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The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.

Events[link]

Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer. He had been a smoker since the 1940s.

Top grossing films (U.S.)[link]

Awards[link]

Academy Awards:

Best Picture: A Man for All Seasons - Highland, Columbia

Best Director: Fred Zinnemann - A Man for All Seasons

Best Actor: Paul Scofield - A Man for All Seasons

Best Actress: Elizabeth Taylor - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Supporting Actor: Walter Matthau - The Fortune Cookie

Best Supporting Actress: Sandy Dennis - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best Foreign Language Film: A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme), directed by Claude Lelouch, France

BAFTA Film Awards:

Best Film from any Source: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best British film: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

Golden Globe Awards:

Drama:

Best Picture: A Man for All Seasons

Best Actor: Paul Scofield - A Man for All Seasons

Best Actress: Anouk Aimée - A Man and a Woman

Musical or comedy:

Best Picture: The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming

Best Actor: Alan Arkin - The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming

Best Actress: Lynn Redgrave - Georgy Girl

Other

Best Director: Fred Zinnemann - A Man for All Seasons

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme), directed by Claude Lelouch, France

Signore & Signori (The Birds, the Bees and the Italians), directed by Pietro Germi, Italy

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeri), directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, Algeria / Italy

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Cul-de-sac, directed by Roman Polanski, United Kingdom

Films released in 1966[link]

U.S.A. unless stated

#

• 7 Women, the last film of John Ford, starring Anne Bancroft

A

• Aakhri Khat (The Last Letter) - (India)
• Agent for H.A.R.M.
• Alfie, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin - (U.K.)
• Alvarez Kelly
• Amrapali, starring Vyjayanthimala and Sunil Dutt - (India)
• Andrei Rublev, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky - (U.S.S.R.)
• The Appaloosa, starring Marlon Brando
• Arabesque, starring Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck
• L'armata Brancaleone, directed by Mario Monicelli - (Italy)
• Around the World Under the Sea, starring Lloyd Bridges
• Au hasard Balthazar (Chosen by Lot Balthazar), directed by Robert Bresson - (France/Sweden)
• Aybolit-66 - (U.S.S.R.)

B

• Bariera (Barrier), directed by Jerzy Skolimowski - (Poland)
• Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward
• The Battle of Algiers, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo - Golden Lion winner - (Italy/Algeria)
• Beregis Avtomobilya (Beware of the Automobile) - (U.S.S.R.)
• The Bible: In The Beginning, directed by John Huston, starring Stephen Boyd, Ava Gardner, Richard Harris
• The Big Gundown (La resa dei conti) - (Italy)
• A Big Hand for the Little Lady, starring Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards
• The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (Signore & Signori) - (Italy)
• Black Girl (La Noire de...), directed by Ousmane Sembène - (France/Senegal)
• Blowup, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, starring David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave -- winner of Palme d'Or, 1967 Cannes Film Festival - (Italy/U.K./U.S.)
• The Blue Max, starring George Peppard - (U.K.)
• Born Free, starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers - (U.K.)
• Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!, starring Bob Hope
• A Bullet for the General (El Chucho, quién sabe?), starring Gian Maria Volonte and Klaus Kinski - (Italy)

C

• Carry On Screaming! - (U.K.)
• Chappaqua, featuring William S. Burroughs
• The Chase, directed by Arthur Penn, starring Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Angie Dickinson, Robert Redford
• Chelsea Girls, directed by Andy Warhol, starring Nico
• Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky), directed by Jiří Menzel - Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film (1967) - (Czechoslovakia)
• Come Drink With Me - (Hong Kong)
• Cul-de-sac, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Donald Pleasence and Françoise Dorléac - Golden Bear winner - (U.K.)

D

• Daimajin - (Japan)
• Daisies (Sedmikrásky) - (Czechoslovakia)
• Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD - (U.K.)
• The Daydreamer
• Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, starring James Coburn
• The Deadly Affair, directed by Sidney Lumet - (U.K.)
• Death of a Bureaucrat (La Muerte de un Burócrata) - (Cuba)
• Django - (Italy/Spain)
• Don't Look Now, We're Being Shot At (La grande vadrouille) - (France/U.K.)
• Le deuxieme souffle, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville - (France
• Dracula: Prince of Darkness, starring Christopher Lee - (U.K.)
• Duel at Diablo, starring James Garner

E

• The Elusive Avengers - (U.S.S.R.)

F

• The Face of Another (Tanin no kao) - (Japan)
• Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, starring Julie Christie, Oskar Werner - (U.K.)
• The Family Way, a Boulting Brothers film, starring Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett - (U.K.)
• Fantastic Voyage, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch
• Fighting Elegy (けんかえれじい), directed by Seijun Suzuki - (Japan)
• Follow Me, Boys!, directed by Norman Tokar, starring Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles, Kurt Russell
• The Fortune Cookie (a.k.a. Meet Whiplash Willie), directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau
• Frankie and Johnny, starring Elvis Presley
• Funeral in Berlin, starring Michael Caine - (U.K.)
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, directed by Richard Lester, starring Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers, Michael Crawford - (U.S./U.K.)

G

• Gambit, starring Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine
• Gamera vs. Barugon - (Japan)
• Georgy Girl, directed by Silvio Narizzano, starring Lynn Redgrave, James Mason, Alan Bates - (U.K.)
• The Ghost and Mr. Chicken starring Don Knotts
• Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster - (Japan)
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach - (Italy)
• The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery - (U.K.)
• The Group, starring Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Jessica Walter

H

• Harper, starring Paul Newman, Robert Wagner, Lauren Bacall, Pamela Tiffin, Julie Harris, Janet Leigh
• Hawaii, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Julie Andrews, Max von Sydow, Richard Harris
• Here's Your Life (Här har du ditt liv) - (Sweden)
• How To Steal a Million, directed by William Wyler, starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole
• Hunger - (Denmark/Norway/Sweden)
• The Hunt (La Caza), directed by Carlos Saura - (Spain)

I

• Is Paris Burning? (Paris brûle-t-il?), directed by Rene Clement, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron - (France/U.S.A.)
• It Happened Here - (U.K.)

