Connie Stevens

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Biography

Connie Stevens (born August 8, 1938) is an United States|American actress and singer, best known for her roles in the television series Hawaiian Eye and other TV and film work.

Early life

She was born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingoglia in Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn , New York , the daughter of Peter Ingoglia (known as musician Teddy Stevens) and singer Eleanor McGinley. tcm.com, accessed July 2, 2011

She adopted her father's stage name of Stevens as her own. Her parents were divorced and she lived with grandparents. and attended Catholic boarding school s. Actor John Megna was her half-brother. At the age of twelve, she witnessed a murder in Brooklyn and was sent to live in Boonville, Missouri|Boonville , Missouri , with family friends.

Coming from a musical family, she joined the singing group called The Fourmost,King, Susan. Los Angeles Times , March 26, 2011 in which the other three vocalists & mdash; all males & mdash; went on to fame as The Lettermen . In 1953, Stevens moved to Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles with her father. When she was 16, she replaced the alto in a singing group, The Three Debs. She enrolled at a professional school (Georgia Massey's School of Song and Dance in the San Fernando Valley), sang professionally and appeared in local repertory theater .

Career

Stevens started working as a movie extra. After she'd appeared in four B movie s, Jerry Lewis saw her in Dragstrip Riot and cast her in Rock-A-Bye Baby (film)|Rock-A-Bye Baby . tcm.com, accessed July 2, 2011 Soon after that, she signed a contract with Warner Brothers .

She played 'Cricket Blake' in the popular television detective series Hawaiian Eye from 1959 in television|1959 to 1962 in television|1962 , fiftiesweb.com, accessed July 2, 2011 a role that made her famous. Her principal costar was Robert Conrad . In a televised interview on August 26, 2003, on CNN 's Larry King Live , Stevens recounted that while on the set of Hawaiian Eye she was told she had a telephone call from Elvis Presley . "She didn't believe it, but in fact it was Elvis, who invited her to a party and said that he would come to her house and pick her up personally", and they subsequently dated. elvis.com.au, March 10, 2006, accessed July 2, 2011
Her first album was titled Concetta (1958). She had minor single hits with the traditional pop music|standards "Blame It On My Youth" (music by Oscar Levant and lyrics by Edward Heyman ), "Looking For A Boy" (music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin ), and " Spring Is Here " (music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart ). She appeared opposite James Garner in a List of Maverick episodes|comedy episode of the TV Western (genre)|Western series Maverick (TV series)|Maverick entitled "Two Tickets to Ten Strike," and after making several appearances on the Warner Bros. hit TV series 77 Sunset Strip , she recorded the hit novelty song "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb" (1959), a duet with one of the stars of the program, Edward Byrnes , that reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 . She and Byrnes also appeared together on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom . Stevens also had hit single (music)|singles as a solo artist with " Sixteen Reasons " ( 1960 in music|1960 ), her biggest hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 , and a minor #71 hit "Too Young to Go Steady" (1960) (music by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Harold Adamson ). Other single releases were "Why'd You Wanna Make Me Cry? ", "Mr. Songwriter", and "Now That You've Gone".

She later starred as Wendy Conway in the television sitcom Wendy and Me (1964–1965) with George Burns , who also produced the show and played an older man who watched Wendy's exploits upstairs on the TV in his apartment, periodically commenting to the viewers about what he saw. Her other Wendy and Me costars were Ron Harper (actor)|Ron Harper , James T. Callahan and character actor J. Pat O'Malley .

She starred in the Broadway theater|Broadway production of Neil Simon 's The Star-Spangled Girl with Anthony Perkins in 1966.Simon, Neil. The Star-Spangled Girl , Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1967, ISBN 0-8222-1073-8, p. 3 She appeared in stage productions in summer stock , including The Wizard of Oz , Carousel Theatre, California and Any Wednesday , Melodyland, Anaheim, California . filmreference.com, accessed July 2, 2011

In the 1970s, Stevens started singing the Ace Is The Place theme song on Ace Hardware TV commercials in Southern California and was a guest on The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast a few times. Her risque 1976 action movie Scorchy has never been released on DVD. In the spring of 1977, Stevens appeared in one of the two pilots for The Muppet Show . She also was seen numerous times on the Bob Hope United Service Organizations|USO specials, including his Christmas Show from the Persian Gulf ( 1988 in television|1988 ).

