Stella Stevens was in dire want of a paycheck when Playboy got here calling.
The actress, who was groomed to be the following Marilyn Monroe earlier than she made her personal mark throughout the ultimate years of Hollywood’s golden period, died in 2023 at age 84.Â
She’s now the topic of a brand new documentary by her son Andrew Stevens, “Stella Stevens: The Final Starlet.” It options commentary by Quentin Tarantino and Vivica A. Fox, amongst others.
STELLA STEVENS, ‘THE NUTTY PROFESSOR’ ACTRESS AND ELVIS PRESLEY’S CO-STAR, DEAD AT 84
Stella Stevens by a swimming pool, circa 1965. The actress and Playboy pinup died in 2023 at age 84. (Silver Display screen Assortment/Getty Photographs)
Within the movie, viewers find out how Stevens, who had a younger son to feed, took a suggestion to pose nude for the journal. It cemented her position as a sought-after display siren, however it got here at a worth.
“She was alone in Hollywood, barely 18 years [and] broke with no supply of revenue,” Andrew advised Fox Information Digital.Â
“A photographer and his spouse got here to her, and so they mentioned, ‘We shoot for this journal referred to as Playboy, and we’ll pay you $5,000 in the event you do a structure.’ Stella mentioned, ‘It was a job, and I wanted a job. I had a toddler to help. I used to be a single individual residing in LA and I didn’t know anybody. So I took the work.’”
Andrew Stevens explored his late mom’s life and legacy in a brand new documentary, “Stella Stevens: The Final Starlet.” (Courtesy of Andrew Stevens)
Earlier than stripping down, Stevens was found at a division retailer in Memphis. She was flown to Hollywood for a display take a look at after which signed a three-year contract with twentieth Century Fox. Whereas Stevens filmed three motion pictures in six months, she was dropped by the studio over a piece card technicality.
Hugh Hefner died in 2017. He was 91. (Dan Tuffs/Getty Photographs)
Regardless of the $5,000 supply, Stevens mentioned Playboy founder Hugh Hefner advised her after the racy shoot that he would solely pay her half. To earn the remaining, she needed to work as a hostess at one in all his golf equipment.
“She’s quoted as saying, ‘I advised him to shove it, I cannot,’” mentioned Andrew.
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Stella Stevens had some stern phrases for Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. (Display screen Archives/Getty Photographs)
Stevens signed a brand new contract with Paramount. She scored a co-starring position in “Li’l Abner” as Appassionata Von Climax. She was decided to get her pictures again earlier than they went to print.Â
“She referred to as Hugh Hefner and mentioned, ‘I’ve this large Hollywood film now… please don’t publish the pictures. I’ll purchase them again from you,’” mentioned Andrew. “He mentioned, ‘Oh no, you’ve a contract. We’re utilizing them.’ So, [Playboy] exploited ‘Li’l Abner,’ which takes place in a legendary place referred to as Dogpatch. They titled her pictures ‘Dogpatch Playmate.’”
WATCH: ’60S STAR STELLA STEVENS TRIED TO BUY BACK PLAYBOY PICS FROM HUGH HEFNER: SON
“The irony is, after being dropped from twentieth Century Fox, she gained a Golden Globe as Greatest Newcomer of the Yr in 1960 when Marilyn additionally gained a Golden Globe for Greatest Actress,” Andrew shared. “And [Marilyn won] for the studio that had simply dropped [my mother’s] contract.”
Stella Stevens was groomed to be the following Marilyn Monroe. (RDB/ullstein bild by way of Getty Photographs)
Stevens felt that being a intercourse image was a “double edge sword,” mentioned Andrew.
“On one hand, she appreciated that she bought extra consideration within the Hollywood group,” he defined. “Everybody wished to fulfill her… [But] the outdated Hollywood studio system at the moment was a really male-dominated, misogynistic group. And the casting sofa was very actual. And as [film critic] Leonard Maltin is quoted as saying [in the film], ‘There was a complete city run by early day Harvey Weinsteins.’”
“Stella Stevens: The Final Starlet” lately premiered on the Fort Lauderdale Worldwide Movie Competition. (Courtesy of Andrew Stevens)
“In some methods, [being a sex symbol] gave her a profession increase,” mentioned Andrew. “However on the flip aspect, she’s quoted as saying it killed doing something first rate or authentic after that. Folks wouldn’t take her significantly due to this sexpot moniker that she was given. So, the extra weighty and meaty dramatic roles weren’t as forthcoming because the extra frivolous post-Marilyn Monroe-type roles.”
“She referred to as Hugh Hefner and mentioned, ‘I’ve this large Hollywood film now… please don’t publish the pictures. I’ll purchase them again from you,.’ He mentioned, ‘Oh no, you’ve a contract. We’re utilizing them.’”