J

• Johnny Reno, starring Jane Russell
• Judith - (Israel/U.K./U.S.)

K

• Khartoum, directed by Basil Dearden, starring Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier - (U.K.)
• King of Hearts (Le Roi de Cœur), directed by Philipe de Broca, starring Alan Bates - (France)
• Kriminal - (Italy/Spain)

L

• Let's Kill Uncle
• Lord Love a Duck
• Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N., starring Dick Van Dyke, Nancy Kwan

M

• Madame X
• Mademoiselle, directed by Tony Richardson, starring Jeanne Moreau - (France/U.K.)
• Mamta, starring Ashok Kumar - (India)
• A Man and a Woman, directed by Claude Lelouch, starring Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant -- Palme d'Or winner - (France)
• The Man Called Flintstone
• A Man for All Seasons, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles - winner of 6 Academy Awards and 5 BAFTAs - (U.K.)
• "Manos" The Hands of Fate
• Masculine-Feminine by Jean-Luc Godard - (France)
• Mera Saaya, starring Sunil Dutt - (India)
• Mission to Death
• Morgan! (aka Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment), directed by Karel Reisz - (U.K.)
• Murderers' Row, starring Dean Martin

N

• The Naked Prey, starring Cornel Wilde - (U.S./South Africa)
• Nayak, directed by Satyajit Ray - (India)
• Nevada Smith, starring Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Martin Landau, Suzanne Pleshette, Brian Keith
• Nobody Wanted to Die - (U.S.S.R.)
• The Nun (La Religieuse), directed by Jacques Rivette, starring Anna Karina - (France)

O

• One Million Years B.C., starring Raquel Welch - (U.K.)
• The Oscar, starring Stephen Boyd, Elke Sommer, Jill St. John, Tony Bennett
• Our Man Flint, starring James Coburn

P

• Paradise, Hawaiian Style, starring Elvis Presley
• Penelope, starring Natalie Wood
• Persona, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullman - (Sweden)
• Pharaoh - (Poland)
• The Plague of the Zombies - (U.K.)
• The Pornographers, directed by Shohei Imamura - (Japan)
• The Priest and the Girl (O Padre e a Moça) - (Brazil)
• The Professionals, starring Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale

R

• The Rare Breed, starring James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara
• A Report on the Party and the Guests (O slavnosti a hostech), directed by Jan Němec - (Czechoslovakia)
• Return of the Seven, starring Yul Brynner
• Roman Candles, directed by John Waters
• Rondo - (Yugoslavia)
• Run, Appaloosa, Run
• The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Alan Arkin and Eva Marie Saint

S

• The Sand Pebbles, directed by Robert Wise, starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen
• The Sandwich Man - (U.K.)
• Seconds, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Rock Hudson
• Shiroi Kyotō - (Japan)
• The Shooting, starring Warren Oates, Jack Nicholson
• The Shop on Main Street (U.S. release)
• The Silencers, starring Dean Martin
• The Singing Nun, starring Debbie Reynolds and Greer Garson
• Spinout, starring Elvis Presley
• Suraj, starring Vyjayanthimala and Rajendra Kumar - (India)
• The Sword of Doom (Dai-bosatsu tōge) - (Japan)

T

• Teesri Kasam (Third Oath), starring Raj Kapoor - (India)
• They're a Weird Mob by Powell and Pressburger - (Australia)
• This Property is Condemned, starring Natalie Wood
• Three On A Couch, starring Jerry Lewis
• Torn Curtain, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews
• The Trap - (U.K./Canada)
• Triple Cross, starring Christopher Plummer, Claudine Auger and Gert Frobe - (U.K./(France)
• The Trouble with Angels, directed by Ida Lupino, starring Rosalind Russell and Hayley Mills
• Trunk to Cairo, directed by Menahem Golan - (Israel)

W

• Walk Don't Run, starring Cary Grant
• The War Is Over (La Guerre est Finie), directed by Alain Resnais, starring Yves Montand and Ingrid Thulin - (France)
• War of the Gargantuas - (Japan)
• Way...Way Out, starring Jerry Lewis
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, directed by Mike Nichols, starring Elizabeth Taylor, (Best Actress Oscar), Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis
• The Wild Angels, starring Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra
• Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (animated short)
• The Wrong Box, starring Peter Sellers, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore - (U.K.)

Y

• The Young Rounders
• Young Torless, directed by Volker Schlöndorff - (West Germany)

Short Film Series[link]

• Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
• Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
• Sylvester the Cat (1944-1966)
• Speedy Gonzales (1953–1968)
• Daffy Duck (1937–1968)

Births[link]

• January 6 - A. R. Rahman, Indian composer
• January 13 - Patrick Dempsey, actor
• February 25 - Téa Leoni, actress
• April 8 - Robin Wright Penn, actress
• April 9 - Cynthia Nixon, actress
• May 20 - Helena Bonham Carter, actress
• June 28 - John Cusack, actor, brother of actress Joan Cusack
• June 28 - Mary Stuart Masterson, actress
• July 10- A.O. Scott, film critic of The New York Times
• July 11 - Debbe Dunning, actress
• July 15 - Irène Jacob, actress
• July 29 - Martina McBride, popular country singer
• August 14 - Halle Berry, actress
• September 2 - Salma Hayek, actress
• September 9 - Adam Sandler, American actor
• November 17 - Sophie Marceau, actress
• November 23 - Vincent Cassel, actor
• December 21 - Kiefer Sutherland, actor

Deaths[link]

