6.7
Avg Rating
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Peter Gunn
1958
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mara Corday, born Marilyn Joan Watts (January 3, 1930 — February 9, 2025) was an American showgirl, model, actress, Playboy Playmate and a 1950s cult figure.
Wanting a career in films, Corday came to Hollywood while still in her teens and found work as a showgirl at the Earl Carroll Theatre on Sunset Boulevard. Her physical beauty brought jobs as a photographer's model that led to a bit part as a showgirl in the 1951 film Two Tickets to Broadway. She signed on as a Universal International Pictures (UI) contract player where she met actor Clint Eastwood with whom she would remain lifelong friends. With UI, Corday was given small roles in various B-movies and television series. In 1954, on the set of Playgirl, she met actor Richard Long. Following the death of Long's wife, the two began dating and wed in 1957.
Her roles were small until 1955 when she was cast opposite John Agar in Tarantula, a Sci-Fi B-movie that proved a modest success. She had another successful co-starring role in that genre (The Black Scorpion) as well as in a number of Western films. Respected film critic Leonard Maltin said that Corday had "more acting ability than she was permitted to exhibit."
Corday appeared as a pin-up girl in numerous men's magazines during the 1950s and was the Playmate of the October 1958 issue of Playboy, together with famous model and showgirl Pat Sheehan. In 1956, she had a recurring role in the ABC television series Combat Sergeant. From 1959 to early 1961, Corday worked exclusively doing guest spots on various television series. She then gave up her career to devote her time to raising a family. During her seventeen-year marriage to Long, she had three children.
A few years after her husband's passing in 1974, Corday's friend Clint Eastwood offered her a chance to return to filmmaking with a role in The Gauntlet (1977). She acted with him again in Sudden Impact (1983), Pink Cadillac (1989), and in her last film, The Rookie (1990).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Mara Corday,licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Gender
Female
Birthday
January 3, 1930
Died
February 9, 2025
Birthplace
Santa Monica, California, USA
Also Known As
Sudden Impact
1983
The Rookie
1990
The Man from Bitter Ridge
1955
Raw Edge
1956
Toughest Man in Arizona
1952
Francis Joins the WACS
1954
Playgirl
1954
The Gauntlet
1977
Drums Across the River
1954
Pink Cadillac
1989
Tarantula
1955
Dawn at Socorro
1954
Man Without a Star
1955
Sea Tiger
1952
Naked Gun
1956
Problem Girls
1953
The Quiet Gun
1957
The Giant Claw
1957
Son of Ali Baba
1952
Tarzan and the She-Devil
1953
+ 9 more movies