Jennifer Helene Maxwell (September 3, 1941 – June 10, 1981) was an American film and television actress, probably best remembered for her role in the 1961

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

film ''

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Americ ...

.''

Early years

Maxwell was the daughter of a construction worker of Norwegian descent (the original name of Moksvold was changed when the family emigrated in 1949), and a distant relative of

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

.Tom Lisanti's book ''Drive-In Dream Girls''

Film and television

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 ...

saw Maxwell when she was 16 years old and a high school student in Brooklyn. He had her do a screen test to possibly portray Frank Sinatra's niece in ''

Some Came Running ''Some Came Running'' is a novel by James Jones, published in 1958. It was Jones's second published novel, following his award-winning debut '' From Here to Eternity''. It is the story of a war veteran with literary aspirations who returns in ...

''. Maxwell played spoiled Ellie Corbett in ''

'', whom Elvis' character eventually tames by spanking her on the beach. She also appeared in ''

Blue Denim ''Blue Denim'' is a 1959 film based on a Broadway play by writer James Leo Herlihy. It starred Carol Lynley and Warren Berlinger who reprised their stage roles. 17-year-old Brandon deWilde appeared in his first "adult" role as the male lead Arth ...

'' (1959), ''

Take Her, She's Mine ''Take Her, She's Mine'' is a 1963 American comedy film starring James Stewart and Sandra Dee based on the 1961 Broadway comedy written by Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron. The film was directed by Henry Koster with a screenplay by Nunnally Johnso ...

'' (1963, which starred

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

), and ''Shotgun Wedding'' (also 1963; Maxwell's cinematic swan song, co-written by infamous filmmaker

Edward D. Wood, Jr. Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

). In addition to this she appeared in several television shows, including ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by E ...

'' (1959), ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' (1961), ''

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

'' (1961), ''

Ichabod and Me ''Ichabod and Me'' is an American situation comedy television series starring Robert Sterling and George Chandler that aired in the United States during the 1961–1962 television season. It depicts the life of a New York City newspaper reporte ...

'' (1962), '' The Joey Bishop Show'' (1962), ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television Private investigator#PIs in fiction, private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith (actor), Roger Smith, Richard Long (actor), Richard Long (fr ...

'' (1963) and ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chronicl ...

'' (1967).

Personal life

On April 17, 1959, the 18-year-old Maxwell married 24-year-old Paul W. Rapp, an assistant director. After separating in December 1961, they had a very public divorce and custody battle over their son Brian, with Maxwell winning after testifying about Rapp's "extremely possessive and overly jealous" nature. The divorce was granted January 29, 1963. She later married Ervin M. Roeder, a successful attorney who was 21 years her senior, on February 15, 1970 in Los Angeles.California Marriage Index 1960-1985

Death

In the afternoon of June 10, 1981, shortly after their separation, Maxwell and Roeder were shot and killed in the lobby of Maxwell's Beverly Hills condo during what was reported at the time as being a botched robbery. She was 39 years old. The murders supposedly remained unsolved, and the botched robbery story was repeatedly cited in articles about Maxwell. However, in the 2021 book ''Murder of an Elvis Girl: Solving the Jenny Maxwell Case'', author Buddy Moorhouse (a cousin of Maxwell) revealed that the

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

had concluded at the time that, since no property was taken from the victim(s), the shooting was probably a botched hit on Maxwell, orchestrated by Roeder over pending divorce finances. Roeder (a defence attorney with reputed Mafia connections) had allegedly arranged to receive a survivable wound from the hitman as a diversion, but in the event the wound to his abdomen proved fatal, and Roeder died a few hours after the shooting.Buddy Moorehouse's book ''Murder of an Elvis Girl: Solving the Jenny Maxwell Case'' A further irony revealed in the book is that Maxwell's son Brian received absolutely nothing from his late mother's estate, owing to the fact that Roeder had survived his wife by several hours -- because Maxwell died intestate (without a will), all her assets automatically passed to Roeder, and the entire combined estate was in turn inherited by Roeder's daughters from his previous marriage, who refused to give anything to Brian.

References

External links