• January 14 - Barry Fitzgerald, 72, Irish actor
• January 22 - Herbert Marshall, 75, British actor
• January 31 - Elizabeth Patterson, 90, American actress
• February 1 - Buster Keaton, 70, American actor and film director
• February 1 - Hedda Hopper, 80, American gossip columnist and former actress
• February 9 - Sophie Tucker, 82, Russian-born American singer and actress
• June 5 - Natacha Rambova, 69, American actress
• June 19 - Ed Wynn, 79, American actor
• July 23 - Montgomery Clift, 45, American actor
• July 23 - Douglass Montgomery, 59, American actor
• August 3 - Lenny Bruce, 40, American satirist, Father of modern stand up
• August 15 - Jan Kiepura, 64, Polish tenor and actor
• August 15 - Seena Owen, 71, American actress
• August 23 - Francis X. Bushman, 83, American actor
• October 13 - Clifton Webb, 76, American actor
• October 16 - George O'Hara, 67, American actor
• October 24 - Hans Dreier, 81, German art director of European and American films
• December 14 - Richard Whorf, 60, American actor and director
• December 15 - Walter Disney, 65, American producer and cartoonist
• September 14 - Nikolay Cherkasov, 63, Soviet Actor

Debuts[link]

• Michael Douglas
• Harrison Ford
• Christopher Walken

References[link]

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since May 2009. It may contain wording that merely promotes the subject without imparting verifiable information. Tagged since December 2011. Its tone or style may not reflect the formal tone used on Wikipedia. Tagged since May 2009.

Sabiha Khanum (Punjabi, Urdu: صبیحہ خانم, born Mukhtar Begum, 16 October, 1935, Gujrat) is a Pakistani film actress. She was the leading star of Pakistani cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. She would continue to play successful character roles later in life.

Most of Sabiha's movies were with her husband, the late Santosh Kumar (Musa Raza). Sabiha and Santosh were highly regarded as performers, and movie-goers loved to see them together.

Early life[link]

Mukhtar Begum is the daughter of Mohammad Ali (Maahia) from Dehli and Iqbal Begum (Baalu) from Amritsar, Punjab, India. She was raised in a conservative rural environment by her grandparents, but got her first acting opportunity on stage in Lahore, after moving there to be with her father.

A cultural delegation visited a cinema house in Sialkot, Pakistan in 1948. Mukhtar Begum, who was part of the delegation, sang the Punjabi song "Kithay gae yoon pardesia way" from the film Sassi Punnoon (which starred Baalu and Aslam). The performance was praised, and soon Mohammad Ali introduced his daughter to a noted stage drama writer and poet, Nafees Khaleeli. Noting her determination, Khaleeli offered her a role in the drama But shikan, which she accepted. Nafees Khaleeli gave her the screen name of Sabiha Khanum.

Career[link]

On Nafees Khaleeli's request, the film director Masood Pervez offered her a role in the film Beli, giving Sabiha her debut as a film actress in 1948. Beli was also the first film of Masood Pervez as director; the cast was Santosh, Shaheena and Sabiha.

Next Sabiha played the role of 'Noori' in famous director/producer Anwar Kamal Pasha's silver jubilee film Do aansoo, starring Santosh, Gulshan Ara and Sabiha. Do aansoo takes a realistic approach to the tragedy both in scenery and characterization. The film was the crowning achievement of the then movie crew.

Sabiha gained immense prominence in her next movie Aaghosh, Direced by Murtaza Jilani, starring Santosh, Sabiha, and Gulshan Ara. The secret of Sabiha's success in the Pakistani cinema includes flexibility, rooted in love and understanding, in addition to the fact that she is an embodiment of courage, kindness and decency. In the annals of Pakistani film industry, she dazzled cine-goers in the 1950s. Her role, in the film 'Ghulam', released in 1953, directed by Anwar Kamal Pasha, with Santosh was excellent. Her motivation was always clear and resolute. Directors admired her ability to improvise because she was unquestionably talented and irrepressibly ambitious.

Her role in the film Gum naam is a testament to her magnificent artistic calibre. The movie was directed by Anwar Kamal Pasha, starring Seema, Sudhir and Sabiha. This film is a parable about a mentally retarded girl, smartly dubbed by Sabiha, is a pleasure to watch. Further, the interesting story actually carries the film through to the end.

The high profile reputation which Sabiha achieved in the 1950s and 1960s as an actress has increased manifold. She played the role of 'Nooran' in the romantic Punjabi film, directed by M.S. Daar. Her character in the film Dula Bhatti is, indeed, an achievement of a lifetime.

Sabiha was cast opposite all renowned actors of her time. However, she will be remembered most for her films with Santosh Kumar. Along the way, she found the love of her life - Santosh Kumar. Once married, they enjoyed a great future together, which destiny showers on very few film couples.

Movie-goers were treated to a succession of films about popular romance like the film Wada (Sabiha,Santosh). This film was followed by another spate of magnificent movies, which provided countless hours of pleasure to millions of their fans. Paasbaan, Sheikh Chilli, Aas paas, Sassi, Sohni, Choti begum, Daata, Hatim, Aaj kal, Dil mein tu, Ayaz, Mehfil, Pervaaz, Tufaan, and Pholay Khan are a few names to mention.

The push to reach the zenith did fire her imagination since her earlier days. Her genius in succeeding was largely based on character-patience, self-discipline, rationality and inner resolve. Moreover, her independence of mind and ability to focus on her work also served her well.

Sabiha's achievement along with Santosh Kumar in the following films is still a worthy yardstick: Saat lakh, Darbar, Sardar, Saltanat, Mukhra, Muskurahat, Rishta, Hasrat, Ishrat, Shikwa, Teray baghair, Mauseeqar, Dulhan, Kaneez, Dewar bhabi, Shaam dhalay, Shahenshah Jehangir, Pak daman, Anjuman, Sarfarosh, Inteqaam, Qatil, Sawaal, Commander, and Mohabbat.

