Jarma Toy Lewis (June 5, 1931 – November 12, 1985) was an American film actress and model active in the 1950s.

Biography

Jarma Lewis came from a family of Anglo-Irish ancestry, attended

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

. She first appeared in school theater productions and received her acting training at the Neighborhood Playhouse School in New York. In the early 1950s, she played her first film roles. Lewis worked as a receptionist at a

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

dentist's office and was discovered by director

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Backgro ...

, who cast her to play

Queen Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

in his knight film ''

Prince Valiant ''Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur'', often simply called ''Prince Valiant'', is an American comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretc ...

''. She was subsequently employed as a starlet and up-and-coming actress at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

(1954) and

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

(1955-57). Together with

Taina Elg __NOTOC__ Taina may refer to: People Women * Taina Asili (), Puerto Rican musician, filmmaker and activist * Taïna Barioz (born 1988), French alpine skier * Taina Bien-Aimé, Swiss social activist * Taina Bofferding (born 1982), Luxembourgish ...

and Luana Leeshe she was one of the youngest performers signed to MGM at the time. She first worked with directors such as

Curt Siodmak Curt Siodmak (August 10, 1902 – September 2, 2000) was a German-American novelist and screenwriter. He is known for his work in the horror and science fiction film genres, with such films as '' The Wolf Man'' and '' Donovan's Brain'' (the l ...

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

Stanley Donen Stanley Donen ( ; April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are '' On the Town,'' (1949) and ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952), both of which he co-directed with Gene Kell ...

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Biography Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, Richard Thorpe began his en ...

, and later with

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...

and

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ''Crossfire (film), Cros ...

. Lewis was seen in different genres such as comedy, thriller, crime, drama, and historical films. Lewis has also had episode roles in a number of TV series and guest appearances on TV shows. Lewis turned to writing in the 1970s and served on the board of directors of the UCLA Art Council for 15 years. She died in November 1985 at the age of 54 at her home in Beverly Hills.

Personal life

In November 1955, she married the industrial magnate Benjamin Edward Bensinger III, whose family had made fortune by selling and installing bowling alleys. The couple honeymooned in South America and then settled in Los Angeles. The marriage, which ended in divorce in October 1984, produced three sons.

Filmography

Feature films

*'' Raintree County'' (1957) as Barbara Drake *'' The Conqueror'' (1956) as Girl in bath *'' The Tender Trap'' (1955) as Jessica ollins*''

Women's Prison This article discusses the incarceration of women in correctional facilities. As of 2013 across the world, 625,000 women and children were being held in penal institutions, and the female prison population was increasing in all continents.

'' (1955) as Prisoner *'' The Cobweb'' (1955) as Lois Y. Demuth *'' It's a Dog's Life'' (1955) as Mabel Maycroft *'' The Marauders'' (1955) as Hannah Ferber *''

The Prodigal ''The Prodigal'' is a 1955 Eastmancolor biblical epic CinemaScope film made by MGM starring Lana Turner and Edmund Purdom. It was based on the New Testament parable about a selfish son who leaves his family to pursue a life of pleasure. The f ...

'' (1955) as Uba *''

Woman's World ''Woman's World'' is an American supermarket weekly magazine with a circulation of 1.6 million readers. Printed on paper generally associated with tabloid publications and priced accordingly, it concentrates on short articles about subjects such ...

'' (1954) as Woman in bargain basement *''

'' (1954) as Queen Guinevere *''

River of No Return ''River of No Return'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Otto Preminger and starring Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. The screenplay by Frank Fenton is based on a story by Louis Lantz, who borrowed his premise from the 1948 Italia ...

'' (1954) as Dancer *''

The French Line ''The French Line'' is a 1953 American musical film starring Jane Russell made by RKO Radio Pictures, directed by Lloyd Bacon and produced by Edmund Grainger, with Howard Hughes as executive producer. The screenplay was by Mary Loos and Richard ...

'' (1954) as Model *''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorot ...

'' (1954) as Lem's girlfriend *''

The Magnetic Monster ''The Magnetic Monster'' is a 1953 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Ivan Tors and George Van Marter, directed by Curt Siodmak and (uncredited) Herbert L. Strock. The film stars Richard Carlson, King ...

'' (1953) as Stewardess *'' April in Paris'' (1953) as Chorine *''

The WAC from Walla Walla ''The WAC from Walla Walla'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by William Witney and written by Arthur T. Horman. The film stars Judy Canova, Stephen Dunne, George Cleveland, June Vincent, Irene Ryan and Roy Barcroft. The film was released ...

'' (1952) as Specialist

References

External links

* * {{tcmdb title, id=113304%7C79697 1931 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American actresses American female models American film actresses American television actresses