Other projects

Among her charitable works, she founded the Windfeather project to award scholarships to Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American s, and supports CancerGroup.com. In 1991, Stevens received the Lady of Humanities Award from Shriners Hospital and the Humanitarian of the Year Award by the Sons of Italy in Washington, DC .

Stevens developed her own cosmetic skin care product line, Forever Spring, and in the 1990s opened the Connie Stevens Garden Sanctuary Day Spa in Los Angeles.

In 1994, she issued her first recording in several years, Tradition: A Family at Christmas, along with her two daughters.

In 1997, Stevens directed, wrote, and edited a documentary entitled A Healing , about Red Cross nurses who served during the Vietnam War . The following year it won the title of Best Film at the Santa Clarita International Film Festival.

She has also made nightclub appearances and headlined in major Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas showrooms. She was an occasional guest panelist on Match Game .

Her feature-length directorial debut, Saving Grace B. Jones , was released in 2009.

Personal life

Stevens has been married twice: to actor James Stacy (married 1963& ndash;divorced 1967) and singer Eddie Fisher (singer)|Eddie Fisher (married 1967& ndash;divorced 1969). She is the mother of actresses Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher . rottentomatoes.com

She maintains homes in Beverly Hills , Palm Springs, California|Palm Springs , and New York City .

Stevens has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm SpringsMitchell, Marilyn. desertentertainer.com, May 20, 1994, accessed July 2, 2011, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6249 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California|Hollywood and a star on the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto, Canada Yuen, Jenny..

On September 23, 2005, Stevens was elected secretary-treasurer of the Screen Actors' Guild . This is the organized labor|union 's second-highest elected position. She succeeded James Cromwell , who did not seek re-election. sag.org (Press Release), September 23, 2005, accessed July 2, 2011

Stevens has contributed thousands of dollars over the years to the United States Republican Party|Republican Party , including donations to the National Republican Congressional Committee|Republican Congressional Committee and to both of Arizona Senator John McCain 's runs for president.

Filmography

Films

Young and Dangerous (1957)

Eighteen and Anxious (1957)

Dragstrip Riot (1958)

'' Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)

Rock-A-Bye Baby (film)|Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958)

The Party Crashers (1958)

Parrish (film)|Parrish (1961)

Susan Slade (1961)

Palm Springs Weekend (1963)

Two on a Guillotine (1965)

Never Too Late (1965 film)|Never Too Late (1965)

Way...Way Out (1966)

The Last Generation (1971)

The Grissom Gang (1971)

Scorchy (1976)

'' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) (Cameo)

Grease 2 (1982)

Back to the Beach (1987)

Tapeheads (1988)

Love Is All There Is (1996)

Returning Mickey Stern (2002)

Television

Hawaiian Eye (1959–1963)

Maverick (TV series)|Maverick (1959)

Wendy and Me (1964–1965)

The Littlest Angel (1969)

Mister Jerico (1970)

Call Her Mom (1972)

SpongeBob SquarePants - guest voice

Playmates (1972)

Every Man Needs One (1972)

The Sex Symbol (1974)

The Muppet Show ( wikiasite:muppet:Episode 102: Connie Stevens|Episode 102 ) (1976)

''Love's Savage Fury (1979)

Scruples (1980) (miniseries)

Murder Can Hurt You (1980)

Side Show (1981)

Starting from Scratch (1988–1989)

Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988)

James Dean: Race with Destiny (1997)

Becoming Dick (2000)

Fat Actress (2005) Episode 5 'Crack For Good'

Copyright Citations

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1. David Benoit 2. Eddie Fisher 3. Al Jolson 4. elvis 5. Presley, Elvis 6. Tricia Leigh Fisher

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