Her unparalleled performance in innumerable movies is classic characterizations which viewers watch with glee to this day. Her role in the film Anjuman was not only unique for her, but a real life test of integrity as well. Confidence in one's own judgment, she realized early on, is what matters most. She won the hearts of her fans with her role in the following films: Director Hasan Tariq's films Tehzeeb and Ik gunah aur sahi, Director Zia Sarhadi's film Rah guzar, Director Zahoor Raja's film Deewana and Director Jameel Akhtar's film Aik Raat.

Sabiha, the first lady of the Pakistani silver screen, won the pride of performance award from the government of Pakistan, and her face was lit by a smile. Her look is simple and it is simply everywhere. To talk of her in the twenty first century is to perceive the style and the substance of a graceful lady who defined two generations. Her four decades of meritorious work in the Pakistani cinema brought her numerous laurels from virtually everywhere. Her bright smile speaks for her in many ways. She also appeared in drama serials from Karachi and Lahore television stations. She depicts the wit and homespun wisdom of ordinary Pakistanis. Her brand of patriotism and her down-home style had wide appeal.

The following two national songs, which she sang, sparked patriotism, renewed inspiration and symbolized in today's terms the Pakistani dream of human achievement and the unrelenting march toward betterment:

• Sohni dharti Allah rakhay qadam qadam aabad tujhay
• Jug jug jeeye mera pyara watan, lub pay dua hai dil mein lagun

In Anwar Maqsood's stage show, Silver Jubilee, she rendered the following song Yaad karoon tujhay sham saweray from the film Mauseeqar. As the final lyrics faded away that evening, the audience stood and applauded, paying her great tribute. Though most of the people, belonging to that 'nostalgic era' are now dead but her performance in the films speaks volumes.

Sabiha, who has been in the public eye for four decades, at last retired, and now lives with her eldest daughter in U.S.A. Her son and the youngest daughter are also settled there.

Awards[link]

Sabiha Khanum has won several Nigar awards:

• Best actress for the film Saat lakh in 1957
• Best actress for the film Shikwa in 1963
• Best actress for the film Dewar bhabi in 1967
• Best actress for the film Ik gunah aur sahi in 1975
• Special award for her thirty years of acting career in 1981
• Best supporting actress in director Hasan Tariq's film Sungdil in 1982

Filmography[link]

External links[link]

• Sabiha Khanum - First Lady of Pakistani Cinema
• Interview with Sabiha Khanum
• Sabiha Khanum - Profile
• Sabiha Khanum at the Internet Movie Database

Jayne Mansfield
Mansfield in The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
Born	Vera Jayne Palmer (1933-04-19)April 19, 1933 Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Died	June 29, 1967(1967-06-29) (aged 34) Slidell, Louisiana
Cause of death	Traffic accident
Resting place	Fairview Cemetery, Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania 40°52.08′N 75°15.20′W / 40.868°N 75.2533°W / 40.868; -75.2533
Other names	Vera Jayne Peers, Vera Palmer
Occupation	Actress, singer, Playmate, nightclub entertainer, model
Years active	1954-1967
Notable work(s)	The Girl Can't Help It, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, Too Hot to Handle, The Wayward Bus, Promises! Promises!
Television	The Red Skelton Hour, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show
Spouse	Paul Mansfield (m. 1950–1958) «start: (1950)–end+1: (1959)»"Marriage: Paul Mansfield to Jayne Mansfield" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jayne_Mansfield) Miklós Hargitay (m. 1958–1964) «start: (1958)–end+1: (1965)»"Marriage: Miklós Hargitay to Jayne Mansfield" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jayne_Mansfield) Matt Cimber (m. 1964–1966) «start: (1964)–end+1: (1967)»"Marriage: Matt Cimber to Jayne Mansfield" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jayne_Mansfield)
Children	Jayne Marie Mansfield (b. 1950) Miklós "Mickey" Hargitay, Jr. (b. 1958) Zoltán Hargitay (b. 1960) Mariska Hargitay (b. 1964) Antonio "Tony" Cimber (b. 1965)
Parents	Herbert William Palmer (1904–1936) Vera Jeffrey Palmer/Peers (1903–2000)
Awards	Theatre World Award (1956); Golden Globe for New Star Of The Year – Actress (1957); Golden Laurel for Top Female Musical Performance (1959)
Signature
Website
http://www.jaynemansfield.com/

Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American film, television and theater actress. In February 1955, she became one of the early Playmates. Keeping her first husband's last name, Mansfield worked in Hollywood and on Broadway.^[1] A leading sex symbol during the late 1950s, she was one of the original blonde bombshells.^[2] Mansfield starred in several popular Hollywood films which emphasized her platinum-blonde hair, hourglass figure and cleavage-revealing costumes. 20th Century Fox signed a six-year contact with Mansfield to replace Marilyn Monroe as their resident blonde sex symbol. Throughout her career, she was compared by the media to Monroe and another sex symbol, Mamie Van Doren. Mansfield was a Playboy Playmate of the Month and appeared in several issues of the magazine.

Although many people have never seen her movies, Jayne Mansfield remains, long after her death, one of the most recognizable icons of 1950s celebrity culture.^[3] Her statuesque figure (she claimed dimensions of 40-21-35), her unique sashaying walk, and her breathy baby talk made history.^[4] "From 1955 until the early 1960s, Mansfield reigned as Hollywood's gaudiest, boldest D-cupped B-grade actress" and was known as "the working man's Monroe".^[5]

Mansfield became a major Broadway star in 1955, a major movie star in 1956, the darling of the movie community in 1957, and a box-office has-been in 1958.^[6] While Mansfield's film career was short-lived, she had several box office successes and won a Theatre World Award, a Golden Globe and a Golden Laurel. In 1955, she enjoyed success with Broadway musical Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and its film version. She is remembered for starring roles in Rock Hunter? (1957) and the comedy film The Girl Can't Help It (1956), both films produced by 20th Century Fox. Of her rare dramatic roles, The Wayward Bus (1957) is regarded as the best. She also sang for studio recordings, including the album Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky & Me and the singles Suey and As the Clouds Drift by (with Jimi Hendrix, one of the most influential musicians of his era).^[7] Mansfield's notable television work included The Red Skelton Show (1959–1963) and The Ed Sullivan Show (1957).

