WHERE IN THE WORLD IS DODIE MARSHALL?

Sixties starlet Dodie Marshall made her film debut in a small role as the girl who gets Elvis Presley at the end of Spinout (1966) after he barely escapes the marriage-minded clutches of heiress Shelley Fabares, author Diane McBain, and drummer Deborah Walley. Dodie then was bumped up to female lead opposite the King in Easy Come, Easy Go (1967) as a mod go-go dancer who helps him search for buried treasure in the Florida Keys. Then poof--she dropped off the face of the planet. It was always rumored that she married some millionaire and quit acting.

I tried to find Dodie to interview her and had no luck. An online friend and fan of hers named Martin is determined to locate her and found a recent photo. Click here to see. She looks fabulous and still must be in Hollywood somewhere. Dodie if you ever read this I still would love to interview you!

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HUH?

Click below to see one weird movie clip. Seems when I interviewed Lana Wood for my book Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema she neglected to tell me about an Armenian movie she appeared in called Sons of Sassoun in 1975. No, it is not a movie about a team of hairdressers led by Vidal. Though Lana more than lives up to being "The most beautiful girl in the world" as she is called, this is one strange flick and I can see why she forgot all about it.

I WANT MY RTN

Click here to see the web site for a new cable network called RTN. It puts TVLand to shame. I would love to watch old epiosdes of Night Gallery, Ironside, The Bold Ones, and It Takes a Thief. Of course, Time Warner here in New York City doesn't offer it...yet.

CINEMA RETRO

Believe it or not, I not only write about '60s starlets and movies. Click here for my online interview for Cinema Retro with character actor David Youse who is co-starring with Matthew Modine in the new comedy The Neighbor.

LUNA LANDING

See below for a wonderful tribute to Film Fatale BarBara Luna one of the most versatile and busiest TV actresses of the 60s/70s. Included are clips from her memorable turns on The Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Below are some of Luna's remarks about working on some of these TV shows:

The Wild Wild West
“Bob Conrad was adorable—very macho and very cute. We laughed a lot. I was married to Doug McClure at the time. I think because we were all buddies it made a big difference. In fact, he used to date Doug’s first wife who is one of my closest friends. I really liked Ross Martin too. He was a very caring human being. When he said, ‘Good morning. How are you?’ You knew he really meant it.”

Mission: Impossible
"I was personally disappointed in the episode because it was too much of me. But most of my scenes were with Martin Landau [Rollin Hand] who I loved working with. He is so funny—he’s Mel Brooks. I am friendly with him to this day and I tell him that all of the time.”

AND THE WINNER IS...MARLYN MASON!


A big congratulations to Drive-in Dream Girl Marlyn Mason who copped the grand prize for Best Screenplay at the Rhode Island International Film Festival for Model Rules last week. It brings a tear to my eye when one of my Sixties gals is recognized for their talent.

Click here to visit the festival's web site.

MORE MARIANNA PLEASE!

My friend Shaun is always forwarding me interesting starlet-related news, web sites, and video clips. One of his favorite actresses is the multi-faceted Marianna Hill, profiled in my book Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood.

A flaxen-haired beauty who was a natural with dialects and made a career playing various ethnic types as a blonde, brunette or redhead, Marianna was one of the busiest and most versatile actresses to rise from minor decorative roles (New Interns, Roustabout) to second leads (a French tease in the racecar drama Redline 7000, an island cutie in business with Elvis in Paradise, Hawaiian Style) during the Sixties while guest starring on numerous TV shows.

Throughout the Seventies, Marianna played lead roles in a number of cult movies including exciting violent western El Condor (1970) as the often undressed mistress of General Patrick O’Neal; the bizarro The Baby (1973) as a wild-haired member of a wacko family of women who keep their adult brother in diapers and treat him as an infant; and the Clint Eastwood-directed western High Plains Drifter (1973) as a feisty town belle. Her chance for real stardom came when cast as Fredo's volatile wife in The Godfather, Part II. However, Francis Coppolla cut most of her big scenes. Click below to see that we should have seen much more of Marianna in the movie and much less of the dull Talia Shire.