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Mara Corday
1930-
Updated 9/9/2008.
biography
Born Marilyn Watts in January 1930, California native Mara Corday first got her start in show business as a showgirl in the late 1940s. Soon, she was dancing in the Earl Carroll Revue, where she was encouraged to do extra work in films. Her first film appearance was in the 1951 Janet Leigh vehicle Two Tickets to Broadway, in which she was one of about 20 showgirls. In the meantime, Corday was finding more and more modeling work, and she quickly became a top model, sought after by the best photographers of the day, including Peter Gowland.
Gorgeous Mara Corday was one of the 1950s most famous pin-up queens
Although she appeared in several films between 1951 and 1953, her movie career was slow going until she signed with Universal Studios in 1954. The studio immediately cast Corday in a string of films, including Playgirl (1954; with Shelley Winters and Richard Long), Francis Joins the Wacs (1954; with Allison Hayes and Mamie Van Doren), Foxfire (1955; with Jane Russell and Jeff Chandler), and Raw Edge (1956; with Yvonne De Carlo and Rory Calhoun). Although she is best known for her horror films, including The Giant Claw (1957; with Jeff Morrow) and The Black Scorpion (1957; with Richard Denning), in reality Corday made far more westerns. Her first starring role was in the 1955 Universal western The Man From Bitter Ridge with Lex Barker. For her second big part, she starred alongside John Agar in the 1955 creature-feature Tarantula.Although Mara Corday is best known for her horror films, including The Giant Claw (1957; with Jeff Morrow) and The Black Scorpion (1957; with Richard Denning), in reality she made far more westerns. Corday's first starring role was in the 1955 Universal western The Man From Bitter Ridge with Lex Barker. For her second big part, she starred alongside John Agar in the 1955 creature-feature Tarantula.
the films of mara corday
Drums Across the River (1954)
From Universal International's western Drums Across the River
Foxfire (1955)
From Universal's drama Foxfire with Dan Duryea
The Man From Bitter Ridge (1955)
From the Lex Barker vehicle The Man From Bitter Ridge
Tarantula (1955)
LEFT: John Agar and Mara Corday run from the Tarantula. CENTER and RIGHT: Corday with Leo G. Carroll and John Agar
A Day of Fury (1956)
With Dale Robertson in the Universal-International western A Day of Fury
The Black Scorpion (1957)
LEFT: Richard Denning gets cozy with Mara Corday in The Black Scorpion. RIGHT: Promotional photo
The Giant Claw (1957)
Columbia released the campy sci-fi flick The Giant Claw, one of my favorite 1950s science fiction efforts. Pictured are Corday along with
Louis Merrill, Morris Ankrum, and Jeff Morrow
Girls on the Loose (1958)
From the campy Universal-International crime drama Girls on the Loose
more on mara corday
In 1957, Corday married actor Richard Long. Both Long and Corday had been under contract to Universal when they appeared in the film Playgirl together in 1954. (Long's first wife, actress Suzan Ball, passed away from cancer in 1955.) Although Corday made a few more films and several TV guest appearances, she called it quits in 1960 to care for her growing family, which eventually included three children. Her husband Richard Long had a great career in television, starring in the TV series Maverick, Big Valley, and Nanny and the Professor, just to name a few. Sadly, in late 1974, Richard Long passed away. After his death, Mara Corday began making cameo appearances in films, included several starring Clint Eastwood. Today, she runs her own company, Argosy Productions.
Wanted: Dead Or Alive: Season Two [DVD](1959) DVD
All 32 second-season episodes--including "Montana Kid," "The Empty Cell," "Twelve Hours to Crazy Horse," "Chain Gang," and "Death Divided by Three"--are featured in a three-disc set. 13 1/3 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English; biographies; featurettes; photo gallery; more.
The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection, Vols. 1 & 2 [DVD] DVD
"Dr. Cyclops" (1940) stars Albert Dekker as a mad scientist who shrinks five people to miniature size and holds them prisoner. A group of American G.I.s stumbles on the secret rituals of the snake-worshipping "Cult of the Cobra" (1955). Faith Domergue, David Janssen star. A lab experiment unleashes a rapidly growing "Tarantula" (1955). John Agar, Leo G. Carroll star. Archeologists Agar and Hugh Beaumont discover a clawed, bug-eyed race called "The Mole People" (1956). Grant Williams is "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (1957) who begins to diminish in size after exposure to radiation. Meteorite fragments absorb water from everything around them (including people), creating "The Monolith Monsters" (1957). An expedition to Antarctica finds a prehistoric world, in "The Land Unknown" (1957). Earthquakes release a giant prehistoric insect from suspended animation, in "The Deadly Mantis" (1957). A college biology instructor is transformed into a Neanderthal man, in "Monster on the Campus" (1958). A native African ritual turns a scientist's wife into "The Leech Woman" (1960). 13 hrs. total on six discs. Standard/Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English (SDH), French; theatrical trailers.