Her career declined first to low-budget foreign movies and major Las Vegas nightclub dates; then to television guest appearances; next to touring plays and minor Las Vegas nightclub dates; and finally ended in small nightclub dates.^[6] As the demand for blonde bombshells declined during the 1960s, Mansfield remained a popular celebrity, continuing to attract large crowds outside the U.S. and in lucrative and successful nightclub tours. Her film career continued with lower-budget melodramas and comedies (many filmed in the United Kingdom and Europe), including Heimweh nach St. Pauli and L'Amore Primitivo. In the independent film Promises! Promises! (1963), she became the first major American actress to have a nude starring role in a Hollywood motion picture. Despite initial success, her later career dwindled into cheap European films, slapped-together American quickies like Single Room Furnished (1965), and plenty of nightclub and summer-theater work.^[8]

Mansfield was married three times: first to her childhood sweetheart Paul Mansfield (1950–1958), then to actor–bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay (1958–1963) and finally to film director Matt Cimber (1964–1966). She had five children: Jayne Marie Mansfield (born 1950), Miklós Jeffrey Palmer Hargitay (born 1958), Zoltán Anthony Hargitay (born 1960), actress Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (born 1964) and Antonio "Tony" Cimber (born 1965). Mansfield died in an automobile accident at age 34.

Early life and education[link]

Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer on April 19, 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She was the only child of Herbert William (1904–1936), of German ancestry, and Vera Jeffrey Palmer (1903–2000), of English descent.^[9] Vera Jayne's father, Elmer E Palmer, was from the largely Cornish area of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania,^[10] where he was involved with the slate industry.^[11] She inherited more than $90,000.00 from her Elmer ($724,983 in 2012 dollars^[12]) and more that $36,000.00 from her maternal grandmother Alice Jane Palmer in 1958 ($289,993 in 2012 dollars^[12]).^[11][13] Jayne spent her early childhood in Phillipsburg, New Jersey,^[14] where her father was an attorney who practiced with future New Jersey governor Robert B. Meyner. In 1936, when Jayne was three years old, Herbert William died of a heart attack while driving a car with his wife and daughter. Following his death, Jayne's mother worked as a teacher. In 1939 Vera Palmer married sales engineer Harry Lawrence Peers and the family moved to Dallas, Texas,^[15] where Jayne was known as Vera Jayne Peers.^[16][17] She married Paul James Mansfield (a student at the University of Dallas) on May 10, 1950. Their daughter, Jayne Marie Mansfield, was born on November 8, 1950.

Frequent references have been made to Jayne's very high IQ, which she claimed was 163, and her ability to speak five languages.^[18] Jayne graduated from Highland Park High School in 1950.^{[19][20][21][22]} While in high school, Jayne took lessons in violin, piano and viola. She also studied Spanish and German.^[23][24] She consistently received high Bs in school (including in mathematics).^[25] After marriage, Jayne and Paul enrolled into Southern Methodist University to study acting, where lacking finances to afford day care, carried around her daughter Jayne Marie.^[26][8][27] In 1951, she moved to Austin, Texas, with Paul, and studied dramatics at the University of Texas at Austin, until her junior year.^{[20][21][22][26]} While attending the University of Texas, she worked as a nude model for art classes, sold books door-to-door, and worked in the evenings as receptionist of a dance studio.^[28][29][30] While studying and trying to earn a living, she joined the Curtain Club (a campus theatrical society, at that time also had Tom Jones, Harvey Schmidt, Rip Torn, and Pat Hingle among its members)^[29][31][32] and was active at the Austin Civic Theater.^[29]

In 1952, she moved back to Dallas and for several months, became a student of actor Baruch Lumet, who was father of director Sidney Lumet and founder of the newly founded and now defunct Dallas Institute of Performing Arts.^[33][34][35] Lumet called Jayne and Rip Torn his "kids", and seeing her potential, provided her private lessons.^[20][36] Paul was then called to the United States Army Reserve for the Korean War.^[30] Her life became easier with Paul's army allotment.^[37] After spending a year at Camp Gordon, Georgia (a US Army training facility) they moved to Los Angeles in 1954, where Jayne studied Theater Arts at UCLA during the summer,^[21][20] and returned to Texas to spend the fall quarter at Southern Methodist University.^[38] While in California, she left Jayne Marie with her maternal grandparents (Jayne's parents).^[30] She managed to maintain a B grade average, between a variety of odd jobs, including: a stint as a candy vendor at a movie theater (where caught the eye of a TV producer)^[8], a part-time model at the Blue Book Model Agency (where Marilyn Monroe was first noticed),^[39] and working as a photographer at Esther Williams' nightclub, the Trail.^[40][38][26] She would later complain that the public did not care about her brains. "They're more interested in 40–21–35", she said.^[41] She was reputed to be Hollywood's "smartest dumb blonde".^[27]

Early career[link]

