Mamie Van Doren

Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957).

Early life

Van Doren was born on February 6, 1931, in Rowena, South Dakota, the daughter of Warner Carl Olander and Lucille Harriet Bennett. She is of three-quarters Swedish ancestry; the remainder is mixed English and German. In 1939, the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, and then to Los Angeles during May 1942.

In early 1946, Van Doren began working as an usher at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The following year, she had a bit part on an early television series. She sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered several beauty contests. At age 17, she eloped to Santa Barbara, California, with Jack Newman, but because of his abusive nature the marriage was quickly dissolved. In the summer of 1949, at age 18, she won the titles Miss Eight Ball and Miss Palm Springs. She was engaged to heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey, but broke the engagement upon signing a contract with Universal Studios.

Producer Howard Hughes discovered Van Doren when she was crowned Miss Palm Springs. The pair dated for several years. Hughes launched her career by placing her in several RKO films.

Career

Early years (1951–1952)

In 1950, Hughes provided Van Doren with a bit part in '' Jet Pilot'' at RKO Radio Pictures, which was her film debut. Her line of dialogue consisted of one word, "Look!" and she appears uncredited in the film. Though production of the movie was from 1949 to 1953 (delays by Hughes), it was not released until 1957. The following year, 1951, she posed for pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas.

Van Doren did a few more bit parts in movies at RKO, including ''His Kind of Woman'' (1951) starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and Vincent Price. About her appearance in this movie, Van Doren said "If you blinked you would miss me. I look barely old enough to drive."

Van Doren then began working on the stage. She was a showgirl in New York City in Monte Proser's nightclub version of ''Billion Dollar Baby''. Songwriter Jimmy McHugh discovered her for his musicals, then decided she was too good for the chorus line and should have dramatic training. She studied with Ben Bard and Bliss-Hayden. While appearing in the role of Marie in a showcase production of '' Come Back, Little Sheba'', Van Doren was seen by Phil Benjamin, a casting director at Universal International.

Further success (1953–1959)

On January 20, 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal Studios. They had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the same kind of success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe. Van Doren, whose signing day coincided with the inauguration of President Eisenhower, was given the first name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie Eisenhower. Other Van Dorens, who were unrelated to Mamie, were a prominent and noted family of American intellectuals; these Van Dorens included two Pulitzer Prize-winning brothers, Carl (biographer) and Mark (poet), and Mark's wife Dorothy, an academic and historian.

Universal first cast Van Doren in a minor role as a singer in ''Forbidden'', starring Tony Curtis. Interested in Van Doren's allure, Universal then cast her in '' The All American'' (1953), (also starring Tony Curtis), playing her first major role as Susie Ward, a wayward girl who is the man-trap at a campus beer joint. In '' Yankee Pasha'' (1954), starring Jeff Chandler and Rhonda Fleming, she played a slave girl in a supporting role. In 1955, she had a supporting role in the musical '' Ain't Misbehavin''' and starred in the crime-drama '' Running Wild''. Van Doren turned down a Broadway role in the play ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' and was replaced by newcomer Jayne Mansfield.

In 1956, Van Doren appeared opposite a young and unknown Clint Eastwood in ''Star in the Dust''. Though Van Doren garnered prominent billing alongside John Agar and Richard Boone, she appears rather briefly, as the daughter of a ranch owner. By this time, Van Doren had grown tired of Universal, which was casting her in non-breakthrough roles. Van Doren began accepting bigger and better roles in better movies from other studios.

Van Doren went on to star in several bad girl movies that later became cult films. She also appeared in some of the first movies to feature rock 'n' roll music and became identified with this rebellious style, and she made some rock records. One of her rock 'n' roll films, ''Untamed Youth'', later was featured in the 1990 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' episode "Untamed Youth".

Some of Van Doren's more noteworthy movies include ''Teacher's Pet'' (1958) at Paramount Pictures, '' Born Reckless'' (1958) at Warner Brothers, '' High School Confidential'' (1958), and ''The Beat Generation'' (1959), the latter two at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. But Van Doren was just as well known for her provocative roles. She was in prison for '' Girls Town'' (1959), which provoked censors with a shower scene where audiences could see Van Doren's naked back. As Eve in ''The Private Lives of Adam and Eve'' (1960) she wore only fig leaves, and in other films, like ''The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina'' (1959), ''Sex Kittens Go to College'' (1960), and ''Vice Raid'' (1960) audiences understood the nature of the films from the titles.

Many of Van Doren's film roles showcased her ample curves, and her onscreen wardrobe usually consisted of tight sweaters, low-cut blouses, form-fitting dresses, and daring (for the era) swimsuits, but she and such other blonde bombshell contemporaries as Jayne Mansfield, Cleo Moore

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