967) with Roger Perry
The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (1966) with Pamela Mason, Bobby Van, Anthony Eisley, Phillip Terry, and Billy Gray
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1966) with Margot Hartman
Las Vegas Hillbillys (1966) with Jayne Mansfield, Ferlin Husky, and Richard Kiel
Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt (1964) with Tommy Noonan, Alvy Moore, Ziva Rodann, and Marjorie Bennett
The Sheriff Was a Lady (1964) with Rik Battaglia
The Candidate (1964) with June Wilkinson and Ted Knight
The Blonde from Buenos Aires (1961) with Jean-Pierre Aumont
The Private Lives of Adam and Eve (1960) with Fay Spain, Martin Milner, Mickey Rooney, Ziva Rodann, and Tuesday Weld
College Confidential (1960) with Steve Allen, Jayne Meadows, Ziva Rodann, and Conway Twitty
Sex Kittens Go to College (1960) with Tuesday Weld, Mijanou Bardot, Martin Milner, Vampira, Conway Twitty, Mickey Shaughnessy, Louis Nye, Pamela Mason, Jackie Coogan, John Carradine, and Norman Grabowski
Vice Raid (1960) with Brad Dexter, Richard Coogan, and Nestor Paiva
Girls Town (1959) with Gloria Talbott, Elinor Donahue, Ray Anthony, Dick Contino, Mel Torme, Paul Anka, and Norman Grabowski
The Beat Generation (1959) with Steve Cochran, Fay Spain, Ray Danton, and Ray Anthony
The Big Operator (1959) with Mickey Rooney, Steve Cochran, Ray Anthony, Ray Danton, and Ziva Rodann
Guns, Girls and Gangsters (1959) with Gerald Mohr and Lee Van Cleef
Born Reckless (1959) with Carol Ohmart, Jeff Richards, Arthur Hunnicutt, and Don 'Red' Barry
High School Confidential! (1958) with Jan Sterling, Russ Tamblyn, and Ray Anthony
The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina (1958)
Teacher's Pet (1958) with Clark Gable, Doris Day, Gig Young, Nick Adams, and Marion Ross
Untamed Youth (1957) with Lori Nelson, John Russell, Lurene Tuttle, Yvonne Lime, and Eddie Cochran
The Girl in Black Stockings (1957) with Lex Barker, Anne Bancroft, and Marie Windsor
Jet Pilot (produced in 1950; released in 1957) with John Wayne, Janet Leigh, Jay C. Flippen, and Hans Conried
Star in the Dust (1956) with John Agar, Coleen Gray, Richard Boone, James Gleason, Randy Stuart, Harry Morgan, and Stafford Repp
Running Wild (1955) with Bill Campbell, John Saxon, and Keenan Wynn
Ain't Misbehavin' (1955) with Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, Jack Carson, and Barbara Britton
The Second Greatest Sex (1955) with George Nader, Jeanne Crain, and Keith Andes
Francis Joins the WACs (1954) with Donald O'Connor, Allison Hayes, Julie Adams, and Mara Corday
Yankee Pasha (1954) with Jeff Chandler, Rhonda Fleming, and Rex Reason
The All-American (1953) with Tony Curtis, Lori Nelson, and Richard Long
Forbidden (1953) with Joanne Dru and Tony Curtis
Footlight Varieties (1951)
His Kind of Woman (1951) with Jane Russell and Robert Mitchum
Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
mamie van doren links
Mamie Van Doren's offical website is truly something to see; there are many photos, old and new, of Mamie Van Doren, and her family and friends. Be sure to check out the autographed photos and other souvenirs available.
The Dewey Webb Peep Show site offers many Quick Time movies to watch, and more are added regularly. Watch this Quick Time movie from Mamie's 1957 film Untamed Youth.
Watch this Quick Time movie from Mamie's 1960 film Sex Kittens Go to College.
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This page premiered March 13, 1998.
Counter reset March 1, 2001.
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