During her tenure at the University of Texas at Austin, Mansfield won several beauty contests, including: Miss Photoflash, Miss Magnesium Lamp, and Miss Fire Prevention Week. The only title she refused was Miss Roquefort Cheese, because she believed it "just didn't sound right".^[43] Mansfield accepted a bit part in a B-grade film titled Prehistoric Women (produced by Alliance Productions, alternatively titled The Virgin Goddess) in 1950.^[30] In 1952, while at Dallas, she and Paul participated in small local-theater productions of The Slaves of Demon Rum and Ten Nights in a Barroom, and Anything Goes in Camp Gordon, Georgia. After Paul left for military service, Mansfield first appeared on stage in a production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman on October 22, 1953, with the players of the Knox Street Theater, headed by Lumet.^[38]

While at UCLA she entered the Miss California contest (hiding her marital status), and won the local round before withdrawing.^[44] Early in her career the prominence of her breasts was considered problematic and led her to be cut from her first professional assignment: an advertising campaign for General Electric, which depicted several young women in bathing suits relaxing around a pool.^[45] In 1954, she auditioned at both Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. for a part in The Seven Year Itch but failed to impress.^[38] That year, she landed her first acting assignment in Lux Video Theatre, a series on CBS ("An Angel Went AWOL", October 21, 1954).^[38] In the show she sat at the piano and delivered a few lines of dialogue for $300.00.^[46]

She posed nude for the February 1955 issue of Playboy, an event that helped launch Mansfield's career^[47] and increased the magazine's circulation;^[48] Playboy had begun publishing from publisher–editor Hugh Hefner's kitchen the year before.^[49] In 1964, the magazine repeated the pictorial.^[50] Photos from that pictorial was reprinted in a number of Playboy issues, including: December 1965 ("The Playboy Portfolio of Sex Stars"), January 1979 ("25 Beautiful Years"), January 1984 ("30 Memorable Years"), January 1989 ("Women Of The Fifties"), January 1994 ("Remember Jayne"), November 1996 ("Playboy Gallery"), August 1999 ("Playboy's Sex Stars of the Century"; Special edition), and January 2000 ("Centerfolds Of The Century").

Film career[link]

Career beginnings (mid-1950s)[link]

Mansfield's first film part was the supporting role of Candy Price in Female Jungle (1955), a low-budget drama which was completed in 10 days. Her part was filmed in only a few days, and she received $150 for her performance ($1,301 in 2012 dollars^[12]). Female Jungle was released in January 1955 by producer Burt Kaiser. That year Paul Wendkos offered Mansfield the dramatic role of Gladden in The Burglar (1957), his film adaptation of David Goodis' novel. The film was done in film noir style, and Mansfield appeared alongside Dan Duryea and Martha Vickers. The Burglar was released two years later, when Mansfield's fame was at its peak. She was successful in this straight dramatic role, although most of her subsequent film appearances would be either comedic or capitalize on her sex appeal.

On February 8, 1955, Mansfield was signed by Warner Bros. to a six-month contract after one of its talent scouts discovered her in a production at the Pasadena Playhouse. She filed for divorce from Paul the same day.^[51] Warner wanted Mansfield as its version of the popular (and lucrative) Marilyn Monroe of 20th Century Fox. Mansfield was given a bit part in Pete Kelly's Blues (1955), starring and directed by Jack Webb. She made one more movie with Warner Bros., which gave her another small (but significant) role as Angela O'Hara opposite Edward G. Robinson in Illegal (1955). The film offered another rare serious performance by Mansfield. After leaving Warner Bros. she made an uncredited cameo appearance in Hell on Frisco Bay (1955), starring Alan Ladd.

Film stardom (late 1950s)[link]

Trailer of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)

Mansfield at the premiere of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? in Stockholm, Sweden

In 1955, Mansfield enjoyed a successful Broadway run in the musical Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. She returned to Hollywood on May 3, 1956 with no work and a $20,000.00 mink coat ($170,967 in 2012 dollars^[12]).^[27] 20th Century Fox signed a six-year contract with her immediately. The studio wanted Mansfield to replace Marilyn Monroe (their resident blonde bombshell), and promoted her as "Marilyn Monroe King-Sized".^[52]

Mansfield received her first starring film role as Jerri Jordan in the Frank Tashlin's The Girl Can't Help It (1956).^[53] The film, originally titled Do-Re-Mi, featured a high-profile cast of contemporary rock and roll and R&B artists including Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Fats Domino, The Platters and Little Richard.^[54] Mansfield then played a dramatic role in The Wayward Bus (1957) adapted from John Steinbeck's novel. In this film, she attempted to move away from her "blonde bombshell" image and establish herself as a serious actress. It enjoyed reasonable success at the box office, and Mansfield won a Golden Globe in 1957 for New Star Of The Year – Actress (beating Carroll Baker and Natalie Wood) for her performance as a "wistful derelict". It was "generally conceded to have been her best acting", according to The New York Times, in a fitful career hampered by her flamboyant image, distinctive voice ("a soft-voiced coo punctuated with squeals"), voluptuous figure and limited acting range.^[55]

She reprised her role of Rita Marlowe in the 1957 film version of Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, co-starring Tony Randall and Joan Blondell. 20th Century Fox launched their new blonde bombshell with a 40-day 16-country tour of Europe for the studio in 1957. She attended the premier of Rock Hunter (release as Oh! For a man in UK) in London, and met the Queen of England as part of the tour.^[56][57][58]

Mansfield's fourth starring role in a Hollywood film was in Kiss Them for Me (1957), in which she received prominent billing alongside Cary Grant. However, in the film itself she is little more than comic relief; Grant's character prefers a sleek, demure redhead played by fashion model Suzy Parker. Kiss Them for Me was described as "vapid" and "ill-advised", and was a box-office disappointment. The film was Mansfield's final starring role in a mainstream Hollywood studio film.^[59] It also marked one of the last attempts by 20th Century Fox to publicize her.^[60]

