OK, I’m being totally honest here. Sure, I can use Google, Wikipedia, and the imdb like a pro, and I knew one day I’d get around to it. But at the time that I met Mamie Van Doren at the Hollywood Show on April 20, 2013, the only thing I knew for sure about her was that there was no way that Mamie Van Doren was her real name. And yet I was perfectly willing to shell out $20 to get a signed photo of her that included a free photo op with both Carolyn and me. Why, you might ask? Because her name sounded so exotic and familiar that I just knew she had to be somebody.
Plus she was 82 years old at the time. I knew she wouldn’t be making appearances forever. And her vintage color photos were classy and hot. So what did she do exactly? A lot. She was a singer, actress, model, and all-around sex symbol, one of the first in the business to knowingly emulate Marilyn Monroe.
And she did have some interesting film credits. Her first role was a small one in the John Wayne film Test Pilot, in which she had exactly one word to speak: “Look!” She went on to appear in musicals such as Two Tickets to Broadway and Ain’t Misbehavin’, westerns such as Star in the Dust and Born Reckless, romantic comedies such as Teacher’s Pet and The All American, plus crime-dramas, gangster films, low budget films, sex romps, and even one entry in the Francis the Talking Mule series. Feel free to check out the rest, assuming you too are adept at Google, Wikipedia, and the imdb.
All I know is that I made the wise choice to get the autograph and especially to get the photo with her. It actually almost makes me want to go on a Mamie Van Doren scavenger hunt and see as many of her films as I can.
Celebrity encounters from the Spring 2013 Hollywood Show will continue…
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