Lili Gentle (born Lillie Charlene Gentle; March 4, 1940) is a former American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

actress.

Biography

Born Lillie Charlene Gentle in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, she later changed the spelling of her first name to "Lili". As a child, both she and her sister Janet were stricken with polio. Gentle made her film debut in an uncredited role in ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

'' (1956). In 1956, she had

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

s in ''

Teenage Rebel ''Teenage Rebel'' is a 1956 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Ginger Rogers and Michael Rennie. It was nominated for two Academy Awards; Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction ( Lyle R. Wheeler, Jack Martin Smith ...

'' and ''

The Girl Can't Help It ''The Girl Can't Help It'' is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the titular role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenplay ...

'', starring

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

. In 1957, she earned a supporting role opposite Mansfield in ''

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is a 1957 American satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortco ...

''. In 1958, she starred with

Tommy Sands Thomas Adrian Sands (born August 27, 1937) is an American pop music singer and actor. Working in show business as a child, Sands became an overnight sensation and instant teen idol when he appeared on ''Kraft Television Theater'' in January 19 ...

in the

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

tic-

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

, ''

Sing, Boy, Sing ''Sing Boy Sing'' is a 1958 musical–drama film released by 20th Century-Fox and starring newcomers Tommy Sands and Lili Gentle. The film was an expansion of the January 1957 '' Kraft Television Theatre'' episode "The Singin' Idol," also starri ...

''. Her last film role was in 1962, in ''

Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation ''Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation'' is a 1962 American comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring James Stewart and Maureen O'Hara. The film is based on the novel ''Mr. Hobbs' Vacation'', by Edward Streeter and features a popular singer of the ...

''. She frequently acted on

in shows such as ''

The 20th Century Fox Hour ''The 20th Century Fox Hour'' is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title ''Ho ...

'' (1956); ''

Matinee Theatre ''Matinee Theater'' is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from October 31, 1955, to June 27, 1958. Its name is often seen as ''Matinee Theatre''. The series, which ran daily from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. E ...

'' (1957); and ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology series, anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology dr ...

'' (1957). In 1958, just before her 18th birthday, she married future film producer

Richard D. Zanuck Richard Darryl Zanuck (December 13, 1934 – July 13, 2012) was an American film producer. His 1989 film ''Driving Miss Daisy'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Zanuck was also instrumental in launching the career of director Steven Spielb ...

, then 23 years old, who was then employed in the

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 Disn ...

story department. With Zanuck, she had two children, Virginia (born October 1959), and Janet (born September 1960), through whom she has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She adopted her daughter Virginia's first born child, Laura, in 1988. After divorcing Zanuck in 1968, Gentle remarried twice; her second marriage, to Thomas P. Richardson, ended in divorce in 1971. She married her third husband, Timothy W. Guerry, in 1975 and remained together 42 years, until his death in 2018.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentle, Lili 1940 births Living people Actresses from Birmingham, Alabama American film actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women