The continuing publicity surrounding Mansfield's physical appearance failed to sustain her career.^[61] She was offered a part opposite James Stewart and Jack Lemmon in the romantic comedy Bell, Book and Candle (1958), but had to turn it down because of her pregnancy. Mansfield's rival, Kim Novak, would replace her in the film. In 1958, Fox gave Mansfield the lead role as Kate opposite Kenneth More in the western spoof The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw. Although it was filmed in 1958, it was not released in the United States until 1959. The film required Mansfield to sing three songs. But, since she was not a trained singer, the studio dubbed Mansfield's voice with that of singer/actress Connie Francis.^[62][63] When released in the United States, it became her last mainstream film success. Following The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw Fox tried to cast Mansfield opposite Paul Newman in Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!, his ill-fated first attempt at comedy. However, after intense lobbying by Newman and Joanne Woodward she was replaced by Mansfield's Wayward Bus co-star Joan Collins.^[64]

Career decline (early 1960s)[link]

Promises! Promises!, the first Hollywood motion picture with sound to feature a mainstream star in the nude^[65]

Despite her publicity and popularity, Mansfield had no quality film roles after 1959. She starred in a series of low-budget films, the majority made in Europe.^[66] These films are largely obscure, and some are considered lost. In 1959, Fox cast her to appear in two independent gangster thrillers in England: The Challenge (co-starring Anthony Quayle) and Too Hot to Handle (co-starring Christopher Lee). Both films were low-budget, and their American releases were delayed. Too Hot to Handle was not released in the United States until 1961 as Playgirl After Dark, while The Challenge would not be seen by American audiences until 1963 under the title It Takes a Thief. In the USA, censors objected to a scene in Too Hot to Handle where Mansfield was nearly nude (wearing sliver netting, with sequins painted over her nipples).^[67]

When Mansfield returned to Hollywood in mid-1960, 20th Century-Fox cast her in It Happened in Athens (1962). She received first billing above the title, but only appeared in a supporting role. It Happened in Athens starred a handsome newcomer: Trax Colton, an "unknown" whom Fox was trying to mold into a heartthrob. This Olympic Games-based film was shot in Greece in fall 1960, but was unreleased until June 1962. It was a box-office failure, and Mansfield's 20th Century-Fox contract was dropped.

In 1961 Mansfield agreed to play Lisa Lang in The George Raft Story, starring Ray Danton as Raft. She accepted the part primarily for the money, and because the film was going to be filmed in Hollywood rather than Europe. Soon after the release of The George Raft Story, Mansfield returned to European films. Over the next few years she appeared primarily in low-budget foreign films such as Panic Button (Italy), Heimweh nach St. Pauli (Germany), Einer frisst den anderen (Germany) and L'Amore Primitivo (Italy).

In 1963, Tommy Noonan persuaded Mansfield to become the first mainstream American actress to appear nude in a starring role in the film Promises! Promises!. Nude photographs of Mansfield on the set were published in the June 1963 issue of Playboy, which resulted in obscenity charges against Hugh Hefner in Chicago city court.^[68] Promises! Promises! was banned in Cleveland, but enjoyed box-office success elsewhere. As a result of the film's success, Mansfield landed on the Top 10 list of box-office attractions for that year.^[69] The autobiographical Jayne Mansfield's Wild, Wild World (which she co-authored with her then-husband, Mickey Hargitay), published immediately after Promises! Promises!, contained 32 pages of black-and-white photographs from the film on glossy paper.^[70]

Career end (late 1960s)[link]

Soon after her success in Promises! Promises! Mansfield was chosen from many other actresses to replace the recently-deceased Marilyn Monroe in Kiss Me, Stupid, a romantic comedy which would co-star Dean Martin. She turned the role down due to her pregnancy with daughter Mariska, and was replaced with Kim Novak.

In 1966 Mansfield was cast in Single Room Furnished, directed by then-husband Matt Cimber. The film required Mansfield to portray three different characters, and was Mansfield's first starring dramatic role in several years. It was briefly released in 1966 but did not enjoy a full release until 1968, almost a year after her death. After Single Room Furnished wrapped Mansfield was cast opposite Mamie Van Doren and Ferlin Husky in The Las Vegas Hillbillys, a low-budget comedy from Woolner Brothers. Despite her career setbacks, Mansfield remained a highly-visible celebrity during the early 1960s with her publicity antics and stage performances. In early 1967, Mansfield filmed her last film role: a cameo in A Guide for the Married Man, a comedy starring Walter Matthau, Robert Morse and Inger Stevens. Mansfield received seventh billing as "Girl with Harold".^[71] Before her tragic death Mansfield's time was split between nightclub performances and the production of her last film: A Guide for the Married Man, a big-budget production directed by Gene Kelly.

Stage career[link]

Mansfield acted both on stage and in films. She was a student of acting, theater arts and dramatic in college and with Baruch Lumet. She started acting with campus clubs and summer stock theatre. Her first big break was at Broadway. In her later career she was more busy on stage, performing and making appearances with her nightclub acts, club engagements and performance tours.

Theater[link]

During her tenure at Dallas, she and Paul participated in a number of local theater productions. Between 1951 and 1953 she acted in The Slaves of Demon Rum, Ten Nights in a Barroom and Anything Goes. Her performance in an October 1953 production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman in Dallas, Texas attracted Paramount Pictures to audition her.^[72] Lumet trained her for the audition.^[20] In 1955, she went to New York and appeared in the Broadway production of George Axelrod's comedy Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?, also featuring Orson Bean and Walter Matthau. She starred as Rita Marlowe (a wild, blonde Hollywood starlet a la Monroe) in the musical that spoofed Hollywood. In the production her wardrobe principally consisted of bath-towel.^[73][74] Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times described the "commendable abandon" of her scantily-clad rendition of Rita Marlowe in the play as "a platinum-pated movie siren with the wavy contours of Marilyn Monroe".^[75] Her acting drew attention of comedy director Frank Tashlin, who regarded Mansfield as a "living cartoon" and cast in the film version of the play.^[8] She performed in 450 shows of the play between 1955-56.^[76] She was considered one of the biggest Broadway to Hollywood success stories.^[26]