Sam Katzman: Icons Of Horror Collection [DVD] DVD
This collection of four chill-packed classics from prolific producer Sam Katzman begins with "Creature with the Atom Brain" (1955), as a down-and-out mobster enlists the aid of a wicked German scientist to create an army of murderous zombies to serve as his personal squad of assassins. Michael Granger, Angela Stevens star. Next, an amnesiac man (Steven Ritch) goes from a guinea pig to "The Werewolf" (1956), suffering the after-effects of an experimental serum coursing through his veins. With Joyce Holden and Don Megowan. Eager treasure hunters have their work cut out for them when a sunken ship off the African coast is found to be loaded with a fortune in diamonds...as well as the "Zombies of Mora Tau" (1957)! Gregg Palmer, Allison Hayes, Morris Ankrum star. AKA: "The Dead That Walk." Then, look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a puppet! It's "The Giant Claw" (1957)! Can Jeff Morrow and Playboy Playmate Mara Corday stop the ferocious, big-beaked alien fowl before it destroys the world? Ankrum, Louis Merrill also star. 4 3/4 hrs. total on two discs. Standard/Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; bonus shorts "Terror Faces Magoo" (1959), "Midnight Blunders" (1936); theatrical trailers.
The Black Scorpion [DVD](1957) DVD
In the tradition of "Them!" comes this 1950s big critter feature. A nuclear blast disrupts nature, producing gigantic scorpions that enjoy mauling helicopters and trains. Geologist Richard Denning must devise a way to stop them! With Maria Corday and stop-motion monsters by Willis O'Brien ("King Kong"). 88 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; test footage; theatrical trailers; more.
The Gauntlet [DVD](1977) DVD
The normally routine exercise of escorting an extradited prisoner (Sondra Locke) from Las Vegas to Phoenix to testify at trial becomes a race for survival for detective Clint Eastwood. On a frantic bus ride to city hall, Eastwood and his charge brave an all-out assault from police and a corrupt mayor, who fears incrimination by the determined witness. Co-stars Pat Hingle, William Prince. 111 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French; theatrical trailer; filmographies.
Pink Cadillac [DVD](1989) DVD
He's put some of the biggest, baddest crooks behind bars, but has bounty hunter Clint Eastwood met his match in Bernadette Peters? Slam-bang action/comedy has Clint after Bernadette and the titular car, filled with funny money that belongs to a white supremacist gang. With Timothy Carhart, Jim Carrey. 121 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Surround, Portuguese Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai; featurette; theatrical trailer.
The Rookie [DVD](1990) DVD
World-weary cop Clint Eastwood teams with spry rookie Charlie Sheen to track down a murderous auto thief in this rock 'em-sock 'em actioner that's filled with car chases and shoot-outs. Raul Julia and Sonia Braga play the dastardly villains. 121 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital Surround; Subtitles: Bahasa, English, French, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai; featurette; theatrical trailer.
mara corday dvd and VHS movies available from amazon.com
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filmography
FILM
The Rookie (1990) with Clint Eastwood
Pink Cadillac (1989) with Clint Eastwood
Sudden Impact (1983) with Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Bradford Dillman, and Nancy Parsons
The Gauntlet (1977) with Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Carole Cook, and Dan Vadis
Girls on the Loose (1958) with Peter Mark Richman and Abby Dalton
The Quiet Gun (1957) with Forrest Tucker and Jim Davis
The Black Scorpion (1957) with Richard Denning
The Giant Claw (1957) with Jeff Morrow, Morris Ankrum, and Frank Griffin
Undersea Girl (1957) with Myron Healey and Florence Marly
Raw Edge (1956) with Rory Calhoun, Yvonne De Carlo, Rex Reason, John Gavin, and Ed Fury
A Day of Fury (1956) with Dale Robertson and Jock Mahoney
Naked Gun (1956) with Veda Ann Borg and Morris Ankrum
Foxfire (1955) with Jane Russell, Jeff Chandler, and Dan Duryea
The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955) with Lex Barker
Man Without a Star (1955) with Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor, William Campbell, and Richard Boone
Tarantula (1955) with John Agar and Leo G. Carroll
Playgirl (1954) with Shelley Winters, Barry Sullivan, Colleen Miller, Richard Long, and Dolores Fuller
Francis Joins the Wacs (1954) with Julie Adams, Donald O'Connor, Allison Hayes, and Mamie Van Doren
Dawn at Socorro (1954) with Rory Calhoun, Piper Laurie, David Brian, and Lee Van Cleef
Drums Across the River (1954) with Audie Murphy and Hugh O'Brian
So This Is Paris (1954) with Tony Curtis, Corinne Calvet, and Allison Hayes
The Lady Wants Mink (1953) with Eve Arden, Dennis O'Keefe, William Demarest, and Hope Emerson
Problem Girls (1953) with Beverly Garland and Joyce Jameson
Sweethearts on Parade (1953)
Sea Tiger (1952) with John Archer
Two Tickets to Broadway (1951) with Janet Leigh and Ann Miller
TELEVISION
Laramie, episode A Sound of Bells, originally aired December 27, 1960
Wanted: Dead or Alive, episode Death, Divided by Three, originally aired April 23, 1960
Combat Sergeant, episode ?, originally aired 1956
The Adventures of Kit Carson, episode Fury at Red Gulch, originally aired October 27, 1951
links
Mara Corday.com: The Official Web Page
This is Corday's own site, which includes extensive biographical information and autographed photos that you can order.
The Mara Corday Shrine
This gallery site offers many photos of Mara Corday.
The Mara Corday Home Page
Dino Everett has created a terrific site devoted to Mara Corday, which includes many photos and biographical tidbits.
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This page premiered April 26, 2000.
Counter reset March 1, 2001.
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