Stella Stevens thought-about “Li’l Abner” her large break. (Silver Display screen Assortment/Getty Photographs)
Stevens was decided to be taken significantly as an actress. In keeping with the documentary, Stevens had zero need to look alongside Elvis Presley in 1962’s “Women! Women! Women!”.
“The studio was pushing her to do it,” Andrew defined. “On the time, only a few actors had any say over what the studio assigned them to do… Stella, fairly outspokenly, mentioned, ‘I don’t wish to be the lady that Elvis Presley leaves for an additional lady. That’s not what I keep in mind for my profession.’”
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Stella Stevens and Elvis Presley in a scene from the movie “Women! Women! Women!,” a film she detested. (Getty Photographs)
“She had simply completed a movie referred to as ‘Too Late Blues,’ directed by John Cassavetes, starring Bobby Darin,” Andrew identified. “It was this… dramatic piece. That’s the sort of work she was involved in doing. Not some frivolous fluff piece, though Elvis motion pictures had been very fashionable on the time. [But] no person took him significantly as an actor, and no person took them significantly.”
“She was having her personal struggles with attempting to be taken significantly after having posed in Playboy.”
Stella Stevens wished to work with Montgomery Clift, who’s seen right here with Marilyn Monroe in 1961’s “The Misfits.” The venture by no means occurred. (United Artists/Getty Photographs)
Whereas Stevens had “nice respect” for Presley, she urged the studio to not forged her within the movie. Stevens solely agreed to do it after she was promised to play reverse Montgomery Clift in her subsequent film. It by no means occurred.
Stella Stevens was decided to be taken significantly as an actress. She additionally wished to direct. (Silver Display screen Assortment/Getty Photographs)
Stevens detested the Presley flick and will by no means deliver herself to look at it.
There was one one that believed in Stevens’ expertise – Jerry Lewis. The comedian selected her to play his love curiosity in 1963’s “The Nutty Professor.”
“Stella and Jerry Lewis beloved one another,” mentioned Andrew. “That they had such an ideal collaborative working relationship. When Jerry bought the inexperienced gentle to shoot ‘The Nutty Professor’ at Paramount, he mentioned, ‘I would like essentially the most stunning lady you’ve below contract.’ And I feel he named the position Stella Purdy after Stella. They simply had a beautiful relationship.”
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Jerry Lewis named the character Stella Purdy after the actress. (Silver Display screen Assortment/Getty Photographs)
“I’ve fond reminiscences of figuring out Jerry Lewis and being on the set, watching him direct,” Andrew recalled. “… I feel he was an ideal mentor for Stella.”
Rising up, Andrew admitted that his relationship with Stevens was difficult.
She dropped out of highschool at 15 to marry Andrew’s father, Herman Stephens. The couple divorced in 1956, and he or she took Andrew to California, the place she might pursue an performing profession. His father and grandfather later confirmed up at her residence to take him again to Memphis, leading to an unsightly custody battle.
Andrew Stevens admitted that his relationship along with his well-known mom was difficult. (Courtesy of Andrew Stevens)
“The unlucky factor about each of them is that they had been infants having infants,” Andrew mirrored about his mother and father. “My mom was 16 and my father was 18 after I was born.Â
“My father barely graduated from highschool. My mom needed to stop highschool to remain residence and deal with me. She went to high school at evening to get a GED to have the ability to then go to Memphis State College… However neither one, fairly actually, was actually outfitted to deal with a toddler.”
Stella Stevens began performing and modeling throughout her time at Memphis State College. She made her movie debut in a minor position within the Bing Crosby musical “Say One for Me” in 1959. (Getty Photographs)
“… My desire would all the time have been to be in Memphis with my associates and the remainder of my household,” Andrew admitted. “I actually don’t begrudge my mom from wanting her youngster. However fairly frankly, neither of my mother and father had the products to have the ability to increase a child.”
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Stella Stevens additionally labored with Dean Martin in two movies. (Columbia Photos/Getty Photographs)
Whereas mom and son had “a number of durations of estrangement,” they bonded on set. She directed the 1989 movie “The Ranch,” which starred Andrew. He later directed her in 1991’s “The Terror Inside II.”
Stevens labored steadily in tv within the Nineteen Seventies and ’80s, showing in “Marvel Lady,” “Hart to Hart,” “The Love Boat” and “Evening Courtroom,” simply to call a couple of. She stayed busy till she might now not work as a consequence of Alzheimer’s illness.Â
To Stevens’ dismay, his mom wasn’t included within the Academy Awards’ annual “In Memoriam” phase, and he or she by no means obtained a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame.
Stella Stevens attends the Los Angeles Jewish Movie Competition opening evening gala on Might 8, 2010. (Amy Graves/WireImage/Getty Photographs)
“My mom deserved higher,” mentioned Andrew. “Although my life along with her was tumultuous and sophisticated and never all the time heat and fuzzy, time and distance have given me a brand new perspective on the influence she had.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