In 1964, she performed in stage productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (at Carousel Theater) and Bus Stop (at Yonker Playhouse). Both co-starred Mickey Hargitay and were well-reviewed.^[77][78] She toured small towns in the US alternating between the two plays.^[79] In 1965, she performed in another pair of plays – Rabbit Habit (at Latin Quarter) and Champagne Complex (at Pabst Theater). Both were directed by Matt Cimbers and were poorly-reviewed.^[80][81]

Nightclub[link]

In February 1958, Tropicana Las Vegas launched Mansfield's striptease revue The Tropicana Holiday (produced by Monte Proser, co-starring Mickey Hargitay) under a four weeks contract which was extended to eight.^[82][83][84] The opening night raised $20,000.00 for March of Dimes ($161,107 in 2012 dollars^[12]). She received $25,000.00 per week for her performance as Trixie Divoon in the show ($201,384 in 2012 dollars^[12]), while her contract with 20th Century Fox was paying her $2,500.00 per week ($20,138 in 2012 dollars^[12]).^[85][86][87] She had a million-dollar policy with Lloyd's of London in case of Hargitay dropping her as he whirled Mansfield around for the show.^[88][89] When three of her films – The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw, The Loves of Hercules and It Happened in Athens – failed at the box office, Mansfield turned to Las Vegas again. In December 1960, Dunes hotel and casino launched Mansfield's revue The House of Love (produced by Jack Cole, co-starring Hargitay). She received $35,000.00 a week as her salary ($274,961 in 2012 dollars^[12]), which was the highest in her career.^[90][91] Her wardrobe for the shows at Tropicana and Dunes featured a gold mesh dress with sequins to cover her nipples and pubic region.^[82][76][92] That controversial sheer dress that was referred to as "Jayne Mansfiled and a few sequins".^[93] She returned to Las Vegas in 1966, but her show was staged at Fremont Street, away from the Strip where Tropicana and Dunes was.^[82] Her last nightclub act French Dressing was at Latin Quarter in New York in 1966.^[94] It was a modified version of the Tropicana show, and ran for six weeks with fair success.^[95]

20th Century Fox Records subsequently recorded the The House of Love for an album entitled Jayne Mansfield Busts Up Las Vegas in 1962. In 1967, independent documentary Spree (alternative title Las Vegas by Night) on the antiques of Las Vegas entertainers was released. The film, narrated as a part of a travelogue of Vic Damone and Juliet Prowse, featured Mansfield, Hargitay, Constance Moore and Clara Ward as guest stars. Mansfield strips and sings "Promise Her Anything" from the film Promises! Promises!.^[96][97][98] A court order prohibited using any of the guest stars to promote the film.^[99][100] In 1966, Matt Cimbers directed The Las Vegas Hillbillys, a low-budget poorly-reviewed film featuring Mansfield, Ferlin Husky and Mamie Van Doren in the lead. Mansfield and her arch-rival Van Doren did not appear in single frame together.^[76] Mansfield's wardrobe, in her role as Las Vegas show girl Tawni Downs, consisted of the shapeless styles of the 1960s to hide her weight problems after the birth of her fifth child.^[101]

Television career[link]

Mansfield and Bob Hope on a USO tour in 1957

Mansfield's first leading role on television was with NBC's Sunday Spectacular "The Bachelor" in 1956.^[102] In her first appearance on British television in 1957 she recited from Shakespeare (including a line from Hamlet - "Oh that this too, too solid flesh should melt") and played piano and violin.^[103][104] Her notable performances in television dramas included episodes of Burke's Law, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Red Skelton Hour (three episodes), Kraft Mystery Theater and Follow the Sun. Mansfield's performance in her first series Follow the Sun ("The Dumbest Blonde"; Season 1, Episode 21; February 04, 1962; produced by 20th Century Fox Television) was hailed as the advent of a "a new and dramatic Jayne Mansfield".^[105] She appeared on a number of game shows including Talk it up, Down You Go (as a regular panelist in),^[106] The Match Game (one rare episode has her as a team captain), What's My Line? (as a special mystery guest) and It Pays to Be Ignorant.

She performed in a number of variety shows including The Jack Benny Program (on which she played violin), The Steve Allen Show and The Jackie Gleason Show (during the mid-1960s, when the show was the second-highest-rated program in the U.S.).^[107] She was a guest in three episodes of the The Bob Hope Show touring with team. In 1957, she toured United States Pacific Command areas of Hawaii, Okinawa, Guam, Tokyo and Korea with Bob Hope for the United Service Organizations for 13 days appearing as a comedienne;^[108] and in 1961, toured Newfoundland, Labrador and Baffin Island for a Christmas special.^[109] Her talk show career includes a very large number of talk shows, as she appreciated the publicity and appeared frequently in talk shows.^[104] One of her more notable appearances in a talk show was in The Ed Sullivan Show (Season 10, Episode 35; May 26, 1957) right after her success with Rock Hunter. In the show she played violin with a six person back-up.^[110] After the show she exclaimed, "Now I am really national. Momma and Dallas see the Ed Sullivan show!"^[111]

By 1958, she charged $20,000.00 per episode for television performance ($161,107 in 2012 dollars^[12]).^[112] In 1964, Mansfield turned down the role of Ginger Grant on the up-and-coming television sitcom Gilligan's Island, although her acting roles were becoming marginalized, because the part (which eventually went to Tina Louise) epitomized the stereotype of which she wished to rid herself.^[113] The widespread rumor that Jayne Mansfield had a breast-flashing dress mishap at the 1957 Academy Awards was found to be baseless by Academy researchers.^[114] Ten days before her death, she read To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, a poem by Robert Herrick about early death on The Joey Bishop Show (Mansfield's last television appearance).^[115]