Ginger Stanley (December 19, 1931 – January 19, 2023) was an American model, actress and stunt woman. Stanley was best known for her stunt work in the horror films ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'' (1954), swimming as a double for lead actress

Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...

, and the movie's sequel, ''

Revenge of the Creature ''Revenge of the Creature'' ( ''Return of the Creature'' and ''Return of the Creature from the Black Lagoon'') is the first of two Universal-International sequels to '' Creature from the Black Lagoon''. It was the only 3D film released in 1955 ...

'' (1955), swimming as a double for lead actress

Lori Nelson Dixie Kay Nelson (August 15, 1933August 23, 2020), known professionally as Lori Nelson, was an American actress and model mostly active in the 1950s and early 1960s. She had roles in the TV series ''How to Marry a Millionaire'' and the films ''Re ...

Biography

Stanley was born in

Sandersville, Georgia The city of Sandersville is the county seat of Washington County, Georgia, Washington County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 5,912 at the 2010 census. It is also a part of the Central Savannah River Area. Sandersv ...

, on December 19, 1931. She left her home in Walhalla, South Carolina at the age of 15 and moved to Sebring, Florida to live with her older sister. While competing in a festival in Leesburg, Florida, she met Newt Perry, a swimming coach, promoter, and consultant for movies that used underwater scenes. He hired her to be a professional mermaid at the

Weeki Wachee Springs Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by "mermaids," women wearing fish tails as well as other fanciful outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spring ...

tourist attraction. She worked there for 2 years. From 1953 to 1956, Stanley worked at Silver Springs as a swimmer and underwater performer with Bruce Mozert, a pioneer of underwater photography, becoming one of his "most recognized" models. At this time, she also had her two roles in the ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' and ''Revenge of the Creature'', filmed at

Wakulla Springs Wakulla Springs is located south of Tallahassee, Florida and east of Crawfordville in Wakulla County, Florida at the crossroads of State Road 61 and State Road 267. It is protected in the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park. Description ...

and Silver Springs, respectively. Stanley was also the body double for

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

in ''

Jupiter's Darling ''Jupiter's Darling'' is a 1955 American Eastman Color musical film, musical romance film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM and directed by George Sidney filmed in CinemaScope. It starred Esther Williams as the Roman woman Amytis, Howard Keel ...

'' (1955). At the time, Williams was recovering from a

perforated eardrum A perforated eardrum (tympanic membrane perforation) is a hole in the eardrum. It can be caused by infection (otitis media), trauma, overpressure (loud noise), inappropriate ear clearing, and changes in middle ear pressure. An otoscope can be us ...

and her time underwater was limited. In 1956, Stanley married Albert V. Hallowell Jr. and they moved to Orlando, Florida. They had three daughters. She hosted "Browsing with Ginger", a women's talk show on a local Orlando television station, and then spent twenty-three years as a runway model, working for various charities, department stores, and

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

. Her husband died of heart disease in 1987. In 2012, she was inducted into the ''Mermaid Hall of Fame'' at Weeki Wachee Springs. As an actress, she had uncredited roles in four movies. Stanley also appeared as herself in the documentaries, ''Creature Feature: 50 Years of the Gill-Man'' (2004) and ''Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man'' (2014), about the filming and marketing of the horror film, ''Creature From the Black Lagoon''. Stanley died in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, on January 19, 2023, at the age of 91.

Films

Stuntwoman

* ''

'' (1954) (uncredited) * ''

'' (1955) (uncredited) * ''

'' (1955) (uncredited)

Actress

* ''

Distant Drums ''Distant Drums'' is a 1951 American Florida Western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gary Cooper. It is set during the Second Seminole War in the 1840s, with Cooper playing an Army captain who successfully destroys a fort held by Span ...

'' (1951) Woman (uncredited) * ''The Meal'' (1975) Dinner Guest (uncredited) * ''

Splash, Too ''Splash, Too'' is a 1988 American made-for-television film sequel to the film '' Splash'' (1984) produced by The Walt Disney Company. Directed by Greg Antonacci and written by Bruce Franklin Singer. It stars Todd Waring as Allen Bauer and Amy ...

'' (TV Movie) (1988) Tourist (uncredited) * ''

Passenger 57 ''Passenger 57'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Kevin Hooks. The film stars Wesley Snipes and Bruce Payne, with Snipes portraying a security consultant who finds himself forced to foil a plot to free a captive terrorist during ...

'' (1992) Plane Passenger (uncredited)

Herself

* ''Creature Feature: 50 Years of the Gill-Man'' (Video documentary) (2004) * ''Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man'' (Documentary) (2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Ginger 1931 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women American film actresses American stunt performers People from Sandersville, Georgia